BY KYLE MILLION | Go Venue Magazine
What a show with two regional openers, Take The Day and Xeros as well as two supporting tour bands Taking Dawn and Savage After Midnight, we had quite the night of face melting rock!
Take The Day welcomed the those awaiting a night of rocking out without disappointment as they are known for an energetic performance from Kenny Waring’s vocals, Adam Easom on guitar, Rick Harrington on bass, and not to be outdone by the theatrics of Matt Circle drumming and singing away to every song as though he was the singer. Hailing from Pittsburg, Kansas this band is one to watch for if they come your way to perform.
New band to me Xeros from Springfield, Missouri, touted as home town heroes by Cosa Smith, kept the crowd growing and energy pumping like a supporting act should. These hometown heroes worked up a sweat and interacted with the crowd making new fans and entertaining as the table of teenagers with their father as escort couldn’t stop talking about them. Upon looking them up I found out they are coming to my town to perform for the legacy of music show next month to raise money for local school music program so I’ll have another shot to see them and possible write more about it.
Now opening acts don’t usually seem like a headliner, hailing from Las Vegas, Taking Dawn just BLEW me away! While watching them set up the fella next me joked that their logo was a cross between guns n roses and Motley Crew from the 80s and yeah after seeing the show I think it was dead on. While their message was more modern the performance, energy, and style was right on with their logo. While performing they were all over the stage and audience just like the glory days or rock and metal. The last non-headlining band I saw as passionate as this was Ragdoll so that says a lot! To end their last song the guitarist ran and jumped upon the bar, ran down it, and jumped off all without missing a lick hell even the guys where like Woah man….
Savage After Midnight comes to us from Memphis, Tennessee and was on par as a supporting act. Keyboards were added to the usual mix to give them a unique sound backing their vocals. I was told they are a band reborn after many hardships and setbacks desperately trying to make their mark in the music world we look forward to seeing what becomes of them and if they accomplish their dreams.
Bringing us to one of my favorite bands since I witnessed them live at Rockfest in the rain five long years ago. One of my favorite sayings is a band doesn’t really exist to me until I see them live and capture their performance and Adelitas Way has done that from the start with me personally. Rick DeJesus is one of the most loved musicians by his fans new and old. When he is onstage performing you can see and feel the emotions represented thru his lyrics which makes you love the music before you learn the words. Sadly due to travel issues we had to leave after the fourth song and even though it was only half of their set I had the privilege of seeing our teenager rocking out to them and all the bands that night and having her ask for a t-shirt, we ordered online the next morning, told me she loved them and enjoyed her first concert. Enjoying what I get to do is one thing, watching your kid go crazy over the same bands is more than words can describe.
To wrap it up and not drone on I would like to say that all the remodeling that Aftershock completed last year has really made them the perfect place to eat, catch a show, and enjoy a night with your pals. I highly recommend going to shows there as the staff is great and the food will fill ya up, it also helps that Cory’s office is there and he is the guy to thank for putting these shows together and making sure the bowl of M&M’s in the green room have all the yellow ones removed.
All images © Kyle Million
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