UPROAR 2010 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

August 17th, 2010 is a day that will live on in my memory foREVer.

Staying overnight with my brother at my best friend's house, I woke up at seven in the morning. Living only an hour away from Minneapolis, I meant to sleep in until eight, get ready, and be able to leave by ten to go pick up another friend in St. Paul. My body seemed to disagree with that idea and so I found myself awake and already extremely excited at seven.

The ride to St. Paul was quiet for about the first ten minutes, and then we (my brother, my best friend, and our good friend Matt) decided we needed to start listening to some A7X. I easily slid into my excited state yet again and soon enough my brother and I were punching each other in the back seat, or swatting each other with the pink fly swatter we found in the trunk. When we reached St. Paul we picked up our friend Nate and off we went for the Target Center.

I've lived in the western Wisconsin area my entire life, with the Twin Cities literally right across the St. Croix River. With that said, I'm embarrassed to reveal that I had never been in downtown Minneapolis or the Target Center before yesterday. We arrived in town at noon and proceeded to walk around the venue, numerous buses already surrounding the arena. Our group - made up of myself, my brother Dayne, my best friend Darian, and our two guy friends Nate and Matt - must've walked a good two miles, walking three circles around the Target Center and then exploring the outside of the new Target Field. We were trying to find the outdoor festival, which was supposed to be located only three blocks from the Target Center, but gave up and opted to jump in line for the main show.

We were literally the sixth people in line and we quickly befriended the Avenged fans both in front and behind us, taking trips to find bathrooms and playing cards to keep us occupied during our five hour wait. I didn't get to see either of them, but Dave from Disturbed was spotted outside the Target Center and he signed a few autographs, and Zacky Vengeance apparently was camped out in the Starbucks across the street for a little while. The man is a caffeine fiend, so I wasn't surprised to hear that little bit of information ;)

The time seemed to go by as slowly as possible, but finally at around four thirty they started taking tickets and giving out wristbands. In a turn of very good fortune, the tickets I insisted we buy on pre-sale way back in June ended up giving us early access to the venue, and everyone who had the laminated UPROAR tickets, along with the VIP tickets, was allowed in first. I received my wristband, gathered my friends, and went running for the arena.

Being the dedicated Avenged fan that I am, I ran straight for the gate. Zack's side was already covered so my friends and I bolted for Brian's side of the stage. We were literally two feet from the stage - that's how close the gate was set up. Myself and a few others recognized Jason Berry and called out to him; he gave us a wave and a smile in return before resuming helping set up behind the scenes. A little while later, one of the security guards walked by and randomly stopped in front of Darian, asked her if she wanted a guitar pick, and handed it to her. It turns out that it was one of Zack's picks, with the VU Zomby Skull on one side and Vengeance University on the other. I'm still envious of her.

Halestorm was the first band to perform and after Avenged, they are my favorite performance of the night. Lizzy Hale started the show doing a solo, singing the chorus from "It's Not You". I'm a big Halestorm fan and I've always adored Lizzy's vocal power, but DAMN that woman is a beast! She is by far the most powerful female singer I have ever heard, and I'm so glad that I was front row to see her and the band perform. Her little brother, whose name I can't remember at the moment, is the drummer and he did a quick solo. The other members of the band joined in on drums made of garbage cans, which was quite entertaining. During this little interlude, M. Shadows made an appearance at the side of the stage, along with Dave Draiman. Matt was too busy talking to someone, but Dave was looking into the crowd and gave me the devil horns and a nod when I did the same to him.

Stone Sour followed Halestorm. I've never been a big SS fan, so I didn't know very many of the songs. They were a very energetic band, though, and Corey Taylor is a great front man. I have two great pictures of their set that absolutely make my day: Corey giving one of the guitarists a 'love tap' on the ass, and the bassist sticking his tongue out at me. He knew I was taking the picture and after I did so, he looked at me to see if I got the shot and when I nodded and gave him the thumbs up he smiled, laughed, and walked back to his side of the stage. Overall, even though I'm not very familiar with Stone Sour's music, they were a great addition to the night.

Almost immediately after Stone Sour walked off stage, a black curtain was dropped in front of the crowd. We all knew what this meant: Avenged Sevenfold's stage was being set up. Security did a pretty good job at keeping the curtain away from us after we all grabbed it and tried to sneak a peek at what was going on. Instead of trying to tear the curtain away from the guard, I started looking into the hall where numerous people could be seen walking back and forth backstage. I saw Vinnie Paul of Hellyeah walk by at one point, but what really got me excited was seeing Mike fucking Portnoy walk by. Seeing him after seeing Matt really made it sink in that I was going to see them perform again.

