Uproar Festival

Uproar 2^nd Stage with special guests Hell or Highwater, Art of Dying, Black Tide, and Sevendust

With the last outdoor festival for the summer in Chicago being Uproar for me, I was looking forward to seeing the bands on the 2^nd stage as much as the main stage, which is not always the case with these traveling music festivals. As Chicago weather would have it, the whole day being nonstop rain, but that was not going to stop me from covering the 2^nd stage.

First up was Hell or Highwater - this band was formed by Brandon Saller, drummer from ATREYU, who has put together a killer band. They have an old school rock sound to them and songs like Hail Mary, Come Alive, Gimme Love, and We All Wanna Go Home had the crowd fist pumping, even in the rain. They had the crowd clapping to the song, Go Alone and even not having M. Shadows on stage, it sounded great.

Do yourself a favor and check this band out by coming early.

Art of Dying followed next and was a great follow up to match the rock sounds from Hell or Highwater. Jonny Hetherington knows how to work up a crowd; with his bottle of Jack in his hands and megaphone, he got the crowd jumping with songs, Straight Across My Mind, Get Thru This. He poured the Jack down guitarist Travis Stanley’s mouth, which is funny to see Stanley looking at Hetherington every time they do this - like “you trying to kill me,” they played Best I Can.

Having seen them several times, it’s nice to see them grow into a comfort zone as a group and hitting on all cylinders. They are also very fan-friendly and go out of their way to greet fans - old and new. They ended the set with their big hit, Die Trying which everyone in the crowd seemed to know as they sang along.

Black Tide was next and for me, I have been trying to see these guys for the last four years but each time I went they did not end up playing, so I wondered if my streak would continue. Lucky for me, it did not and they played a kick ass set. They opened up their set with Warriors of Time which had the crowd breaking up into mosh pits and the crowd surfers.

Next up was one of my favorite songs, Bury Me from their latest album “Post Mortem.” While some people feel they’re going into a different direction from the first album, I disagree and think it’s a killer track. This was followed up with Let it Out, That Fire, which sounded great with the Spanish guitar influence at the beginning and had the whole crowed going up and down, and Honest Eyes. They ended the set with Walking Dead Man. Say what you want, these guys know how to play and the place was lit throughout the whole set. I hope I don’t have to wait another four years to see them play.

The last band on the 2^nd stage was Sevendust. Now, a lot people felt they should have been on the main stage, including some of the main stage bands who talked about how much respect they have for them, but the thing about Sevendust is that they don’t give a fuck where they play - just give them a stage and they will play anywhere for their fans. Guitarist, Clint Lowery once told me they would play for free if they could because they enjoy being on stage so much and playing in front of the fans. Trust me, it shows.

The area around the 2^nd stage was packed with a few thousand fans as they came on to open the show with Splinter off their last album, “Cold Day Memory.” Being one of the hardest songs off this album, it got the crowd right into it. After standing in the rain for hours, it had let up allowing the fans to set it off and they did not stop till the end, playing a harder set than the last show I saw them play with songs, Praise, Alpha, Enemy.

Lajon Witherspoon is one of the best front men in rock and in a genre dominated by white males, his race has never been an issue with rock fans - all they see is a singer with bad ass skills of a headbanger, who also has the soul and work ethic of James Brown. You can’t help but love him and once you meet him, he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Sevendust has always had that soul to their music and with guitarist, John Connolly and Lowery providing a duel Rock/metal attack, add to that Vince Hornsby laying on that thick bouncing bass line to go along with the freak of nature on the drums and Vocals, Morgan Rose, you can see why they have so much respect from their peers and the love from their fans as if they were family.

As they continued their assault with Suffocate, Strong Arm Broken, and Forever, they had the crowd breaking up in mosh pits all over and bodies flying over heads nonstop. They played the classic song, Black that Witherspoon still sings with such passion. At one point, they had several members of other bands watching them tearing it up and David Draiman and Dan Donegan from Disturbed watching.

They ended the set with The End is Coming and the fan favorite, Face to Face. As they walked off, Rose stayed on and jumped into the crowd from the stage showing the young guys how to stage dive and Sevendust showed us all they can tear it up anywhere they place a stage.

All Photos Provided by Peter Lizano