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Staind House of Blues Myrtle Beach SC. December 10,
2006 and
Greenville SC. December 09, 2006
We set out at 3am on Friday evening for our latest Staind road trip. By far our longest one
yet. My hubby Rocco, my 2 kids and myself on a twelve hour ride to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We made good time and after
a brief stop at South of the Border we began the final leg of our trip. We arrived at our hotel at 4pm and checked in. On
the way Rocco must have gotten something in his eye because it had swelled up and became red as a tomato. We hung in
the room and relaxed after our long drive.
Saturday morning came quick, we all woke up at 9:15, got washed, dressed and to the airport
by 9:40 to pick up Justin. We found Justin, still alive after his first plane trip, sitting in front of the airport rubbing
2 sticks together trying to light his cigarette. We picked him up and brought him back to the hotel. Since his king suite,(the
entire fourth floor) wasn't ready yet he chilled in our room for a bit. We all hung out and enjoyed the amazing view of the
ocean from our balcony. Justin and I didn't want to go to the show that night, the hotel was just too nice too leave, but
we realized it was all in the name of Staind. We finally heard from Raina, and we all got ready for Stage 1 of our trip,
the Greenville show that night. The ride to the show was figured to take forever, but thanks to Raina's turbocharged right
foot and some good ol' conversation we got there just in time for Staind to take the stage.
The venue was only half full, we later came to find out that a typo on Staind.com eluded
fans to think the show was sold out when in fact it was not. Staind took the stage and Aaron addressed the crowd, they opened
with "Falling" and followed with "Crawl". Aaron obviously in a good mood repeatedly said "Good evening, good evening, I don't
know why I like saying that". They played "So Far Away", "Fade", "Open Your Eyes", and rarely played live "Spleen". They did
"Come Again" and then we were treated to a surprise acoustic performance. Everyone left the stage and Aaron appeared center
stage on a stool. He announced "This song is about A.D.D" and played an emotional "Epiphany". This song is about a piece of
shit preluded the guys return to the stage to do "King of All Excuses". Aaron then told the crowd that two nights before they
played with Hinder and he realized that their song "Lips of an Angel" was the identical four chords as "Everything Changes".
After hoping he would do a cover of "Lips of an Angel" he said "Go figure" and played "Everything Changes". They followed
with fan favorite "For You" and half way through the song Brett from Shinedown, one of the opening bands we missed, came out
and finished the song with Aaron. They played "Outside", "Right Here", and "Its Been Awhile". Before ending the show
with the usual "Mudshovul" Aaron gave us one of his touching quotes, it went like this, "Hey I don't know how the fuck
we got here, its been almost 10 years, 5 records, and your still fuckin here, Im not foolish enough to think that that's not
the not the only reason why I'm still here so thank you very much for letting us do what we do, for allowing us to play for
you this evening, its an honor and a priveledge, so with that being said take care of yourselves, take care of each other
and drive careful on your way home". They played a classic "Mudshovel" and another great Staind show came to an end. However
we still had a four hour ride back to our hotel.
After an hour of freezing and waiting, Justin and Raina returned from the buses. They thought
they had taken pics with the Brett, the singer from Shinedown when it was actually the guitarist, Jason. Exhaustion had set
in, we got gas and proceeded on a slow journey back to Myrtle Beach. After a brief pit stop followed by some sort of wrong
turn we were lost in the middle of nowhere. While driving aimlessly my phone rang and it was Ramona, she got to Myrtle Beach
at 8:30 and Rocco picked her up from the bus stop. Assuming I knew already since I told her I just spoke to Rocco. She
started talking about the accident. Apparently she had borrowed the Staind Mobile and got into a little fender bender,
Rocco neglected to tell me this when we spoke earlier. Now being lost and not knowing what my car looked like, frustration
began to set in. After being given wrong directions and riding down this dark secluded road, which seemed more like a deer
trail, we saw a bunch of headlights approaching fast. To our amazement the headlights belonged to nothing other than Staind's
tour buses. We jumped in behind the buses and followed our Staind saviors back to Myrtle Beach, maybe now I could finally
say "Staind saved my life". With the buses guiding us the long ride seemed much quicker and a helluva lot safer, the sun had
started to rise when we got back to the hotel.
A brief shut eye session on Sunday morning was ruined as I walked into my room to find my
kids waiting for me to watch the sun rise. I gave up on the sleep thing and began to relax with my coffee on the terrace when
someone knocked on the door. It was my little bro, Justin, we sat there in the sun enjoying the view and chatting. Rocco "with
his one eye" took Justin and the kids to the store and upon pulling out of the spot proceeded to tear off the passenger side
mirror from the Staind mobile.
The day flew by and before we knew it was time to get ready for stage 2, the Myrtle Beach
show. We got ready and headed out to the House of Blues. We arrived at 7pm to see a massive crowd already lined up outside.
