Skillet was in town last Monday the 11th, and they brought their old friends Adelitas Way. New friends, Eva Under Fire, along with nearly 1500 “panheads” packed into Portland’s Roseland Theater for a night of feeling Invincible.
The Roseland Theater, passionate about safety, was diligently checking for vaccination status. You could present your vaccination card, or proof of a negative test result taken within 48 hours prior to the show, for entry. The venue even had staff on hand to bear witness to those that wanted to bring their own test kits for self-administration outside the venue. The music community in Portland is a family and we’re all here to share this passion for music.
Eva Under Fire kicked things off at the Roseland with new music from their latest album Comatose. Vocalist Amanda Lyberg is simply a force to be reckoned with. Those songs, delivered through her voice shared so much raw emotion. Eva Under Fire even did a cover of Journey’s Seperate Ways, further demonstrating Amanda’s power and range. After the set, Amanda spent time at the merch booth posing with fans and signing autographs.
In what’s become a bit of a lead-in tradition, the Boys Are Back In Town played just as Adelitas Way took the stage and put on a rock show. Adelitas Way opted to lean on their heavier songs for their eight song setlist, opening with What It Takes. For their third song, guitarist Tavis Stanley played the intro melody for Metallica’s Sanitarium before launching into Ready for War (Pray For Peace). About 2/3 through the set, lead singer Rick DeJesus asked the crowd to light the venue up with their cell phones. By the light of hundreds of cell phones, Adelitas Way played Last Stand, a power ballad off their 2009 self titled album. Adelitas Way closed out their set with Invincible.
Skillet took the stage and opened their set with Feel Invincible. Back to back Invinciblity, what does it mean?! It means that Skillet was going to set the Roseland Theater on fire. From start to finish, guitarist Korey Cooper and drummer Jen Ledger completely radiated energy. You could practically see the music and energy just spilling out of them. Lead singer and bassist, John Cooper laid his heart out completely throughout the set. He professed his love for music and performing live, his love for God, and his love for his wife. He even planted a kiss on her during one of their songs. She never missed a beat. Not afraid of controversy, John also shared his “fear for profits” opinion on the current pandemic. Prefacing his comments with “This isn’t political, I’m not picking sides one way or another”, he went on to say “big pharma, big corporations, the mainstream media, politicians, they’re all making big money by promoting fear.” Whether you agree with his politics or not, one thing’s for certain. Skillet has been a force to be reckoned with for over two decades for good reason.
Although the Aftermath tour will be wrapping up just before Halloween, you can be sure that these three incredible rock bands will be out to tear up stages again in no time. As Adelitas Way’s Rick DeJesus would say… “Tell ’em what the fu*k they missed”
