Last Call For Metal Shows in Detroit for 2011

When you hit that mid-December point every year, the concert calendar gets a bit thin and people actually expect you to hang out with your family. But for someone like me, I try and resist the temptation to call it a concert year for long as possible. The weekend of December 16^th provided a last gasp for concerts in 2011 for Detroit hard rock and metal fans before we go into a few week hibernation. It was obvious I wasn’t the only one gauging by the reaction of the crowds at the shows as both the Five Finger Death Punch show at Compuware Arena and the Devil Wears Prada show at the Royal Oak Theater were either near or at capacity.
But here are my thoughts of both the shows that hit Detroit this past weekend:

Five Finger Death Punch @ Compuware Arena- Dec. 16^th: I remember seeing these guys at the Ritz in Warren four years ago playing to about 300 people. Fast forward to late 2011 and the band nearly sells out a 5,000 seat arena and delivers their brand of high RPM hard rock. For the band’s 75 minute set, the band obviously had been watching a lot of their metal ancestors to put on a fast paced, big arena rock show. Starting off with their big single from their “American Capitalist” album, “Under And Over It”, FFDP didn’t let up in their set and provide too many dull moments. Whether it was older cuts like “White Knuckles” to the cover of “Bad Company”, the band is starting to master their surroundings and look the part of a major arena force for years to come. Songs like “Hard to See” and “Ashes” fit well in their new settings and the riffs and rhythm section provide that full bodied sound.

I know I’ve been hot or cold on this band in the past and there is still something that doesn’t settle with me right about this band- I’ll leave that open for your interpretation- but if they are the surging arena rock band of the future, I guess things could be worse- way worse. But guys, I know your album is called “American Capitalist”, but you don’t need images of every major company flashing on the big screen during your set- we’ve got TV and movies to already do that.

The Devil Wears Prada @ Royal Oak Theater- Dec. 17^th: It was the second to last night for this tour when it descended into a way packed crowd of about 1,700 into Royal Oak. After a lackluster set from For Today, a frantically paced set from Enter Shikari and punishing set from Whitechapel, the Devil Wears Prada walloped the crowd in their 75 minute set. Delivering on the title track of the band’s new “Dead Throne” album to start things off, it had the kids flying around the pits. The band frontloaded the set, playing popular cuts like “Saffafras” and “Outnumbered” and proved that the band is starting to make their way out of the sea of sound-alikes and get heavier in a time where a lot of the bands in their genre are either breaking up or softening their material a bit.

To this writer, even though TDWP put together a solid set, they may have been upstaged by the Brits in Enter Shikari. With their next album due out January 10^th, their electronic-punk-hardcore aesthetic sounded like a breath of fresh air at times, especially since For Today spent half their set going off on a hardcore religious sermon, which some of the fans bought into while making others rolls their eyes with the frequency of the preaching. But Enter Shikari set up the other bands quite nicely and the show provided good closure to a busy year for metal shows in Detroit.

So, we’ll take a few weeks off from shows in Detroit at least- catch me in Cleveland for a few shows around New Year’s- and we’ll see ya at In Flames in Royal Oak on January 13^th. Word to the wise, just no drinking in the parking structures. Royal Oak PD doesn’t seem to like that much. Later!