The show at the Downtown in Farmingdale, New York consisted of Dearly Departed/Nora/Avenged Sevenfold and the ever popular From Autumn To Ashes. I really did go into this show expecting great things from Nora and A7X and I wasn't disappointed.

Dearly Departed opened with a very generic sound. I wasn't impressed with their energy either. Their music reminded me of Murder By Death and oddly enough the vocals were very similar to those of Creed or Staind. I'm not sure but the band looked a bit nervous and I dont wanna bash them totally, considering it takes guts to get up there in front of a large crowd as the opener.

Nora came up next and boy did they fuck shit up. The lead singer came out and burst right into the opener and the crowd totally freaked out and flew into a circle pit. This stunned me because the second band normally wouldn't get this type of reaction but they rocked the joint and I was pleased with everything they did. The final song they played blew the fucking roof off. "Nobody Takes Pictures Of the Drummer" is the song that anyone familar with Nora knows and loves. The crowd knew it and Nora knew they loved it by the bodies were flying every which way. They got a huge ovation and left.

Now the band that should have been headlining was due to come on. I knew from from friends that Avenged Sevenfold puts on a crazy show but I was in no way ready for the show to come. The lights went out, it was pitch black and sounds of a thunder storm were played with lights flickering with every thunder strike. This did nothing but get the crowd pumped and boy did it show when they came out and burst into the opener, Unholy Confessions. Not one word was sung and the pit was already spinning. The lead singer screamed for a circle pit and there it was. Next they played my favorite song Chapter Four and the crowd knew every lyric and screamed at the top of their lungs. When they got to the final song, Second Heartbeat the crowd was beat up and tired but they came back strong to fuck shit up for the fan favorite song. Never in my life have I seen such great guitar playing live. The song, if you haven't heard it, is filled with crazy neck bending solos and they were a real treat to witness live. The crowd erupted after A7X finished up and seemed to be more than content with their fill of metal gods Avenged Sevenfold.

Before headliners From Autumn To Ashes came out I remarked to my friend the crowd looked dead and uninterested. I didn't know how right I was until FATA stepped on stage. Benjamin Bratt stepped on stage with beer in hand and burst into the usual opener, The After Dinner Payback, a crowd favorite. Everyone sung every word but a pit was nonexistant. When the song ended so did the show. Sure FATA kept playing but without energy or conviction. I felt as if they were going through the motions. Benjamin being admittedly drunk didnt help that I'm sure. He fucked up song titles and even forgot lyrics. It was a pretty sad sight, but the hundreds of girls at the show ate it up. I never really understood bands that get smashed before shows especially if they can't handle it like The Lawrence Arms can (Shameless Plug). They continued playing songs such as Lilacs and Lolita, Too Bad You're Beautiful, and closed with Reflections, a fan favorite that got no reaction what so ever. The finished up and left stage not to return for an encore, basically because no one desired one.

The show was very mediocre in the opening and headlining slots. I would have loved to see both Nora and Avenged Sevenfold take the headlining slot from the incompetent From Autumn To Ashes. As I was leaving the venue tonight I heard something that very much describes the state of affairs at this show and in music today. A young girl with Abercrombie pocket book in hand said to her lookalike friend "FATA rocked but who were those two poser bands before them?" Ok I have no clue what that was supposed to mean but all I know is if a group of girls at a show like this can honestly say that FATA was better than Nora and Avenged Sevenfold this music scene is going to hell a lot faster than I imagined.

Thank you Nora and Avenged Sevenfold for making my night.