Adrenaline Mob/ Silvertung / New Day Dawn / Ghost of War @ Hardtimes Hard Times Cafe & Cue, Hagerstown6/5/2014

I went to see Adrenaline Mob ($10)  up in Hard Times Cafe & Cue, Hagerstown.  It was further than expected, but it had been quite a while since the last show.  I saw Tom there, who had not seen Adrenaline Mob yet.  Mike Portnoy is not in Adrenaline Mob anymore, he was replaced by A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister Fame.  Russell Allen has had the more complex Symphony X, but they have been a bit quiet as of late.

I had never been to this venue, so I was expecting a lot less than what it actually was. After you pass the initial restaurant part, there is a huge back room with a bar, billiards tables, regular tables, and a stage.  The area was rather spacious and already pretty busy with people eating and drinking. I was wondering how many people would stay/ came for the band(s).  There were about 120 or so people there at the high point, but it was hard to get a count because of the large area (stage, bar, tables, rest of restaurant!) to cover.

As you can see, Chili Dogs got top billing

Merchandise wise, Adrenaline Mob had a couple shirts, their latest CD (no prices). New Day Dawn ($5 CD), Silvertung, and Ghost of War ($10 CD) all had some merch set up. Perhaps I should have gotten a CD or two?

As I got there, I saw Ghost of War tuning up and thought oh wow I must have missed someone... but apparently they were on first. Some sort of issues were had, and everything seemed to be about 1 hr late, based on the times I saw on the settimes sheet at the sound board.

Ghost of War went on and sounded very good, but not loud enough. Apart from that, I enjoyed their heavy sound and wailing vocals. I immediately appreciated the light show and the remarkably clear sound system.  The Ghost of War band sounded very good, but perhaps not as brutal in an encompassing (or smaller) place like Empire.  They played mostly originals, and this is definitely the cleanest that I have heard them.  I think the crowd was still waking up because they were appreciative but not very enthusiastic until the Dream Theater cover.  Looking forward to seeing these guys again, as last time was solid as well, and will do again- before opening for Grim Reaper soon, but I wonder if they will change up their set at all?

New Day Dawn from New Jersey was on next. I'd never seen then, and the one song I briefly heard on yubtub was not having me pumped. Thankfully, they pleasantly surprised me.  Their sound was a bit softer than Ghost of War, with some short heavy parts on a few songs. Their singer really impressed me with her rather powerful voice- it reminded me of Heart in the strength of her voice and because they had guitars, but it was a bit different.  Their simpler, stripped down sound really worked, for the most part. Nothing was too loud or noisy and plenty of opportunities for high notes, and the lyrics all were pretty clear. I didn't dig all their songs, but was decently entertained  throughout the whole set.  They had one song (the very aptly titled "Christina's Song") that was dedicated/cowritten by a fan, who was in attendance and the singer met her later on (for the first time), so I thought that very personal connection was unique.

Apparently Silvertung was very over with the crowd

Silvertung, whom I've heard about but never seen, was up next and things got noticeably louder.  The crowd definitely came alive for them, and the majority of them seemed pretty pumped and even were singing along (!!).  That type of energy certainly helps me get into the performance, even if I don't think the music is that great.  These guys were very tight and professional, I was pretty impressed with that. I thought their playing was pretty spotless, but that their music/writing was a bit lacking.  That didn't mean I didn't enjoy their performance, however. They pleased the crowd and sounded good- no complaints about that.  They had a girl from the venue on stage at one point and I'm sure she (Grace) was rather embarrassed about being... requested... to stay on stage for a song after they distributed some sort of shots to some lucky crowd members.

The Mob is BACK

Adrenaline Mob finally took the stage to some taped intro and the crowd was clearly still awake.  I for one was pumped, and the rest of the crowd only enhanced it. It seemed like everyone was shouting and cheering, but maybe they turned up the volume, too. Bassist John Moyer (Disturbed), guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer A.J.Pero (Twisted Sister) took their places before Sir Russell Allen stormed to the front of the stage where his brass knuckles microphone was awaiting.  The crowd was pretty ape over them, and Mike Orlando in particular was hamming it up with some pretty silly faces and over-dramatic exaggerations while playing his guitar.  After their first song I was pretty convinced I made the right choice to come out for this show.

Russell pumped

The entire Mob sounded  pretty great, and there were no real issues. The crowd sounded pretty into it, but I was headbanging for 80% of the set, so I may not have been able to accurately report!  The band (esp Russell Allen) sounded pretty badass.  Mike Orlando still seemed a bit...trying too hard, and I can neither complain nor rave about John Moyer.  A.J. Pero sounded nice and loud, and of course my man crush Sir Russell Allen was  excellent.  But as a whole, I think they all worked pretty well together.  They were very appreciative of the crowd, and pointed out some people who helped them out earlier, as they apparently had more car trouble this day and some people helped them out.  Russell, who did the majority of the talking, seemed rather moved by this and really got the crowd pumped with his enthusiasm.

Yes, we are feeling the Adrenaline

7 out of 11 songs were from their new album, which was pretty surprising, with only 2 from their other albums (including 2 covers).  They had a short set (1 hr), but they pretty much powered thru every song and really didn't give the crowd much of a break.  I would have liked to hear more songs of course, but it was nice hearing the new songs live.  I could have done without the drum solo, but I guess the rest of the guys needed a break.  They ended the adrenalizing set with a pair of covers ("High Wire", "Mob Rules"), which were received rather excellently (esp that Badlands one, YUS).   I of course thought it was a bit "Manowar" for them to play several songs with "Adrenaline" or "Mob" in their titles ("Feel...", "Mob Rules", "Mob is Back"). My neck is a little sore from the night still.

I was about as pumped as Mike (not Tony)  Orlando was during this solo

Overall it was a pretty fun time, tho I was annoyed by the far nature of it. It took quite a while to get there, and things ran late. I think it will take an exceptional act next time to make the trip up on a work day.  



Next show: Black Star Riders in Winchester, VA

Photos

The venue and merch
Ghost of War
New Day Dawn
Silvertung
THE MOB IS BACK
A-MOB- Rusell, John, and Mike
Sir Russell Allen
ADRENALINE FELT
THE MOB RULES

Setlists

Ghost of War(8:36-9:10)

• Heavens Burning
• Falling Into Eternity
• Beautiful Lies
• Shadow of a memory
• Pull Me Under (Dream Theater cover)
• Only Death is Real

New Day Dawn (9:30- 10:07)

• Run Away?
• Fire
• Paralyzed
• Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
• You Are My Everything
• Christina's Song
• Whatever it Takes

Silvertung (10:30-11:04)

• Can't Slow Me Down
• ? (Control of me?)
• I Don't Care
• Daddy's Little Girl
• Deja Vu
• Never Too Late
• Coming Alive

Adrenaline Mob (11:25- 12:28)

• Mob is Back
• Let It Go
• Dearly Departed
• Men of Honor
• Drum solo
• Hitting the Wall
• Indifferent
• Come on Get Up
• Judgement Day
• Feel the Adrenaline
• 
  
• High Wire (Badlands cover)
• Mob Rules (Black Sabbath cover)