There we were driving by this crowd, Staind blaring from our radio, the Staind mobile fully Staind out and with the custom
STAINDNY plates we got quite a few looks from the crowd. We exited the car and bypassed the crowd and headed to will call.
As we walked by the crowd we heard several people mutter, "it cant be her, she lives in New York", well it was me. We arrived
at will call and got our passes, we were escorted by security to our private orchestra room above the stage, where my kids
would be safe from any crowd danger. It was quite a different feel being up there and actually above the guys. We got
to see alot of behind the scene stuff. We got to see Jon giving one of the crew drumming tips and warming up on a drum pad.
Mike guitar tech intricately tuned each of Mike guitars and placed them in order on the side of the stage. Being up there
I found out that Mike uses a different guitar for each song. The little games and antics the guys do when their out of the
crowds view was kinda cool, especially Aaron making the yawning motion to Jon before he played "Its Been Awhile". Rocco screamed
out to Aaron after a song which drew a look from Aaron and a whats up from Mike, Mike always recognizes him. They played the
identical set list from the night before, the only difference was the lack of crowd communication from Aaron. His only extended
convo with the fans was when he warned the crowd surfers that they were putting the fans up front in danger and if they didn't
stop they would be booted. To no avail they continued to surf and several people got the boot. Several fans weren't happy
with Aaron's announcement and threw ice and beer cans on stage. My kids really enjoyed the show and I think they have finally
been totally converted into full blown Staind fans. All in all the show was great, the Greenville show was much better. After
the show was over we headed back to the hotel at this point the kids were out cold in the back seat. My phone rings and it
was my peeps calling to see where I was. I told them I was heading back to the hotel which then I found out they were all
waiting by the busses to try and catch the guys. I wanted to be standing there with them but knew I couldn't. I
had to be Rocco's eyes and could not let him drive alone. When my peeps returned to the hotel they called for me to go up
to "The King Suite". Knowing it was our last night together I went. I sat there listening to their stories about meeting
Aaron by the buses. At this point I was ready for the shut eye I so wanted the night before. Another Staind road trip
comes to an end. So with Rocco's eye still beat red and only 1 mirror we decided to stay another day. We dropped Justin off
at the airport, but thanks to security he missed his flight. Apparently most terrorists book the "king suite". He caught another flight a little later with less of a layover so it worked out for the
best. We finally set out on our journey home on Wednesday at 11am. We were making good time, we got to Virginia by 5pm. Unfortunately
the headlights from the cars was driving Rocco's eye crazy, so we were forced to stop in a hotel for the night. Its now Thursday
and were on the road again, NY or bust. We finally pulled up to our house at 6pm. We made it. Yet another drama filled Staind
experience.
House of Blues Myrtle Beach pictures
Aaron Lewis solo show at Longmeadow High School November
4, 2006
Aaron Lewis performed a benefit concert at Longmeadow High School,
his Alma Mater in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. All proceeds of this show went to the creation of the Longmeadow Music Endowment
Fund.
We headed out on the road to meet my girl Ramona in Brooklyn. I left the staind mobile
said good-bye to my hubby Rocco and the kids and headed out. Longmeadow or bust. This trip would be a walk in the park compared
to our usual Staind Road trips. Once in Massachusetts I phoned Johnny G and we were all set for our Staind pre-party.
We all hit a local bar and to my amazement, last call at 1:30, Huh? wow in NY we start our night at 1:30. The early last call
didn't stop us from having a blast. We moved our party to the bar's parking lot where we proceeded to blast Staind music and
sing aloud like a bunch of rowdy teenagers. After an hour of freezing our asses off we called it a night.
Weeks before the show Raina had planned a Staind fan pre-show dinner, and as usual I was fashionably late. I was able to meet
some new faces, Bea and her daughter, Bill, and Justin. Of course the usual faces were there, Ryan, and Raina. We had a quick
bite, a few laughs and headed out to the show.
We arrived at the high school, all ready for
yet another amazing show. Aaron emerged with the Longmeadow High School music teacher. Aaron was presented with an award showing
Longmeadows appreciation for Aaron's' giving back to the community. Time to get on with the show.
For those of us who had previously seen Aaron's solo shows had a good idea of what to expect, not so fast. It was a typical
Aaron solo show until that first swear word came up and wait, hold the phone, Aaron danced around it. Using f'ed up instead
of fuck and baggage instead of shit, threw the crowd into a raucous laugh. Aaron explained he promised it would be a clean
show.
Aaron wowed the crowd with the usual favorites, a few rarely heard ones, and some awesome
covers. From the Staind library he played Everything Changes, Schizophrenic Conversations, Zoe Jane, Epiphany, Falling, Fill
Me Up, Its Been Awhile, So Far Away, Devil, Outside, Right Here, and rarely heard Let it Out. Seagull, Release, Piano Man,
War Pigs, Patience, Black, and newly covered Comfortably Numb rounded out his covers list. He covered Led Zeps Going to California,
the very same song he played at his high school variety show, and as an added bonus he called Henry out of the audience to
play it with him just like at his variety show. Aaron played Something Like Me, a new crowd favorite and said he had to bend
the clean show rules a little and played Bonghits for Breakfast much to the delight of the fans. Aaron was accompanied by
his beautiful wife, Vanessa who sat side stage during the show.
