Three Days Grace + 10 Years @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London: Metal-Rules.com
Forum O2 Kentish Town
September 15, 2022
Review and photographs by Dovalde Gaidelionyte
www.instagram.com/dova_photography/
North London is buzzing again. The O2 Forum in Kentish Town fills with people for a sold-out event from two big names in alternative rock – 10 Years and the night’s headliners, Three Days Grace.
The crowded place was filled with chatter and anticipation as 10 years, an American alternative metal band formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999, appeared on stage. At the moment the band has 3 official members – Brian Vodinh on lead guitar, Matt Wantland on rhythm guitar and Jesse Hasek being the lead vocalist, accompanied by 2 session members – Luke Narey on drums and Chad Grennor on bass . Personally, I’ve never heard this band before, so I was quite interested to hear what they sound like.
The masked Jesse Hasek appeared in front of the crowd and the show began. The band started with their 2008 song “Russian Roulette” and were greeted with cheers from their fans. Other songs followed from their previous albums and all seemed to be very well received by the crowd. From what I’ve heard so far, it would definitely fall under the description of this classic alternative rock: nice vocals, a little sad lyrics and a pretty smooth sound overall.
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Between their previous premieres, fans got a chance to hear something new, a song released in 2022: “The Optimist,” which drove people crazy. The band went on to cover one of Nirvana’s most famous songs, “Heart-Shaped Box”, which probably had the whole room singing (myself included). They started pissing fans off for the main act and you could hear they were excited. 10 years continued with the same energy with which they started the show and it was obvious that they are professionals in the scene.
They ended their performance by once again teasing the crowd for Three Days Grace and you could hear hints of what song the band might start with, raising the anticipation even further.
10 year set list:
- Russian roulette
- catacombs
- fix me
- It’s time (voracious)
- Dead in the water
- The Optimist
- Heart-shaped box (Nirvana cover)
- Knives
- Novacaine
- Wasteland
- shoot it
The buzz in the room continued and it seemed like everyone was there and ready for the main band of the night. I won’t lie, Three days Grace have been on my list for quite a long time having been listening to them for about a dozen years. Knowing that the lead singer had changed made me a little dubious, as well as the fact that it had been ages since I had heard them. But there I was, curious and excited!
Currently, the band has 2 original members: Brad Walst (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Neil Sanderson (drums, backing vocals) along with two members who joined in 2013: Barry Stock (lead guitar) and Matt Walst (vocals). major) . With their new lead singer, they have released 3 albums, the third of which was only released this year.
The band was greeted with screams, screams and applause and there they were, jumping in with “So Called Life”. Even though the song is relatively new, the audience sang right from the start. The band didn’t give them time to catch their breath and hopped on their most popular and well-known songs like “Animal I Have Become” and fan favorite “Pain,” and the audience went wild. Matt Walst introduced his fellow band members and carried on with endless energy. They played a few more tracks from the albums released after the singers changed but clearly the vast majority were from the Adam Gontier era.
About halfway through the performance, the atmosphere changed and the band brought chairs and gave up the pedals to surprise their fans with two songs performed acoustically. The hall was lit by lighters and the audience sang a few ballads. And that wasn’t the only surprise Three Days Grace had prepared for the people. Moments later, two girls from the audience were picked, introduced themselves, and soon sang alongside Matt on another fan favorite, “Just Like You.” Both girls seemed to be having fun with the band they love and will likely cherish this moment forever.
Later that night, the crowdsurfing started happening and Matt was encouraging the audience to get even wilder, and they sure did!
The band was extremely grateful to everyone who gathered there and probably their most popular song, “I Hate Everything About You”, started playing and I couldn’t see anyone not singing to it, even security from the stage seems to be having the time of their lives. A short break after that and the band returned for the final two songs. “Riot” ended this amazing show, the band thanked everyone and left as the crowd still cheered and cheered.
Even though this tour is named after their last release, “The Explosions”, nearly all of the songs were from previous releases, recorded with their original vocalist. After all, people are coming to see a band they probably listened to years ago and were more attached to those songs, with lyrics they know by heart. This concert turned out better than I expected and I was completely overwhelmed by this experience which sent me back to those teenage years.
Three Days Grace Setlist:
- The so called life
- The animal that I have become
- House
- Pain
- To break
- The mountain
- Neurotic
- Pain killer
- The high road (acoustic)
- World So Cold (acoustic)
- just like you
- The hour of death
- The good life
- Lifetime
- I hate everything about you
Bis: - Never too late
- Riot
