Five Finger Death Punch destroys Camden with Breaking Benjamin
By Alex Lloyd Gross
Five Finger Death Punch, is a band that knows how to take care of business and take care of their fans. They also took care of Camden when they played a show August 15, 2018 at the outdoor amphitheater on the river. Some bands just go through the motions, not really attracting new fans. They are content to stay in one place and play the same music. Not these guys.
They had a stage show that was very well put together. With a giant skull as a back drop with spotlights illuminating from the eyes at certain songs, to flame throwers and smoke, there was always something to look at. The music is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard, loud and full of attitude. Songs like “Wash It All Away” and the Bad Company cover song by the same name. Still this is a show for children. Quite a few parents proved they raised their kids right as the pit and other parts of the crowd had lots of children in the crowd.
At one point during the show, Ivan Moody, the lead singer invited several children on stage with him along with their parents. He then sang with them . How cool is that? Yes the language was raw but so is life. kids exposed to this kind of music grow up to be at the top of their game. As opposed to rappers who sing about bitches and whores. At once pint this band paid homage to members of the military as well as cops and firemen. They were on stage for about 75 minutes with co headliner Breaking Benjamin..
This band has chosen to give away a portion of their tour revenue are also supporting two charities that are close to the co-headliner’s hearts as they are donating a portion of every ticket sold to two charity organizations. Five Finger Death Punch has chosen C.O.P.S – Concerns Of Police Survivors, an organization whose mission is rebuilding shattered lives of survivors and co-workers affected by line of duty deaths, through partnerships with law enforcement and the community. Breaking Benjamin has chosen Prevent Child Abuse America to help counteract the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children by promoting services that improve child well-being and developing programs that help to prevent all types of abuse and neglect.
Breaking Benjamin was good but in a lot of peoples opinion, they were not as good a FFDP. Your opinion may differ. Both bands are in support of new music. FFDP had And Justice For None. Breaking Benjamin has released Ember, which made it’s debut at number 3 on Billboard charts.
There were two opener bands. Bad Wolves, which went on at 6;00 PM had quite a few people watching the show. usually for an opener people are content to tailgate or to arrive late and avoid traffic. Bad Wolves are a young band with a lot of promise. Onstage, they are all over the place and vocalist Tommy Vext has a command presence that demands audience participation.
Nothing More was the next band up. Another band with promise and talent. These guys have a bit of a stage show, which consists of a contraption which they call a Scorpion Tail. It’s a drum set that can be flipped over and has motorcycle handlebars. Lead vocalist Johnny Hawkins climbs this during the last part of their set and then the rest of the band play instruments while this is going on. It was built by bass player Dan Oliver. You can see them this fall at Rock Allegiance in Camden.
The tour has been extended into the fall. If you have not seen it yet, get ready for it. Not for the faint of heart and bring your kids.