Written By: Andre La Crout
On a balmy evening in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, some 20,000 people descended on Blossom Music Center to see Evanescence, KoЯn, and special guests Jeris Johnson and Helmet.
Many wore shirts with “Still A FЯeak” proudly displayed on the back, a reference to the hit song from 1998 “Freak On A Leash.”
Jeris Johnson kicked the evening off wielding a longsword, lyrics comparing himself to Jon Snow, and a plethora of “motherfucker”s. He asked if anyone wanted to get decapitated by his sword, but didn’t find many volunteers.
Branding himself as “the future of rock,” Jeris Johnson’s style could be compared to a fresh take on nu metal. The crowd at Blossom Music Center certainly won’t mind if the future of rock involves a revival of the genre they came to see.
That same crowd also appreciated Jeris Johnson’s covers of hit songs from nu metal’s heyday, including “Last Resort” by Papa Roach and “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down.
“Kryptonite” isn’t exactly “nu metal,” of course, but Jeris Johnson’s version certainly fits the mold.
When Jeris Johnson finished, Helmet took the stage after a very short intermission and blew the venue out.
Helmet’s performance was marked by prolific power chords and fingers ripping through raucous riffs.
It may have been the most consistently loud performance of the night.
Nearing the end of their leg of the tour, Helmet’s vocalist, Page Hamilton, made sure thank KoЯn and Evanescence for bringing them along. He said’s been doing this for over 30 years and that you meet “a lot of assholes” on tour, but that this one felt more like family.
Far more intimate words of affection were shared a short time later. A standing ovation during an intermission does not typically happen at concerts, but it did during the intermission between Helmet and Evanescence.
The words “TЯacy, will you maЯЯy me? – EЯic” appeared on the big screens, along with a video of Eric on one knee presenting a ring to Tracy.
She said yes. Congratulations to Tracy and Eric from Interview Under Fire.
When it came time for Evanescence, the lights came down and the crowd was teased by singer Amy Lee’s voice from off-stage.
Drummer Will Hunt came out, sat at his drum set, and held a stick in the air. To cheers by the crowd, this kicked off a countdown timer on a big screen behind him.
When the countdown reached zero, Amy Lee emerged onto a platform in front of that screen to formally begin their opening song, “Broken Pieces Shine.” Nearly everyone in Blossom Music Center leapt to their feet.
During a break, Amy Lee discussed how good it is to be back and told the audience Evanescence made a lot of new music during the pandemic. They followed that up by playing “Take Cover,” one of the songs from their most recent album (released in 2021), The Bitter Truth.
Upon finishing “Take Cover,” they immediately transitioned into a couple fan favorites: “Going Under,” from the band’s chart-topping debut album Fallen, and “Call Me When You’re Sober,” the lead single from their sophomore album, The Open Door.
Evanescence performances often feature imagery on screen that matches (or contrasts) the themes of the lyrics in each song. The imagery for “Going Under” included elegant jelly fish dances and hints of drowning.
The crowd sang along to “Call Me When You’re Sober” with cell phones in the air for the first time of the night.
Aesthetically appropriate imagery on screen continued for the performance of “Wasted On You,” another song from The Bitter Truth. This time, their were handwritten lyrics on screen along with images of wormholes, clocks, and sand to match the themes of being “frozen in time.”
Amy Lee had two pianos for the show: a keyboard on a platform at the back of the stage and a grand piano off to the side.
About halfway through their set, the grand piano was brought to the center of the stage, inspiring a cheer from the crowd. Amy Lee remarked at the cheer for her piano before beginning “Lithium” in a return to The Open Door material.
One notable moment in the show featured Amy Lee at the keyboard on the back platform, where she called out to the ladies in the audience about their rights being taken away.
“I will not be silent,” Amy Lee declared before she and the band jumped into “Use My Voice” with images of marching, protests, and militarized police forces in the background.
Evanescence closed out their set with more fan favorites, starting with “Bring Me to Life,” their debut single from Fallen and instant classic that kicked off their rise to stardom.
The grand piano then made its way to center stage again, where Amy Lee offered to slow things down again before things “get really, really heavy” with KoЯn.
“Sing along, I’m tired of singing alone,” she encouraged before beginning “My Immortal.” The performance was acoustic, with just Amy Lee on piano, until the final chorus when the rest of the band joined. Cell phones in the air painted a night sky across the crowded amphitheater.
