All right, back from the concert early, but it started early. Around 6:30 or so. First off, the greatest phrase in life at times is free x. Well, for me today, that phrase is free parking. Usually the HOB would validate parking to get a free hour or two, but the people say don't worry about it, the gates are going to be open, just drive through and parking is free today. Don't know why, but who cares, I'll take it over paying $15.00.
For my spot today, well, since I would not want to make the same mistake for a Nothing More show in 2019 where I was in the 5th row and I got caught in a lot of pushing, crowd-surfing, and pits nearby during the support bands. It was a great atmosphere to be in, but my body can only handle so much, so I go with the usual spot at the HOB and be on the rail next to the soundboard in the back. Don't have to worry about getting trapped in pits or having to move around to get a clear sight behind tall people. I rather watch the chaos of the crowd than be part of it.
As for the bands. Eva Under Fire was ok. The band lost me forever when the guitarist tried to get a "Quack" chant going since they are in Anaheim, home of the Ducks.... I can be petty like that. Thankfully, that reaction were not as loud, so whatever.
As for Atreyu, people were sorta excited for them, but during "The Time is Now," the lead singer decided to walk around the venue through the crowd and high-fiving and fist-bumping everyone in sight, including the people in the back and where the bar nearby was at. From then on, everybody was jacked. Some mosh pits, some crowdsurfing, a lot of middle fingers in the air, etc. Great performance and I was glad to see them in a packaged tour since I probably wouldn't have gone to their own shows otherwise.
As for Nothing More, a solid performance as always from them. They've upped the ante a bit in their lights production. Their vocalist, Jonny Hawkins, brings a lot of energy and he's still shirtless and shoeless and sometimes stands on this interesting contraption that sometimes acts as a drum kit. Setlist was all right. Pretty much stuff I heard when I saw them in 2019 plus two new songs for an upcoming album. Crowd was into them and still somewhat packed despite Asking Alexandria having to pull out at the last minute and even after the Atreyu set where some people left. Great to see a band like them playing a bigger venue almost twice the size than where they played in 2019 in front of like 1,000 people and had three other support bands behind them. I recommend them.
Now for the sad news, sadly, they only played 70 minutes. I wished they played more and I think they got enough material to play 90 minutes. I question how long they would have played if Asking Alexandria was still on the bill. For today, it was Eva under Fire for 30 minutes, Atreyu had 45 minutes, and Nothing More had 70 minutes. As a result, the show ended at 10:00 PM. No matter, with parking being free today surprisingly, $35.00 for the ticket and almost two hours of good music I was really invested in, it's worth it.