Three Days Grace with My Darkest Days.

Venue (Riviera Theater--3/6):
Many venues in Chicago are converted theaters or former ballrooms like the Aragon. The Riviera is a smaller such building; while the capacity isn’t listed on their site I’d estimate it’s close to 2000 people at most. The floor itself looked like it had three tiers, which is rare and very useful for people who are shorter. A faded glory, the ceiling was once ornate and now the paint is pealing and chipping. The fake marble is perhaps the most well maintained part of the paint job. It’s clear that the building was not meant to house a concert as the merch. booth and ticking were burred in a corner. I encountered a curious anomaly when I went for water; the price of water is different once you’re on the floor than when you’re at the outside bar. (1$ inside versus 4$ outside) I didn’t see the bathrooms, but I’d expect nothing pleasant.

The sound system was out of balance, like with many smaller venues, the system was bass heavy, and the vocals were not very clear. Unlike many other smaller venues, there wasn’t much compensation for it. One thing I did enjoy about this venue was the fact that they had a spot explicitly railed off for people in wheel chairs. Not every venue does this and I find it very nice.

The Opener (My Darkest Days--3/6):
I had low expectations for these guys and they were met. This band sounded like someone who would open for the opener for Nickelback. They were fun to listen to but, crude and redundant, overall not worth buying an album from. I could predict most of their lyrics (usually something about “light it up” or something about girls). My Darkest days also weren’t the most precise when it comes to the technical work on the instruments. However, there was potential for them to become a radio band, perhaps something on par with Filter. It was easy to sing along and dance to but I found they were trying a bit to hard. The guitarist had decent amounts of talent and could work the crowd better than the frontman. Overall they were decent, but not great.


The Main Act (Three Days Grace--5/6):
This is the second time I’ve seen Three Days Grace live and they have yet to disappoint. Front-man Adam Gontier may not have a perfect voice, but he brings a level of energy few bands these days put forth. A second performance gave me the opportunity to appreciate the rest of the band, especially after My Darkest Days. Hearing that level of clarity and precision was a treat. Gontier loves his fans and they love him back. He is also fearless, in both his original work and his covers. I hadn’t heard three days grace cover anything before so when Gontier came out with Eminem’s “Lose yourself”-- a song of a clearly different genre from his own-- it was gutsy and he managed to pull it off brilliantly. Especially paired with “Home” the song’s ferocity was amplified wonderfully. He then went on to cover Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” which was pleasantly strange. I’ve commented on Goiter’s incredible stage presence before but even when he wasn’t the focus, I felt my eyes drawn to him. The best part of this energy is that he hasn’t grown arrogant about it. He’s still just Adam, there to do a rock show.

Some of the rest of the band could show off last night too. Drummer, Keyboardist, and backup vocalist Neil Sanderson, put on a several minute long drum machine solo, followed by a several minute long standard drum solo. Both solos were absolutely through the roof. Given how powerful Gontier is I hadn’t truly appreciated their drummer until this show. It was amazing. I’m truly impressed.

I am also impressed with the fact that Gontier still does a lot of the guitar work. Most bands where the lead man is also a guitarist you only really hear the lead man doing guitar work on the albums because of how hard it is to do both at once and still really perform. Gontier did, and did so very well. I appreciate his dedication to both aspects of his craft.

Overall, I continue to find three days grace a dynamic force on stage and in their album work. Gontier hinted that they are working on yet another album and I cannot wait to see what these people do next.