The Thanksgiving holiday is over and for most people it brought about the usual feasting on turkey, spending time with family and friends, and perhaps hitting the mall for those crazy Black Friday deals. For Charlotte rock fans, there was one more thing to look forward to this holiday weekend as Seether brought their Poison The Parish tour to the Queen City Saturday night. The Fillmore Charlotte was filled to capacity as Seether fans came out in full force to see the show.
Seether’s sound is something special, a great blend of heavy rock and superb melodies brought to life by three of the finest musicians around. The band sounds fantastic live duplicating the polished sounds of their studio recordings with ease but also adding the raw emotions that one has to experience rather than listen to. The stage was completely dark as Seether kicked off the night with “Stoke The Fire” before red lights appeared surrounding John Humphrey’s massive drum riser and strobes flashed in unison to the pounding rhythms. Vocalist and guitarist Shaun Morgan was positioned stage right behind his microphone stand most of the evening as he led the band through hit after hit. With his hair completely covering his face, it was difficult to see the Seether frontman but every once in awhile you could catch a quick glimpse of his face as his hair flipped back. Bassist Dale Stewart was a bit more active slinging his bass and posing for the crowd. After blasting through “Gasoline” and “Truth,” the band played my favorite Seether song, “Rise Above This,” from their 2007 album “Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.” There is just something about this particular song that moves me. It is such a positive message combined with a great chorus and melody and the crowd seemed to agree with me as their voices raised in unison singing loudly. “Country Song” was a popular hit with many in the crowd stomping and dancing along and the energy ramped up exponentially when the opening strains of “Fine Again” flowed across the venue. The most emotional moment of the evening was reserved for a bit later in the set as John and Dale exited the darkened stage and Shaun stood alone with his guitar and a solitary light shining down on him for a stripped down version of “Broken” that had more than a few fans shedding a tear. The evening then continued with two songs from Seether’s newest release “Poison The Parish” with “Betray and Degrade as well as “Let You Down” making their way into the setlist. Nobody was quite ready for the evening to end as the band brought the house down with the hard rocking “Remedy.”
All I can say is “Wow!” Seether absolutely killed it, giving rock fans a perfect way to finish out the holiday weekend. This is a show that should not be missed. If the “Poison The Parish” tour is heading to your town, go ahead and grab your tickets now.
Set List:
Stoke The Fire
Gasoline
Truth
Rise Above This
Nobody Praying For Me
Save Today
Words As Weapons
Country Song
Fine Again
Broken
Betray and Degrade
Fake It
Let You Down
Remedy
We would like to thank Sari Delmar from Concord Music Group for the credentials to review the show.
