The night started with me being fashionably late like usual. I just can’t get my ass out of bed before 4 pm anymore. But we arrived at the “Comfort Dental Amphitheater” (Fiddlers Green) just in time to see SevenDust headlining the second stage.

The stage was oddly enough set up in the middle of the street right under the “Greenwood Plaza Boulevard” Sign. In an inflatable stage none the less. The grounds were dark and it was difficult to find our way around. But we made our way through all the t-shirt and drink vendors and ended up standing in the street towards the back, watching SevenDust rock the shit out of this small inflatable stage. And wondering to myself why this powerhouse band is not on the main stage?
Lajon Witherspoon (the singer) jumping around on stage like a mad man, getting the crowd going hard with his powerful stage presence and performance. Morgan Rose standing up as he plays his drum kit to further inspire the crowd to mayhem and uproar, with John Connolly standing on the edge of the tiny drum lift tearing up rifts on his guitar while jumping and thrashing around.
One after another people stumbled out of the pit area in the dark trying to escape the madness that was unfolding.
It’s been my experience that at Fiddlers Green the sickest mosh pit is always at the second stage, if they have one. That’s the hard core pit fore the old school boys who don’t mind being knocked down on pavement and slammed into street barricades and chain link fence. More like a cage fight set to live metal music than a concert. But just as equally entertaining!
We watched the rest of the show, then filtered down with the rest of the sheeple to the second stage were we purchased overpriced beverages in plastic bottles, (so we wont hurt our selves) and watched as a man was hauled out hand cuffed behind his back and laid face down on the concrete next to the wall. He writhed around in drunken uncomfortable madness, only making his situation worse. We walked down the giant sized stair case and made our way to our seats, row FF seats 130 and 131. Pretty good seats but very far to the right. I would have liked a better view of the stage. Three days Grace was already in progress and they were making the crowd go crazy. Their stage presence was phenomenal! An outstanding performance. Adam Gontier lead vocals and guitar got the crowd going big time by letting everyone know that they had been asked not to play on of their hit songs “Riot”. He lead the crowd on to believe that they would not be performing the song, inciting boos from every screaming mouth in the audience, then quickly bringing them back up to a full uproar by announcing with middle fingers held high “Fuck them! We are going to play 'Riot'!!" They played several more songs, one including a long argument with an invisible father figure that ended in a powerful performance. After their set was over the band waved and tossed things into the crowd before exiting, but singer Adam stuck around waving and shaking his fists in the air for some extra cheers from the fans.
The rowdies came out in full force and  lined up on the edge of the stage to wait to catch the gigantic black curtains that fell from the top of the main stage. The crowd began cheering for what was to come... Willy B. from KBPI our beloved disc jockey from our kick ass local rock radio station! He announced that Denver had brought out fifteen thousand people on a Wednesday night which is phenomenal, definitely proving just how bad ass Colorado metal fans are.

Avenged Sevenfold was headlining the main stage, and took about 25 minutes to set up. Once the curtains fell a dramatic stage had been set! Their band logo was brought to life in a huge 3D model. A n enormous set of bat wings flanked a giant skull with glowing eyes. The drum kit lift and other raised areas had been wrapped in a 3D cover of the same skull. This set up became even more dramatic with the addition of the band, lights, and pyrotechnics! Complete with flames shooting out from and behind the gigantic skull and explosions that bounced you out of your seat. You could feel the heat as the show began to unfold into all its glory! They played all their hits, including everything you hear on the radio, and some you don’t. All the while praising Denver as the other bands had for being so hard core about their metal! They ended the night with a song they called a love song, about a man who murdered his girlfriend after she refused his marriage proposal and dedicated it to a friend. The show ended a bit early for me at about 10:30, but Comfort Dental Ampitheater has an 11pm noise ordinance because of its location. A major downfall of the amphitheater.
The show had been going on since 2pm with two stages and eight or more bands playing. The lineup including Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet for my Valentine, Escape the fate, Sevendust, Black Tide, Art of Dying, and Hell or Highwater. All of which I was not able to watch. The headlining act Avenged Sevenfold had announced via KBPI earlier that day that after the show they would be going to a local exotic dance club called the Penthouse Club and that only people who went to the show would be allowed in after midnight and that all other patrons would be made to leave the establishment. We did not go to the after party. On the way home we watched as the slowly crawling heard of concert goers hit the road and gradually spread out on the highway. We saw to accidents right off the bat. Probably drunk drivers and I swear most of northern Colorado’s law enforcement was out patrolling for speeders and traffic violations. We saw a cop on almost every block. FYI don’t drink and drive especially not in Colorado!
All in all this was a great event for a Wednesday night and one I would go to again. Provided a few minor details…


Editorial By: Amy Hutcheson

Photos By: Dan Lindner and Amy Hutcheson

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