Aaron's solo shows are always
a fun time. His little comments that he sneaks in really stir up the crowd. For those who paid the extra money and got an
after show meet and greet got an extra treat. A great show and an although rather quick meet and greet was a great combination.
I got my show poster signed and have an awesome picture of Aaron and myself as a memory of a great night. While getting
my pic taken with Aaron I told him I would see him in Myrtle Beach. I expected a little surprise on his part that I would
be traveling so far. I got the surprise reaction I was looking for, however it was for a different reason, Aaron talking out
of the side of his mouth as to not spoil the picture said, "Were playing Myrtle Beach??". It was a classic moment and a great
finale to my great night.
 
Staind Virginia Beach, VA. September 29, 2006
I was there and I will leave
it at that. Sorry there will be no review for this show.
Staind fan appreciation show in NYC September 6th
2006
Staind played an acoustic show in NYC last week
in an extremely intimate setting. This show was recorded for their greatest hits CD and a new DVD to be released November
14th.
The Staind CD's blared from our car window on
the way to NYC last Wednesday anxiously anticipating our arrival at the venue. Even my husband, Rocco, who was the designated
baby-sitter and chauffeur and didn't get to go to the show, was still psyched just to see the familiar faces and to debut
the new Staind Mobile. We finally arrived at the venue and found a modest line outside, much less than the all out mayhem
we had expected.
We were able to enter the venue a little early,
thanks to Renee, and got a front row seat, close enough to see the scar that Aaron's old eyebrow ring had left. They opened
up with "Falling," followed by "Schizophrenic Conversations." Also off Chapter V they played "Devil," "Reply," "Everything
Changes" and "Right Here." They played rarely played "Zoe Jane" and "Fill Me Up." Their usual "Epiphany," "So Far Away," "Its
Been Awhile," and "Outside," which after a few notes Aaron stopped the show and polled the crowd whether they would mind or
not if they stopped playing songs like "Outside" and "Its Been Awhile." The crowd agreed that those songs had been played
out and would much rather hear other songs instead. People screamed out song titles from all of their CD's. However they still
played them, with Aaron mimicking hanging himself. They covered Alice and Chains' -- "Nutshell," Tool's - "Sober," and
Pink Floyd's - "Comfortably Numb." The unreleased Something Like Me was also played, much to the crowds delight.
Several points in the show tended to linger
in my mind. They were to play "Home" when Mike realized he could not remember how to play it, much to Aaron's amazement. Aaron
played the first few notes for Mike on his guitar. After several attempts by Mike followed by Aaron saying nope that's not
it, they scrapped the idea. It looked almost like a planned comedy skit between the two ending with Mike turning his
chair and his back to Aaron. The current seemingly unending tour was obviously getting to the guys and the tension flared
between Aaron and Jon, when Jon apparently was playing the drums a little too fast for Aaron and Aaron let Jon know by turning
around and telling Jon to slow it sown. This seemed to push Jon over the edge and he pretty much just sat there making faces
and hardly playing. As fans we love the fact that this tour has gone on so long, but we also must remember that like ourselves
they have families too who they have sparingly seen. Life on the road is rough.
Once again I was able to meet
up with several people at the show. Shout outs to the NY crew Anthony, Frankie (Baccala), Linda, Heather -n- Eddie the
cutest couple ever and Ramona my BFF love ya. Ryan the ultimate Staind fan I know we will meet up again at one of the
shows. It was also nice meeting some of the fan club member, Zoe, Kat, and Raina. Renee, thanks again for getting
us in early and getting us great seats. Next time you are in NY we will do that dinner we keep putting off.
All in all it was a great show. The intimate
setting made this a special event for the fans. With the acoustic sound and a little electric too. Which gave
this show the best of both worlds. It was the Staind songs we have all grown to love with a bit of a jazz sound.
It reminded me of the old J-Cat days. For those of us in the Northeast, Staind is done up here for a while. We'll all
sit back reminisce about the shows we have seen and anxiously await for November 14 to roll around.
Here are some pictures that Zoe took during the show. Thank
you Zoe for letting me post these awesome pics you rock =)
Staind Mohegan Sun CT. September 2nd 2006
Well another show has come and gone, but this
one had an extra special feel to it. This one should have been called "The So Far Away Show". The fan attraction that Staind
has kicked into high gear on Saturday evening, bringing together a band of fans from across the country, many only knowing
each other from the internet. Rocco and I drove in from NY, as did Ramona. Kim flew in from Dallas, Texas. Stacy flew in from
Orlando, Florida. Craig and Cindi drove in from Pennsylvania. People from far away places came together for one reason,
to kick some serious ass with Staind. But as usual with any Staind show, this one was not without drama. Kim's flight from
Texas... delayed. Stacy's flight from Florida... delayed. Craig and Cindi picking up Stacy at the airport Friday night and
having to go directly to the show in Philly, going back home where the power was knocked out by the storm to get
a few hours sleep and then get back on the road to CT. If Aaron's words are true, and the strength of the tree begins
in the root, then the roots on that tree that fell across I-95 really sucked. That tree turned ours and Ramona's 2 1/2 hour
drive into a 6 hour nightmare, and I guess Aaron was home and not driving when he said that the "storm won't blow me away".