Evanescence’s set officially closed with “Blind Belief,” the final song from the 2021 album The Bitter Truth. The closing song choice was a poignant way to leave the audience with inspiring messages of hope and redemption, with lyrics like “Oh, the future starts with us,” “Dare to break away / Tear down this broken machine / Escape your cage,” and “We hold the key to redemption / Love over all.”
KoЯn began their set in a manner similar to Evanescence, in that they teased the crowd with sounds from darkness before diving into power chords and lightning flashes for “Rotting In Vain” from their 2016 album, The Serenity of Suffering.
For the first couple songs, there was a large metal screen at the front of the stage filtering the view of the band. The effect almost made it look like they were playing inside a cage with images being projected onto it.
“Rotting In Vain” was quickly followed up by a fan favorite: “A.D.I.D.A.S.” During the song, Jonathan Davis and the band quieted down long enough for the crowd to chant “all day I dream about fucking” a cappella.
In between songs, the metal screen was raised above the stage, where it stayed for a while—images continued to be projected onto it.
As soon the screen was raised, the band burst into “Here to Stay,” the Grammy-winning single from their platinum 2002 album Untouchables.
At the end of the song, the amphitheater faded into darkness with the stage bathed in blue light. This proved to be their go-to transition throughout the show, a way to slow things down for a quick breather in between the heavy songs. These transitions sometimes featured instrumentals or Jonathan Davis addressing the crowd.
This time, the transition simply faded into their next song, “Start the Healing,” the first single from their newest album, Requiem.
Jonathan Davis officially addressed the crowd for the first time during the next transition, where he encouraged the audience to scream “’cause it feels good.” He then asked if anyone wants to hear some “low down, old school, dirty rock KoЯn shit.”
Everyone cheered, because of course they want that.
Thus began a medley of “Ball Tongue,” “Need To,” and “Divine” – tracks two through four of KoЯn’s self-titled debut album from 1994. Guitarists Munky, Head, and Fieldy made their presence known as their signature rumbling low notes and bass-slapping rained down on the amphitheater.
During one dark blue light transition, the band performed “Porno Creep,” an instrumental track from sophomore album Life Is Peachy.
The end of “Porno Creep” blended seamlessly into “Blind,” another fan favorite and first track of their self-titled debut album.
The crowd knew exactly what song it was as soon as they heard drummer Ray Luzier tapping the cymbals. They then cheered for each element of the intro as the rest of the band joined them.
The amphitheater transformed into a choppy sea, with hands bopping up and down through the bridge as Jonathan Davis yelled “I can’t see, I can’t see, I’m going blind.”
The crowd kept bopping hard through the intro of the band’s next song, “Falling Away From Me” the hit first single from their 1999 album Issues.
Jonathan Davis addressed the crowd during the next transition.
“It feels so fucking good after 28 years as a band to have this many motherfuckers show up to show after show. I can’t thank you enough,” he said.
Davis then let the audience know they were celebrating the 20th anniversary of Untouchables and that they were going to play a song they don’t usually play: “Alone I Break.”
It “comes right from the fucking heart,” Davis said while hitting his chest to accentuate the point.
Pure emotion could be seen and heard as Jonathan Davis screamed “Does this make me not a man?” across the amphitheater.
The remainder of the set saw the metal screen being lowered and raised with images of flames and explosions projected on it before Jonathan Davis approached his microphone at center stage again.
This time, he didn’t address the crowd. He gave them the middle finger. TWO middle fingers, in fact, along with a grin from ear to ear. The audience gleefully pointed middle fingers right back at him.
It was an apt introduction to their final song, “Y’all Want a Single,” which featured heavy crowd involvement late in the song. As Davis sang “Y’all want a single say fuck that / Fuck that,” the audience would shout back “FUCK THAT SHIT.”
When the song finished, some people left the amphitheater. Most stayed and demanded more, with cheers and stomping feet.
Jonathan Davis eventually answered the calls, emerging on stage with his bagpipes. He began the intro to “Shoots and Ladders” while egging the crowd on, encouraging them to cheer and stomp their feet more.
When the band joined him on stage, the metal screen came back down for images of smoke and lightning through the performance of the song.
The metal screen raised for the final time as the band covered Metallica’s “One,” followed by a performance of “Twist.”
KoЯn saved the best for last in long-time hit song “Freak On a Leash” – not just “best for last” because it’s widely considered one of the best hard rock songs of all time, but also “best for last” because Evanescence’s Amy Lee joined the band on stage for a memorable duet.
With no possible act to follow that up, the show ended.