In celebration of summer 2017, Deftones and Rise Against have joined forces for an extensive co-headlining tour, produced by Live Nation. Taking along Thrice and Three Trapped Tigers, beginning on June 9th in Chicago, IL, the 21-stop tour runs through July 9th, ending in Tempe, AZ. Just a week in, on Tuesday, June 13th, one of this summer’s biggest co-headlining shows rolled into Wantagh, New York’s Northwell Health at Jones Beach Amphitheater. A 15,000-seat venue located on Zachs Bay, Jones Beach is to East Coast concert venues what the Red Sox are to Boston. Which is to say that if someone has never heard of the place, they do not love music!
With people still finding their way into the venue, first up was the instrumental Noise Rockers Three Trapped Tigers hailing from London, England. With two studio albums to their credit – their acclaimed 2011 debut, Route One Or Die, as well as 2016’s Silent Earthling – the trio has made fans throughout the industry, including such notable figures as Chino Moreno and Brian Eno turn heads. On this evening, Three Trapped Tigers – Keyboardist Tom Rogerson, Drummer Adam Betts, and Guitarist/Synths Matt Calvert – were in fine form to open the evening’s events.
Their short but incendiary set kicked off with “Engrams,” an intriguing exploration of sonics that borders on the dancy. They followed this with the cacophonous romp that is “1” and a dark foray into the world of the “Kraken.” The bizarrely racing noise scales of “Cramm” segued the trio into “Hemisphere,” a blend of tinkering noises and beautifully meandering guitar work. For their finale, the group leaned toward something a bit more hard-rocking with “11.” Still relatively new to some listener’s ears, Three Trapped Tigers’ trippy sound was the perfect start to the show.
Next up, and no strangers to touring, was Post-Hardcore Californians Thrice. With nine studio albums under their belts and a career that spans some nineteen years, Thrice – Vocalist/Guitarist Dustin Kensrue, Guitarist Teppei Teranishi, Bassist Eddie Breckenridge, and Drummer Riley Breckenridge – are a group of multi-instrumentalists whose music has run the gamut of sounds, always evolving. Coming back in 2015, following a hiatus, their most recent musical offering, 2016’s To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere . . . ., has re-excited their fanbase.
With the sun now going down, they kicked off their set with mid-tempo rocker, “Hurricane,” one of the singles from their most recent album. Infectious, heavy rocker “Silhouette” represented their 2003 seminal album, The Artist In the Ambulance, and moved flawlessly into the beautifully meandering “Of Dust and Nations,” off 2005’s Vheissu. Another new track, gritty rocker, “Black Honey,” met with great crowd reception as Thrice proved to Jones Beach why they are such a well-noted and respected band.
Their 2011 album Major/Minor’s sole representation came in the musical form of the slow burner “Yellow Belly” before two new tracks, “The Long Defeat” and “The Window,” showed impressive musicianship, grit, and some truly killer bass work from Eddie Breckenridge. They wrapped up their all-too-short set with Vheissu’s “The Earth Will Shake,” pulling no punches to rock out full-force for the beach crowd. All in all, the band provided a solid set full of superb musicianship and everything that any Thrice fan would expect.
Creating quite a buzz with Wolves, Vocalist/Guitarist Tim McIlrath, Lead Guitarist Zach Blair, Bassist Joe Principe, and Drummer Brandon Barnes kicked off their high octane set with one of their best-known offerings, eco-conscious rocker “Ready To Fall.” The audience were on the tip of their toes, and amped up as they chanted along “Now I’m standing on the rooftop ready to fall” with fists raised to the air. From here it was a steady acceleration forward with the fast-paced “The Good Left Undone,” heavy groover “Re-Education (Through Labor),” all the way through the rocking, crowd favorite “Satellite.”
Additionally, the brand new offering, the soaring rock stomp of “The Violence,” off Wolves, met with a good crowd reaction. This was before “Help Is on the Way” continued the melodic Rock approach and saw the assembled beach crowd singing-along once more. With their stellar set in full-swing, McIlrath decided to head to the barricades for the Punk grit of “Give It All” and infectious new offering “Welcome to the Breakdown.” With morale on a massive high, the band tackled the racing rocker “Survive.”
Having everyone’s heart pumping, McIlrath took a moment to dial it down a notch, taking up the acoustic guitar and stepping to center-stage solo for the beautifully melancholic ballad “People Live Here.” Wasting no time, the band kicked things back up to eleven with rocker “Wolves,” the title-track off their new disc. Keeping the energy high, arguably the band’s biggest hit to date, the frenetic plea of “Prayer of the Refugee” saw a truly amazing guitar solo and a massive audience sing-along. This continued for the band’s high energy two-song finale, crowd favorites “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” and “Savior,” as some of the most dedicated fans screamed for more.
From start to finish, Rise Against provided a set that was full of infectious energy and the crowd ate up every second of it. After the tour is done, Rise Against will continue on for a show with Of Mice & Men July 13th and The Wonder Years July 14th out in Los Angeles before touring abroad. Not to worry though, the guys will be back stateside come September with Pierce the Veil, so pick up tickets now.
As for the multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning Alternative Rockers out of Sacramento, California, they really require little introduction. A name that speaks for themselves, Deftones – Vocalist/Guitarist Chino Moreno, Guitarist Stephen Carpenter, Bassist Sergio Vega, Drummer Abe Cunningham, and Keyboardist Frank Delgado – have eight studio albums to their name, a reputation for powerful live performances, and a sound that keeps involving. Speaking of evolution, their most recent album, 2016’s Gore, is further proof of such.
This in mind, the band took the stage to calamitous applause and cheers, launching immediately into the raucous “Headup” with lights flashing and Moreno’s voice distorting the theater’s speakers. The fat bass groove of “My Own Summer (Shove It)” and “Lhabia” followed, representing the band’s earlier days (2005 and 1997, respectively). Atmospheric melodies adorned “Swerve City” and saw many of the audience members singing along. Meanwhile, the downtempo, sensual “Digital Bath,” off arguably one of the band’s best albums, 2000’s White Pony, was a massive hit with the beach-goers.
Later on, the aggressive Nu Metal of “Back to School (Mini Maggit)” had the crowd headbanging along with Moreno and co. With the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands, the band swiftly tackled the noise Rock of “Elite,” meandering melodies of “Phantom Bride” – off their most recent CD, Gore – and the dark groove of “You’ve Seen the Butcher.” Allowing the music to do much of the talking, 2012’s Koi No Yokan’s “Rosemary”came before one of Deftones’ biggest hits, “Change (In the House of Flies),” a song that brought the crowd toward ecstasy as the band rocked out with sensual atmospherics.
With the audience fully in their thrall, Moreno then counted down, asking everyone to get up for “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” before segueing into the catchy “Diamond Eyes,” providing a great sing-along opportunity. The intensity of “Rocket Skates” dialed up the crowd’s energy as fog and flashing lights flooded the stage. Then, giving way to darkness, the noise rose as a final goodnight to Deftones began with Prince’s “Purple Rain” playing over the speaks.
An amazing bill that is packed full of energetic Rock-N-Roll from varying approaches, Deftones, Rise Against, Thrice, and Three Trapped Tigers are offering fans diversity for their dollars. As for Deftones’ set, their energy has translated within the music and Moreno’s voice is as real, raw, and powerful as ever. An all around fun show, from the crazy instrumental madness of Three Trapped Tigers to Thrice’s soaring harmonies, to the social awareness and Punk grit of Rise Against to the Deftones truly distinctive sound, this is a tour to satisfy all sonic appetites.
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