The wind and rain on the way to the show was intense and quite scary to drive in, right Kim lol. That storm would have forced
any fan to say you know what, fuck this, but not a Staind fan. But the worst of it was Heather and Eddies car dying in the
middle lane of I-95, they didn't make the show. It just wasn't the same without you guys.
The best way to explain the Mohegan Sun show
I guess is "WOW". They simply put on a kick ass show. Soil I heard was pretty good even though they really didn't have many
fans in the arena yet. Three Days Grace was awesome. Adam really knows how to work the crowd and Barry is one kick ass guitarist.
They did Animal I've Become, Home, and brought down the house with Hate.
Staind emerged onto the stage to a furious roar
from the crowd, the lights came on and yes there was Aaron front and center without his Boston hat, I guess the Red Sox recent
collapse has put that hat into hiding. They opened up with Falling, the crowd immediately zoned into Staind mode. Arms flailing,
heads banging, and people jumping, even though those annoying seats got in the way of too much movement. They did their usuals,
Crawl, So Far Away, Its Been Awhile, Fade, Outside, and Mudshovel. They pulled out a few we haven't heard in a while like
Home, For You, and Open Your Eyes. They covered Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb to a tee and threw the crowd into a frenzy.
They did Waste and Aaron introduced the song by saying "this is a true story". They tapped into Chapter V with Right Here
and King of All Excuses. They gave us a big surprise with a cut off of Tormented, Come Again, and if you think Aaron belted
out the lyrics on the CD he blew it away live, holding that final note even longer than the original. However just when you
may have thought my review was coming to a close, I'm gonna blow you away. Aaron came out and introduced Barry from 3 Days
Grace as a guest guitarist on the next song. Once Aaron mentioned the word guitar hero we all knew it was for Dime and it
was time to go all out psycho to "This Love". Aaron does this song unbelievably, the crowd movement and noise was so intense
as was Aaron's vocals, screams, and jerking movements. Aaron looked wiped after it and as the rest of the band and him walked
off the stage, Mike continued with a solo and eventually leading into an unbelievable rendition of Van Halens eruptions, if
not for my eyes the two would not have been distinguishable. Mike was being videotaped throughout the entire show, often showboating
with windmill twirls on the guitar. Aaron was noticeably more vocal during this show and hardly ever stood still. He once
again thanked the fans for being the best fans a band could have and reiterated his promise that as long as we keep coming
they'll keep playing, simply music to all Staind fans ears.
Everyone I met for the first time as well getting
to see the familiar faces made this a great evening. Kim from Texas proving her undenying support for the band by flying 1500
plus miles from Dallas, Texas, Stacy making her second trip up north from Orlando, and Craig and Cindy driving in from
Pennsylvania. Big shout out to Johnny G AKA "Hillboy" it was a pleasure meeting you and your sister. A big hello out to Ryan
for coming up and saying hello, I still cant believe you got tix for all the solo shows. Well the show has come and gone and
all those smiling faces and laughter between us is now gone. So many faces we won't see until the next tour, left with just
a still pic and a comment on My Space kinda sours the moment. The I miss you emails come pouring in, teary eyed
fans left sitting at their computers thinking about the next tour already. It kinda makes you wonder if Staind actually knows
what their fans go through to see them, storms, flight delays, accidents, etc. Or if they realize how many fans travel so
far just to see an hour long show. I know that they appreciate their fans, but I just wonder how much they know. Staind fans
are a rare breed, thats what makes us all special. We strongly support the band, fight ever negative word against the band,
and pretty much do whatever it takes to see them. Show me another band with fans like us. So I bid you all a sad goodbye for
now and just remember next year will bring a new tour and we'll all get together again to do what we all love to do...see
Staind.
To all my peeps in the NYC area, I'll see ya
wednesday.
Shout outs to my NYC peeps.
Ramona I love ya girl, we had an awesome
time. Heather and Eddie, it was great seeing you guys again. We must get together over the summer and hang. Anthony (AKA)
Mike Mushok Jr. haha it was a pleasure as usual. Nay, you are the bomb girl, thank you for everything, I love you, miss
you, and I shall see you in Cali. Linda it was nice to see you yet again we are always at the same shows lol. Valerie you
are one awesome crowd surfer haha It was awesome finally meeting you we have to hangout again.
