Seether HOB Review
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
By Aaron Keker
HOUSE OF BLUES, Chicago – Last night Seether played for a packed House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois.
The evening commenced with hard-hitting performances by Beyond Words and then by Red.
As Red concluded their performance with an acoustic version of “Pieces” from the album End of Silence, the excitement started settling in.
About fifteen minutes later, the curtain rose and we were greeted with Shaun Morgan and the rest of Seether. Shaun belted out his first verse to “Gasoline” from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II and the concert commenced.
As Gasoline concluded they received a large ovation. However, the ovations would continue to escalate commencing with “Driven Under” and “Fine Again” from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II. They escalated further on “The Gift” from the album Karma and Effect, “Broken” from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II and “Remedy” from the album Karma and Effect. Not only were the ovations loud enough to be heard in the House of Blues restaurant below but also there were additional highlights of the evening.
Midpoint through Needles from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II, Shaun remarked that he wanted the audience to start jumping near the stage. As soon as he yelled, “jump”, the crowed started to jump and the ground shook like a 1.0 magnitude earthquake.
The 1.0 magnitude earthquake was surpassed later in Seether’s performance when they performed “Remedy.” The ground shook so profusely as the audience jumped up and down that it felt like a 3.0 magnitude earthquake that nearly knocked me out of my seat near the stage.
Another highlight of the evening was watching several audience members almost forcibly removed because they failed to acknowledge the earlier warning about no body surfing. The almost forcible removals occurred during “Your Bore” from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II and “The Gift.” However, lucky for them, security was very cordial with these individuals and exited them to the left side of the stage were they dispersed back into the crowd to never body surf again.
The end of the evening was imminently approaching when bassist, Dale Stewart, sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar. Everyone in the audience, including me anticipated what song would be performed next.
As Dale struck the first note and chord, Shaun belted out Seether’s melodramatic song “Broken.” As “Broken” concluded Seether received one of their largest ovations of the evening. However, the largest ovation occurred when Seether concluded their performance with “Remedy.”
About midpoint through “Remedy,” drummer John Humphrey threw up in the air his drumstick. I watched in amazement as he caught the stick without even missing a beat. Approximately one minute later the concert concluded and Seether received a roaring ovation that once again was heard in the restaurant below.
From the ovations, to the ground shaking, to the almost forcible removal of several audience members, to the drumstick flying up in the air, toBroken being stripped down acoustically, what an awesome evening to spend with Shaun and the guys from Seether. However, I wished they had played “Fade Away” from the albums Disclaimer and Disclaimer II and “Tied My Hands” from the album Fragile when they were called Saron Gas. Maybe next time?
If you are unfamiliar with Seether visit their website at www.seether.com or their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/seether and listen to their music. If it turns out that you really enjoy their music make sure you purchase their music at www.seether.com, iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody or any store that sells their music.
If you prefer more melodramatic melodies purchase their live acoustic album One Cold Night. One Cold Night sounds as good acoustically as the original album versions of these songs. Maybe even better?
For all of those loyal or even newer Seether fans make sure you purchase their new album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces at www.seether.com, iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody or any store that sells their music when it is released on October 23, 2007.
If you purchase Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces at www.seether.com, before Friday, October 19, 2007 you can receive an album and t-shirt combo for twenty dollars or if you prefer only the album it costs ten dollars. For those of you who prefer to have a digital copy then pre-order the album at iTunes and you get the bonus track “Quirk (Fake It Demo).”
Finally, I am looking forward to providing future coverage of Seether next time they perform in Chicago. If you are interested in watching Seether’s performance in a city near you visit their website or MySpace page for tour information. Maybe next time they will perform “Fade Away” and “Tied My Hands?” Below is the set list from Chicago.
Chicago Set List:
- “Gasoline”
- “Needles”
- “Burrito”
- “Fine Again”
- “Driven Under”
- “Your Bore”
- “Truth”
- “The Gift”
- “Like Suicide”
- “Because of Me”
- “Fuck It”
- “Nutshell”
- “Broken”
- “Fake It”
- “Remedy”
