Metal groups fire up crowds during all-day music festival

More than 20,000 took in Staind, Evanescence and other groups.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
PITTSBURGH -- If it's Memorial Day, then it must be time for the annual Xfest, the all-day music festival named after Pittsburgh radio station WXDX 105.9. Once again, the event filled Post-Gazette Pavilion with more than 21,000 concertgoers.
This time it was bigger than ever with 15 bands performing on three stages in what became nine nonstop hours of live performances. The day included the Juliana Theory from nearby Latrobe, who celebrated the release of its major label debut, "Love."
The only major mishap concerned Cold who canceled its set after one of its guitarists broke his arm earlier in the day.
Metal core
Much of the Xfest's lineup was filled with acts that settled around the new metal genre.
Godsmack with monstrous riffs and anthemic choruses, Staind with its combination of buzzsaw guitar tones and desolate emotional landscapes, Evanescence with the soaring voice of frontwoman Amy Lee and the Donnas with their pop punk metal hybrid distinguished themselves.
Obviously, loud guitar bands are more effective in such a venue but there are numerous bands that could have added variety to the line up. Certainly the White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mooney Suzuki, or other acts should have been considered.
Headline acts
Godsmack headlined the festivities with an 80-minute set that featured pyrotechnic displays, bellydancers and films projected on a screen at the back of the stage. The Boston quartet swiftly moved through numbers from all three of its releases, easily getting the sunburned crowd fired up.
Staind preceded Godsmack on the main stage with a set that latched melodic sensibility with the brute force of searing riffs and a skullcrushing rhythm section. That would have been enough for the crowd in front of the Parking Lot and Comcast Stages who moshed and bodysurfed to any sound emanating from the speaker system. But, what has gained the four members of Staind a loyal following are the emotional tales of regret, alienation, frustration and anger that come from frontman Aaron Lewis.
Besides a marvelous voice that sets him apart from the majority of his new metal peers, Lewis also has a stunning ability to bring to life his words in the same way an actor punches up his lines. His low-key demeanor emphasizes his vocals and works as a counterpoint to much of the musical proceedings.
Presence of Evanescence
Evanescence was introduced as the band that topped the listener request line for 21 weeks in a row. Its major label debut, "Fallen," has gone platinum in sales and resides near the top of the album charts.
That doesn't mean that the band, which consists mainly of Amy Lee and Ben Moody, are settled as a live act. With three other musicians onstage and the overall sound augmented by prerecorded tapes of a choir, strings and keyboards that are triggered by Moody, the group is able to produce in concert something akin to its studio counterpart. But, what it contains in musicality it has yet to develop in band chemistry.
Thankfully, that can be overlooked by Lee. Her voice sounds as silky smooth in a live setting as it does on record, while her visual presence -- a female fronting a hard-driving metallic sound and black and white outfit consisting of tank top, cancan skirt, striped stockings and arm bands and knee-high boots -- offered a rare relief of the day's unending testosterone power.
Of course, the Donnas also did that with a brief, 35-minute set that displayed better songwriting chops and outright fun than the majority of their musical counterparts. The four female members blazed through material from their latest, "Spend the Night" and even their first album in a manner that was equal parts the Ramones and another step or two towards the heavy metal gods such as Judas Priest and Motley Cure that they adore.