I don't know how long we waited, but eventually the house lights went down. The entire arena started chanting 'Sevenfold! Sevenfold! Sevenfold!' and I spotted Synyster Gates walking towards the stage. The black curtain was dropped on to the front row and the stage was revealed. I won't go into detail of the introduction or the set-up since I don't want to ruin the experience for those who still yet have to see Avenged on UPROAR, but I will tell you that it is FREAKING AMAZING. Whatever you do, no matter where you are sitting, DO NOT miss the intro. (If you're not able to see Avenged on UPROAR, just drop me a comment on my profile and I'll fill you on everything.)

Since my friends and I claimed the audience's right side of the stage, Brian was stood in front of me almost the whole set. It wasn't a bad sight, I have to admit ;) My perversion aside, the performance was fantastic. There was a lot of pyro, flashing lights, and fog - something Avenged Sevenfold fans who have seen the band before are very familiar with. I have to say, though, that this tour seems to take the cake on pyrotechnics. It was absolutely mind-blowing.

A few funny moments of the set:

Johnny tried to steal Brian's mic during one of the songs. Brian, who had been center stage for a solo, returned, giving Johnny a 'Seriously, dude?' look and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder telling Johnny to leave. A while later, Johnny stood on the ego-riser with Brian and stared at him until Brian noticed and made a face at him.

Someone threw size 16 granny panties on stage. Brian picked them up, laid them on his mic stand with a smile, picked them up again, grimaced, and shook his finger at the crowd with a smile.

Matt mentioned 93X, the local rock radio station. He is very good friends with Pablo, one of the radio personalities. It turns out that Matt made a bet that the Lakers would win playoffs, and Pablo bet otherwise. Pablo lost, and told us the moral of the story is not to gamble against M. Shadows. He then put on a Lakers jersey onstage and let people take pictures before handing Matt his cash. He gave a shout out for the guys, having the crowd cheer, and also a shout out for Jimmy. I don't even remember how many times the crowd broke into the chant 'Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy' last night. It was beautiful, though.

Sadly, all good things must end, and that means the set. I've listed the set list below, and I have to admit, I enjoyed having three fast songs end the show. After they finished Almost Easy the guys all started making their exit, beginning with Johnny striking his last chord and dropping his bass to the ground. He then came back to toss out picks with Zack and Brian. Speaking of Brian, I got to drink his beer. Not in the normal way, oh hell no. He spit his beer all over me and I got a nice mouthful of it. Next time I see him I'll have to tell him his Miller Light is quite tasty. When he left to go over to the left side of the stage, Zack switched over to us and tossed out a few picks (one of which hit my brother in the head) and blew us kisses. I returned the gesture and he smiled, waving at me and I of course did the same. The guys all left and walked off stage, the lights going down as they did so. The crowd chanted for another song and we could see the guys standing backstage, but they weren't able to do another. Disturbed still had to play.

I wish I could say I watched Disturbed's set, but I didn't. After Avenged I wasn't feeling well and Darian and my brother went with me to sit out in the lobby. We could still hear them, however, and they sounded amazing. I like Disturbed and I wish I'd seen them, but I'm not heartbroken. And if I must be brutally honest, I think Avenged should have headlined. So many people actually left the Target Center after Avenged, it wasn't even funny. Disturbed are good guys, though. I like them very much, and I'm very thankful that the bassist came out to sign our stuff after the show (he signed my shirt).

Speaking of after the show, our little group waited around outside until about 12:30 to see Avenged. We saw plenty of Sneaky Pete, Walter Rice, and Matt Berry. We then moved locations and saw Johnny Christ and Zack get on the bus. They were very cool, and although my friends and I didn't get to talk to them, it was still great to see them after the show. I only saw Brian for a moment while he was standing inside the building but neither he nor Matt came outside before we had to leave. Hopefully there is a next time for these guys in the Twin Cities and I will get the chance to meet them. As for right now, I'm just grateful they are on tour at all, and that Minneapolis was their first stop.

Mike Portnoy is truly a god-send. He did an amazing job learning Jimmy's parts and playing them as faithfully as possible. In my eyes, he is a part of the Avenged Sevenfold family. Even so, seeing the band live without Jimmy behind the drums will never be the same. If they choose to continue as a band I will wholeheartedly support their newest brother, because I know they would never bring someone into the band to 'fill' Jimmy's spot if he wasn't important to them. If they decide to continue as a band but don't release an album or tour for the next ten years, I'll support them. If they choose to lay Avenged Sevenfold to rest, I'll support that decision as well. The fact of the matter is, I will always be there for the men of Avenged Sevenfold, no matter the turns their careers take. I am Deathbat loyal foREVer.

- Heather, August 18th, 2010

Avenged Sevenfold's UPROAR set list - Minneapolis, MN

Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Welcome To The Family
Beast and The Harlot
Buried Alive
So Far Away
Afterlife
God Hates Us
Unholy Confessions
Almost Easy