Breaking Benjamin warmed up a chilly Honda Center with Staind, Daughtry, and Lakeview
On Sunday October 13th, 90’s hard rockers Breaking Benjamin and Staind brought a heavy metal co-headline tour to the Honda Center in Anaheim California. These two vocally distinct bands both had a string of modern rock radio hits throughout the late 90s and 2000’s and the nostalgia factor at this show was on high. The spacious Honda Center was nearly sold out for this concert and packed to the rafters with tons of middle aged rockers with kids in tow, and on this night the arena was quite chilly as the ice hockey rink beneath the floor cooled the building down considerably. The striking differences between these two headline bands was also very evident on this evening with lead singer Aaron Lewis of Staind shouting some strong and unmistakable political messages during his onstage comments, especially towards the end of his set, while Breaking Benjamin singer/guitarist Benjamin Burnley mostly thanked the crowd for their attendance and fandom of the band with his banter, thankfully ignoring any ongoing political battles.
Opening the show was a very interesting country/rock/rap hybrid band called Lakeview. The band was full of energy and clearly talented musicians. Their music is part heavy metal but with a country theme, yet the vocals have a hip hop and rap influence, definitely unique to say the least. Check out the song Home Team for a sample of this intriguing sound. This young band seems to be out on one of their first big tours and they put on an impressive performance opening for these bigger established arena bands. Up next was singer/guitarist Daughtry, another talented musician who blends multiple genres. Famous of course for his time on American Idol, the singer’s newer songs here all had a hard rock edge and sounded perfect for this lineup. The song Pieces was a standout with a catchy chorus, wicked guitar solo, and intense drumming. Daughtry’s belting vocals sounded fantastic with his signature powerful voice and intense delivery, and his band was equally talented performing a set that was really fun to watch.
Staind was up next and played a full fifteen song headline set of some of their greatest hits, mixed with some great new songs from their latest album 2023’s Confessions of The Fallen. The band sounded well-rehearsed on this long tour and were coming off a huge recent performance at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento. Lead guitarist Mike Mushok was a bundle of energy head banging franticly while churning out riff after heavy riff, bassist Johnny April laid down some tremendous thunderous bass lines, and drummer Sal Giancarelli was impressive behind a massive kit perched high at the rear of an expansive stage. Singer Aaron Lewis was as powerful as ever belting out his famous distinct voice on huge choruses and growling and singing heavy as well, he really sounded great on some of the band’s biggest hits. Songs like “Eyes Wide Open” “Outside” “So Far Away” and “It’s Been Awhile” are so fun to sing along to and got the entire Honda Center up on their feet and buzzing with excitement. However unfortunately, Staind’s singer/guitarist Aaron Lewis also decided to lean heavily into his right wing political views toward the end of the band’s set, shouting and ranting angrily about democratic candidates, his mic seemingly cut off in a very awkward end to an otherwise enjoyable musical experience. Perhaps a show at an arena in Southern California might not have been the best venue to express these views so strongly, but a lot of the crowd definitely cheered the singer and his remarks while many also loudly booed him, the moment was just painfully awkward and divided the otherwise happy crowd.
Headliners Breaking Benjamin thankfully finished the evening on a high note. The melodic heavy metal band, played a sixteen song set list full of hits and big sing-alongs. Opener “Failure” was an immediate punch to the gut with a powerful rhythm section, and other highlights of the set included songs like “So Cold” “Polyamorous” and closer “The Diary of Jane.” Lead singer Benjamin Burley had his son Cheech performing with him onstage which was a highlight, the young rocker seemed to be keeping in step with his dad quite well throughout the set both singing and playing guitar. The rest of the band was fantastic and bassist Aaron Bruch was outstanding on backup vocals. This concert really was a fun time with a ton of great melodic vocals and fun nostalgic metal music, here’s hoping Staind’s reunion is long lived and they can learn to get along with and inspire all their fans, much like Breaking Benjamin seems to do so well.