Staind Nokia Theather NYC May 31, 2006
Part 1
The Meet & Greet
It was just another night standing in line waiting to see the boys
again while hanging with my peeps.
We got there early
so the wait was a little longer than I had hoped. Anxiously waiting for 5:30 to come around we chatted with people online
and bullshitted about the show. At around 5:15 my chica from Virginia finally found her way to the show. I finally got to
meet Renee in person for the first time. The doors opened at 5:30 and we began to file in. Once we got in we got the unbelievable
news. Renee had hooked up me and my girl Ramona with All Access Backstage Passes, yes that's right, All Access Backstage Passes,
HOLY SHIT. This was going to be one hell of a night.
Then it was time for
the meet and greet we went to meet Andrew and get this my name wasn't on the list, but armed with my Pass and my chica by
my side, Ramona and I went into the room for our meet and greet. It was a nice and cozy lounge with kind of a seventies
flavor to it. We all were there chatting when the boys walked in. It was like I had just seen them yesterday. The four
of them were in great moods and to my surprise Johnny "Old School" remembered me from the last M&G. They made us feel
so comfortable and by far was my best M&G to date. We chatted with the guys for a while, took some awesome pics, and had
one incredible time. I got my Access Pass signed and we all got the usual promo pic signed. We all stepped aside so
the guys could do a photo shoot with the Jager girls. The guys then cordially said good-bye to us and told us to enjoy the
show.
God it felt good to walk
around wearing that pass knowing I could go anywhere and noone could stop me lol. We wandered around backstage for a while
checking out Staind's dressing room, their catering room, and checking out the crew setting up the stage. It was really cool
to see the behind the scenes of a Staind show.
| Me and the Boys |
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Part 2
"This Love" We have for Staind
It started out just like
any other Staind show. The usual bunch of us wandered around during the opening bands performance. The opening band, a local
Jager product, "Till December" was pretty good for an up and coming band. They played a couple of songs and said goodnight.
Jagermeister's main emcee, "The Lizard
Man" was there and when he announced the next band, " Hurt ", they received a so so response from the crowd. They kept small
pockets of the crowds attention until they played their hit, "Rapture", which mostly everyone knew. They finished up and disappeared
backstage.
The crowd seemed to liven up when
Lizard Boy welcomed Three Days Grace to the stage. Three Days Grace, a much more well known band, got the crowd into
it with their hits, "I Hate Everything About You", their newest release "The AnimalI've Become" and they totally captured
the crowd belting out their monster ballad "Home". They thanked NYC and told us to get ready for Staind.
Lizard Dude decided to make us all a little
nauseous before the boys came on, so he took out his earrings, replaced them with fishhooks and proceeded to hang a Jagermeister
machine from his ears. Lifting it off the ground and swinging it around was pretty amazing until you looked closely at his
ears and realized they were stretched out passed his shoulders. If that wasn't enough he introduced his buddy Dr. Grip.
This insane totally psychotic dude takes the fishhooks, hooks them to his lower eyelids and hangs a bottle of Jager from each
hook and yes he began to swing them around. Seeing someone's eyelids stretched out to that extent was pretty gross, yet in
some strange way kind of cool. The Lizard Dude thanked everyone for coming, thanked the first three bands and then gave Staind
a rip roaring introduction. But one last thing before the show started. Liz brought out Jon to do a shot with him. Jon came
out in a Boston Red Sox jersey and the crowd let him have it, he quickly blamed Liz saying he made me wear it. It made
for a good laugh but the anticipation was growing.
The boys taking the stage was extremely
anticipated by everyone. When the lights went out and you saw that usual little flashlight lighting Jon's path to his drum
kit, we knew the time had come. They took to the stage and opened up the show with a Chapter V tune, "Falling". The one-second
ago silent crowd violently erupted in a mind boggling display of screams, whistles, cheers, and clenched fists ripping
through the air. It was as if 3000 sleeping people all had awoken and began to move at the same time. Staind as usual
wowed the crowd with their sound. This show however would prove to of a different era. The boys played several songs
that you never hear on tour. They played, "Take This", "For You", and when the first few chords of "Waste" left
Mike's guitar the crowd went berserk.
They split up the show by breaking out
in an acoustic set, with Mike, Aaron, and Johnny sitting on stools. It was different and really a cool way to break up the
show. The second half of the show just kept getting better with each song. Aaron belted out a great cover of Pearl Jam's "Black",
and he seemed incredibly satisfied with the crowd singing along to Fade. Aaron and the boys oddly walked to the back of the
stage, turned around picked up their instruments again and Aaron announced this would begin their encore. He complained about
how much he hated bands that walked off stage for minutes only to come back and play so he decided this is how they would
do it. When we all figured it was time for Mudshovel and our night to come to an end, Mike emerged from side stage with something
amazing in his hands. The Hammer of the Gods, Dimebags rebel flag guitar, was there in Mikes hand. We knew we were in for
a surprise.
