Rockstar Uproar 2011

HELL YEAH!
By far one of the best shows I have been to. It was better than last year by far.

Basic breakdown:

Escape the Fate opened the main stage up and I am still saying I have no clue why. These guys were so lame and all of their songs seriously sounded the same. My friend said it best when he told me the only reason the singer is in that band is so he can drink and curse in public and be cheered on. I only clapped when they were leaving the stage. Their setlist:

10 Miles Wide
Issues
Day of Wreckoning
Gorgeous Nightmare
Liars and Monsters
This War is Ours
The Aftermath

Bullet for My Valentine hit the stage next and let me tell you... as a person who isn't the biggest fan I enjoyed them a lot. A whole lot. They gave a lot of energy and they had a really good sound. I recognized most of the songs they played because of radio and friends who like them but I didn't know the words or anything. They got the first pit of the night too so power to them. Their setlist:

Your Betrayal
Pleasure and Pain
Waking the Demon
The Last Fight
Guitar Solo
Scream Aim Fire
Tears Don't Fall
Alone

Seether followed BFMV. I was honestly disappointed with Seether. I am a big fan of theirs and have been since Disclaimer was released back when I was in middle school. I just love them. However, they didn't do it for me live. I don't know if it was their sound mix (because their instruments were way too fucking loud) or what but a lot just went wrong for me. I didn't care for their set as a whole, I thought they fiddled around too much in between songs (most in between seconds were filled with annoying guitar feedback) and it went by really fast. They were the only band to practically 100% neglect conversation with the audience. I think Shaun said "thank you" maybe 5 times and that was it. I'm sure they've been better and I might have just caught them on a bad night but still. Sad panda... Their setlist:

Gasoline
Fine Again
Broken
Tonight
Country Song
Rise Above This
Fake It
Remedy

After Seether came Three Days Grace. These guys rocked the house down. They were so interactive with the audience and really put on a great show. Their set was amazing, they didn't waste any time getting down to business and keeping the flow going, and they included an oldie that I absolutely love (Home from their first record). Not to mention them covering Lose Yourself by Eminem, haha. Their setlist:

The Good Life
Break
Pain
I Hate Everything About You
Home
Lose Yourself (Eminem cover)
Never too Late
Riot
Animal I Have Become

And finally... AVENGED SEVENFOLD! I know A7X gets a lot of shit from the "hardcore" metal fans, or whoever, but I think that is just jealousy because Avenged is doing everything they can't do, especially after the death of a drummer who happened to write a lot of the music and lyrics. I absolutely love them and they put on one hell of a show. Even if you aren't a big Avenged fan you would have a blast seeing them live. Their sound is great, the stage design is amazing (a flaming deathbat, ffs), and the energy they instill in the crowd is wonderful. You leave the show feeling like you know them and went just to hang out. It's great.
One thing I must admit is how disappointed I was in their set. Granted I saw them last year at Uproar 2010 when they played before Disturbed but that is precisely the point. With the exception of Almost Easy, God Hates Us, and So Far Away the set they gave us this year was the exact same as it was last year. I really was hoping for a different mix of songs especially with that fan voting thing they did to determine the Uproar setlists for 2011. I was checking out sets from different cities seeing that they were playing Second Heartbeat, Chapter Four, Seize the Day, MIA, and I Won't See You Tonight Part 1. How we got stuck hearing the same songs again in practically the same order, and how they chose Denver to waste 8-9 minutes on A Little Piece of Heaven, is beyond me. I'll put an asterisk to the 3 new songs in the setlist:

Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Beast and the Harlot
Welcome to the Family
Buried Alive
Afterlife
Not Ready to Die*
Scream*
A Little Piece of Heaven*
Bat Country
Unholy Confessions

I love Unholy Confessions but I am still sad that was the only song off Waking the Fallen that we got when some cities got 2 or 3. Almost everything else was off Nightmare or the self-titled album. Hopefully they come back to Denver again at some point and change up the setlist.


But as a whole so far I enjoy Uproar a little more than Mayhem. It has had two solid years where Mayhem totally floundered this year with that shitty lineup it had. Not to mention it starts later in the day so you aren't baking in the sun most of the time you're there. Pending a bad lineup or whatever I plan on attending again next year.
And I must say, watch out for rising food and drink prices at these venues. Comfort Dental Amphitheater is now charging $9.75 for a beer, $4.50 for water, and $9 for two slices of pizza. The specialty drinks (like frozen margaritas) are like $15, too.