Streamlined Summer Concert Review 2015

Date: August 17, 2015

Within a two week span, late July to early August offered a series of New Jersey/New York concerts that attracted just about everyone in the alternative and hard rock scene. As an avid listener of hard rock and alternative, I found that each of these concerts demonstrated some of the best double headliner decisions, with the pairing up of Marilyn Manson with Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones with Incubus, Slipknot with Lamb of God, and Primus doing a solo headline with Dinosaur Jr. opening. Out of all of the performances, I cannot say I was disappointed by any of the bands at all, whether I had seen them previously or not. All of the bands brought it their all, and gave New Jersey and New York the best hard rock shows possible.

As Marilyn Manson kicked off their show at PNC on July 29^th, he put on a phenomenal set which he changed up by just the right amount since the last time I saw him a couple months earlier. Smashing Pumpkins took the stage later that night, and having never seen them before I had no idea what to expect. Their emotional performance nearly brought me to tears, as all of the songs sounded almost exactly how they do on the albums. The next day, I headed to Pier 97 to see Primus at this beautiful concert venue located on the Hudson River. This being the third time seeing Primus, Les Claypool managed to amp up the weirdness factor significantly when I saw him this time. He brought out the strangest instruments, and as always he played the bass guitar in ways no one thought possible.

I took a break for a couple of days, and headed back to PNC on August 4^th to see the performances of Incubus and Deftones. Before the show, I was given the amazing opportunity to go backstage and interview Deftones about their tour, their upcoming album and what their recording process is like. It was amazing to see the individuals I had just interviewed a few hours before the show absolutely kill it onstage later that night. Their setlist was almost too good to be true, as they had somehow managed to play every single one of my favorite tracks. Incubus followed suit, and although they played a lot of new songs that I wasn't too familiar with, they definitely put on an amazing and captivating show. The next day, I made my way down to PNC again to see Slipknot for the second time. Now if you have never seen Slipknot, I definitely recommend that you do. The amount of effort and time that goes into their performances is astonishing, and even if you come into the show not being the biggest Slipknot fan, you will leave as a cult follower. Slipknot filled up the venue more than any other performance I saw, and the crowd was absolutely going nuts. From Marilyn Manson and Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, Deftones and Incubus, to Lamb of God and Slipknot –this summer has definitely been one of the best for hard rock and alternative concerts.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this review are the opinions of the writer alone. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WSOU, Seton Hall University, nor any of its affiliates.

Posted in: Show Review, Streamlined, WSOU Exclusive