Aaron came center stage and reminisced
about his boy Dime's untimely demise. He introduced Grady his guitar tech to the stage, he was also Dime's tech as well. Aaron
then let us know that this next song was for Dime and it would only be appropriate if Grady played along. When Mike's fingers
first touched those strings, and the opening chords of Pantera's "This Love" rang out it totally electrified the crowd. It
was as if Dimebag rose out of the crowd, clearing a huge circle in the center of the crowd, which instantly filled up with
one of the biggest and raucous mosh pits I have ever seen. Anyone who has in the past pissed and moaned about how Aaron has
wimped out or he doesn't haven't anymore, ya all got one big Fuck You from Aaron as he belted the lyrics to "This Love" out
loud and proud in an almost perfect Phil Anselmo fashion. His screams, facial expressions, his mosh like stage movements totally
incensed the crowd. This one cover song deemed this show the top Staind show of all time to me. When "This Love" ended, all
of us in the crowd, throats crying in pain from screaming, the pains in our legs from bouncing up and down, thought that it
was done. Mike then proceeded to rip out Van Halen's "Eruptions" with such ease and perfection, instantly shutting the mouths
of all those who have doubted Mike ability to go the next level. The boys ended the show in usual fashion with "Mudshovel".
People if you missed this show and have yet to see any show on the Jager tour, run, drive, fly, or do whatever you have to
do to get to a show on this tour. I really hate to sound like an ebay auction, but this show is a MUST for all Staind fans.
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To all my peeps that I met at the show. Stacy
you are so awesome. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you in June. Cyndi & Craig, you guys ROCK. Jess, you
are one cool chick. Staind fans aren't just fans, they are family. When all you guys yelled, "ADDICTEDtoStAiND" I was
blown away by it. Knowing that you appreciate what I do, just makes me thrive to keep this site going and updated. It's not
for the fans, it's for the Staind family.
Aaron Lewis Solo Show Resorts
Casino Atlantic City NJ April 8th 2006
As you walk into the theater at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City
to see the one and only Aaron Lewis, the last thing you'd expect to see is a candlelit table lined room. That's exactly what
you got last night if you were at the show. Tablecloth covered tables, each with a couple of candles burning dimly, all facing
the well lit stage. The stage bare besides 3 guitars, a stool, 2 amps, and several water bottles. An almost romantic setting
for the hundreds of fans who came to hear the voice they all love. An even better setting for all at my table, front row,
center, I could've untied Aaron's shoes.(Thank You So Much Craig)
Aaron emerged on the stage, grabbed his guitar, sat down on his
stool, and greeted the crowd with a smile. He graced the crowd with the usual array of Staind songs as well as several covers.
His rendition of Billy Joel's' Piano Man always mesmerizes my ears to the point I have to say, his is better than Billy's'.
His little line change, "and the microphone smells like a bonghit," drew the usual roar from the crowd. The Pearl Jam classic
"Black" was another crowd favorite, as well as his reluctant cover of "Daughter," which he totally aced. He surprised the
crowd by doing a little piece of a song he wrote in high school called "Summer Rain." When he got to a part of "Summertime"
where he sang about blue skies and dancing in the summer wind, he abruptly stopped playing and questioned himself about what
the fuck he was thinking about. It was a little upsetting that the crowd did not embrace Aaron doing Kermit the Frogs "Rainbow
Connection," I really wanted to hear it. Once he was able to stop smiling he did the GnR hit "Patience," during the song someone
screamed Axl, Aaron quickly referred to Axl as a cock, and continued playing. He brought back an old one with Peter Gabriel's',
"In Your Eyes," which was surprisingly good considering all the previous versions I had heard were horrible.
His Staind songs included the usual. Reply was dedicated to his
fans. Excess Baggage, Devil, Its Been Awhile, Fill Me Up, So Far Away, Outside, Home, Zoe Jane, and a really awesome bluesy,
bassy version of Right Here comprised the list of Staind songs. He played "Something like Me," an unreleased song that
didn't make the Chapter V cut. All through the night this dude in the front row kept screaming out "War Pigs," a huge Black
Sabbath song, each time I heard him I had to laugh. Who on earth would have though that Aaron Lewis would close the show with
a phenomenal cover of War Pigs. It totally wowed the crowd.
All in all it was an incredible evening. Aaron's solo acoustical
shows are a must see for any Staind fan.
After the show Aaron moved to the 25 Hours Bar to play blackjack
with a few fans. High stakes?? Oh yeah, 2 winners bring home a signed acoustic guitar. Aaron appeared to have a good time.
I don't think the casino was ready for the flock of fans surrounding the bar during the games. Both guitars were given away
to 2 extremely happy fans. After the games Aaron was wisked away by Richie, undoubtedly hurrying home to celebrate Zoe's birthday.
 It all started the night before the big
Howard Stern farewell show.
