Disturbed - Live from Alexandra Palace
Disturbed - Live from Alexandra Palace
© Copyright Stewart Marsden
Alexandra Palace affectionately known as Ally Pally has everything you could need for a great day out. The Grade II listed Victorian building, built in 1873, has survived 2 World Wars and 2 massive fires. In 1935, it became the birth place for BBC Television. The grounds are beautiful and offer stunning vistas over the city skyline. Alexandra palace is a great venue, and adds a certain majesty to any event. Ally Pally has played host to all kinds of attractions, darts, a company night out, the bars, a walk in park grounds, a picnic on a summers afternoon; but today it was the guys from Chicago, Disturbed on their first UK tour since December 2010, I was very grateful to Warner Brothers Music for letting me in to capture the performance.
To kick-start the evening were Welsh heavy metal band Skindred. Instantly taking the night into top gear with their finest material and guaranteed to be crowd-pleasers. The front man Benji made their performance an incredibly fun experience with some fantastic crowd interaction; and the audience more than happily participated when called upon to do so. Their music style mixes alternative rock, and reggae, with so many other influences infused into their music its hard to categorise them, so why bother,
I was surprised to see such a high caliber outfit as Skindred in a supporting role. “Warning” was a fantastic track to end their set with, their performance left energy levels high has the audience awaited the headline act; having just witnessed a performance more than worthy of any headline bill. The band members are all fantastic performers as well as great musicians.
The words “ARE YOU READY” strobe on the big screen at the back of the stage, and the music kicks in. The perfect track to start any gig. “GET UP” strobes on the screen. Disturbed are on stage in full swing. David Draiman’s unique vocals echo around the great hall riding on Dan Donegan’s riffs as they both roam the stage enthusing the audience singling out as many fans as they can with eye contact and pointing gestures. Photographers in the pit were all given warning about the pyrotechnics before Disturbed took to the stage; the flames were going off right from the outset.
Disturbed know how to make an entrance!
Disturbed live give an epic performance, their songs seem somehow much larger than they do on CD. They have an unrelenting force with which they deliver their studio quality live music. The audience savor every moment, their hands in the air, and the few obligatory devil horns and of course mobile phones held high by those recording the event instead of enjoying it.
Disturbed played all their well known classics and a few more, to a very hungry crowd who sang along with all of them, it was as if they had accidently brought with them their own backing choir of a few thousand strong. It was an incredible night. Land of confusion, the Genesis cover went down a storm. And of course David Draiman’s powerful and emotional delivery of The Sound of Silence was a real show stopper, it was like he was singing it especially for his Mum.
With the main set ended and the band back for an encore, the big screen displays a message on a topic that is too often swept under the rug. The subject that effects more people than any of us could ever realise. That is the one with devastating impact, mental health depression, anxiety and suicide. The Samaritans help line phone number was displayed on all the screens. David Draiman was clearly very emotional talking about mates like Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and people he has lost. There was a montage of video clips of the band in the dawn of their journey hanging out with some of their absent friends who are sadly missed, not only by those who knew them but those who appreciated their talents. The songs singled out for their encore took on a new, more personal and deeper meaning being played to this backdrop.
Music can be a powerful therapy sometimes better than any medicine, as someone who has had mental health problems to hear such humble and compassionate words from a band that genuinely care about their fans was a powerful note to end the night on.
Sometimes darkness can show you the light.
Look after your loved ones.
Thanks again Warner Brothers Music
Setlist:
Are You Ready
Prayer
The Vengeful One
The Animal
Stupify
Voices
Land of Confusion
Ten Thousand Fists
The Game
No More
A Reason to Fight
Hold On to Memories
The Sound of Silence
Indestructible
Inside The Fire
The Light
Stricken
Down With the Sickness
