The current single “Price to Play” was next which was a definite crowd pleaser. A few songs later they pause to intro “Layne” a song that Lewis explains is in memory of Layne Staley of Alice In Chains. The song sounds incredibly like Alice In Chains and Lewis sings of a person who found so much hope in the words sung by Staley. It is an incredible tribute song and seemed very heart felt.

In “Epiphany” Lewis finally picked up his acoustic guitar and displayed his talent not only as a singer but as a musician also. Lewis playing his acoustic is a site we have all seen in pictures or on MTV, but it was still one of the most awesome moments of the night. There is no picture or video that will ever do it justice after seeing him play it live.

A song that is destined to become an encore is “Zoe Jane.” This is a song written for Lewis’ daughter. He performs this song with such emotion that it reaches out and touches you. Give this song a little time and it’ll be the song that has lighters waiving in the air and the crowd chanting along. On this given night however, “Outside” seemed to be the crowd favorite. The voice of the crowd rivaled that of the PA as lighters, cell phones and arms raised into the air.

The final song of the evening was “It’s Been Awhile.” The song everyone had been waiting all night to hear. It was the perfect closing song as it calmed the crowd and allowed them to get whatever energy they had left out of their system.

This was a killer concert. The energy and emotion that the entire band put forth was amazing. The way everything came together, the words, the movements, the emotions… Staind worked together like a well-oiled machine. Nothing was out of synch. Throughout the entire show you could look over at Mike and he was going insane on those guitars. He is incredible. Johnny seemed to stay calm throughout most of the show but that just makes him more mysterious and he never missed a beat. Jon is an outstanding drummer who beat those drums like a wicked stepchild. Aaron what more could a band want out of a front man. The entire night was great. The lighting was spectacular, some of the best lighting I’ve seen, and it played a major role in the emotion of each song.

Opening for Staind was Cold. In my opinion Cold is ready to be headlining. They put together a great show. A little shorter than I had hoped for but altogether it rocked. They put forth an enormous amount of energy and effort and are well on their way to great things. They kicked off their set with “Gone Away” which got the crowd warmed up.

The song of the night for them was “Suffocate” which is a great song on their new album but live it totally gave me chills. I was a little lost on “Stupid Girl,” it sounded a lot different live then I had previously heard. It wasn’t a bad change, just unexpected. Aaron Lewis made a guest appearance on “Bleed” which really got the crowd hyped up and ready to rock.

They closed out their set with “Just Got Wicked.” At one point Scooter jumped off the stage and rushed the barricade. The crowd went crazy and security scrambled. He got the crowd involved in a sing along, until he was ushered away by roadies and security. Their entire set rocked and I hope to see them headlining their own tour soon.