I IM'ed Mona the head of the Staind
Street for a meet & greet pass for Friday night. She
said she would try to get me one but then she had a crisis. Noone came to pick up the Staind flyers for the show,
now all the flyers with the words to Beetle were in this girl Julia's room, with no way of getting them to the show in the
morning.
So I had my husband drive into manhattan
and pick up the flyers so I could hand them out the next morning at the event. So the three hours my husband spent driving was well worth it, since I, yes I, got a meet and greet pass
for Friday night's Staind show. It was 6:30 am on
Friday and my friend Ashlee and I were on the Long Island Railroad heading into manhattan with 1000 flyers in my daughters
play suitcase.
After arriving at Penn Station, we hailed
a cab which got stuck in the traffic and we had to walk four blocks to get there. Wow what a crowd, we could'nt get anywhere near the stage. We handed out a ton of flyers at the rear of the crowd. Staind came on and did Beetle, much to the delight of the fans. They followed Beetle with one of their new songs, "Everything Changes", which abruptly ended half way
through the song when the soundsystem crapped out. So
all we got was a song and a half from the boys, not to worry the Roseland show later that night would make up for it.
We arrived at Roseland at 4:30 to meet
up with Civia from the Flyleaf team to do a little promoting before the show. We handed out posters, flyers, and download cards to everyone online. Soon 5:15 rolled around and I had to run to will call to meet Stainds tour manager, Andrew, to go to
my meet and greet. Thank god a good meet and greet at last.
It wasnt like the A/C disaster, we got
stuff signed and yes I got to take a pic with the guys, it made my night. After the meet and greet I picked up my tickets at will call and headed into the show.
Staind Roseland Ballroom NYC December 16, 2005
It was yet another typical night
at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC, rough and rowdy. Plenty of moshing and crowd surfing to satisfy anyones appetite for insanity.
Flyleaf pleased the
crowd yet again, with Laceys phenomenal screams inciting her fans in the crowd, and amazing those who've never saw her before.
Another impecable performance by the up and comers,
Flyleaf. Perfection in all aspects of their performance.
Taproot did their usual
set to a somewhat smaller audience following. While
their singer was unique in going out into the crowd while singing, their performance was quite mainstream. A good voice and quality instrumentation.
POD as usual livened
up the crowd. The moshing began to really escalate
as well as the crowd surfing during Sonny's set. Sonny
laid his body to rest atop the crowd while singing to his fans, which is something awesome to see.
Lacey Mosely from Flyleaf even came out
and joined Sonny on a song, although she was shrouded in smoke, she was there. All in all a pleasing performance from POD.
Staind came on after
a brief crowd surfing disaster delay. Aaron clad once again in his Boston hat gave the crowd what they came for.
At one point the audience began to chant
Boston sucks, causing Aaron to salute them with the bird.
A perfect mix of old and new, from Break
to Paper Jesus, another glance at Dimes guitar, and a heartwarming speech by Aaron thanking the fans for still coming out
after 7 years made for a classic Staind show.
The Fall Brawl tour
is coming to a close and it has obviously taken its toll on all 4 bands, a much needed rest was obvious in all their faces.
| MY MEET & GREET PIC |
|
I met alot of cool people during the fall brawl tour. It was awesome
meeting all of you. Here are just a few shout outs to my peeps lol Ashlee, Ramona, Heather & Eddie, Josh AKA you
lucky bastard lol, Anthony, Jared, Alison your M&M's rock. Here is a pic of the M&M's that Alison got made special.
They say Staind Chapter V on them how awesome is that =)
The fan book made it into the hands of Mr. Lewis.
Here are a few pics I took of the book.
Staind Borgota Hotel & Casino, Atlantic
City, NJ. December 10, 2005
Last night's Fall Brawl Show was simply
incredible. Three great bands live at the Borgota Hotel and Casino.
Yes it was supposed to be four, but the lead singer for Taproot
came down with food poisoning and they were unable to play.
Flyleaf opened the night with an explosion
of furious screams and extreme animated guitar playing. Lacey
Mosely has a voice which can only be explained as
"the mouse that roared".
Her small size is ultimately diminished the first time
she lets out one of her ferocious screams. Her voice stunned and
pleased the crowd. The guitarists played perfectly, all the while
jumping, spinning, and at one point flying off a high speaker. Bottom
line, Flyleaf proved they deserved to be playing with the big boys and all but assured themselves a spot in todays music world.
Definitely a must see!!!
P.O.D came out with their newest output,
Testify, which was met with great pleasure from the crowd. Sonny
stole the show, outdoing everyone with his stageshow antics. Sonny leaned into the awaiting hands of his fans, screaming out "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".
An amazing mix of rock and reggae resulted in a complete
mark of perfection. Sonny seemingly bothered by the lack of crowd
energy and the absence of a pit, (due to the stuffiness of the venue, and a bunch of overzealous security guards) incited
the crowd. He demanded the lights over the crowd be switched on, he commanded his warriors to move and get the most of
their high priced tickets. Almost instantly several spots magically opened in the midst of the dense crowd.
Let the moshing begin. Security guards immediately stood
up high at the crowd barriers, surveyed the insanity and quickly realized entering the crowd would be a bad idea. P.O.D brought
a dead crowd back to life and inevitably STOLE the show.
Staind came out as the headliner,
a hell of a task after the two previous bands shook the house. However as usual frontman Aaron Lewis came out to a deafening
roar from the crowd before he even uttered a single word. The
crowd noise only intensified when the opening riff to "Falling" wailed from Mikes guitar. Stainds show had several high points.
They played a song off their debut CD Tormented, for the first time in many many years. Another song rarely ever heard was
"Blow Away", this quickly became the favorite live song of many of the fans. When the lights shined down on Aaron holding the guitar belonging to the late Dimebag Darrel, the crowd was insenced.
It almost seemed as though Staind was transformed into their former selves of a few years ago, with Mike being more active
than usual(if thats possible), Aaron screaming where he never screamed before, giving fans high fives, and pounding his chest.
Even bassist Johnny April seemed more active. All in all Staind played an intense show to the crowds and their own delight.
I forgot to mention the fact that Howard Stern's famous
dwaf was there, Beetle Juice, he came out in his pimped out red suit and greeted the crowd. The only downside to this wonderful evening was the Borgota staff. They set up the meet and greet in the back of a bar
along side people eating dinner and with music blaring. Every
word each fan uttered was met with a what. You pretty much had
to scream at the band. Eventhough the meet and greet passes said
to bring cameras, the first flash went off and this irritable staff member quickly ripped the camera from its owners hand,
said no pictures and walked away. The show was great but the staff
left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Do yourself a favor, if
you wanna gamble go elsewhere.
| My hat is finally done =) |
|
| Aaron playing Dimebag Darrel's Guitar |
|
OK EVERYONE HERE IS MY EXCLUSIVE PHONE
CALL WITH MIKE MUSHOK
click here to hear the phone call or right click to download
Staind Randall's Island NY September 17, 2005
Staind once again thrilled the crowd. Last night at Randalls Island in New York City, Staind gave a free concert in association with Honda Motors. After waiting in the rain and then trudging through the muddy field. We finally arrived at the stage area. Once all the water was removed and Mikes guitar issues were cleared up they took the stage. Aaron, clad in his Red Sox cap, amused the crowd with, "Im glad somebody showed up". Yes it was a small crowd maybe 300-350 people.
They played a wide array of
music, Some new stuff as well as their older hits. Aarons vocal
performance was amazing, hitting notes and stretching notes beyond their usual manner. They played Falling, Paper Jesus, Right Here, Everything Changes and delighted the crowd by stating this ones
for you, and playing Reply. Among their other hits they played
Outside, Yesterday, Fade, For You, Crawl, Its Been a While, So Far Away, a small snippet of Beetle and Nutshell "AIC Cover".
They ended the show with Aaron belting out Mudshovel.
Im sure they were a little surprised
at the minimal turnout, but it gave the Band and the fans a more personnal experience. All in all this was a great show, among
my favorites, and to those of you in the tri-state area who decided not to make the trip, you missed an utterly amazing show.
Staind Boston City Hall Free Concert
August 9, 2005
Free Staind show in Boston, hmmm, 4 1/2 hours away.
Didn't seem so far after I won a Meet and Greet pass. Rented a car because the Staind mobile's transmission went *sniff*. Started out on the road at 11:30, plenty of time to get there. My hubby, my 4 and 8 year old daughters and me, were on
our way.
Traffic in NY, in CT, and in MA kinda made
it a bit tight timewise. Got off the exit at 3:50, still had enough
time to get there. Grabbed the mapquest directions, right at fork
in road and merge onto Cambridge street, great, except for the fact that Cambridge street is no where near the exit.
Found a cop writing a report on some dude that got hit by a car.
I asked him directions and we were on our way. Found it, parked in the lot, all of us jumped out of the car and BOOM. My 8 year old daughter begins to vomit in the garage. Shes
burning up with fever and feeling faint. Crazy thoughts filled
my head, both sides of my brain fighting back and forth, meet and greet, sick daughter, meet and greet, sick daughter.
Shit, shit ,shit. Got to be a mom first. I got my daughter some ginger ale and she was feeling a bit better, it's now 5:00. Meet and Greet was done,
gone, over. My lifelong dream crushed, god I hate kids, lol only
kidding. Anyways we went to the plaza and set up to watch the
show. Staind did a single song to tune their instruments
and they were awesome. The show started at 7:30. Staind played,
as usual, a kickass show. My 8 year old had a good time, eventhough
she pretty much felt like crap the entire show.
My 4 year old however had the time of her life, sitting
on my hubbys shoulder the entire show, clapping, screaming, making the devil sign with her hands( I dont know where she learned
that), giving other fans high fives, and singing along, much to the awe of the other fans around us. All in all it was a great night eventhough I missed the Meet and Greet.
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