December in Orlando guarantees to bring many things: warm weather, large crowds at the theme parks, and great end-of-year concerts. And this year was no different. Orlando’s rock station 101.1 WJRR is a staple in providing their end-of-year Mistle Toe Jam concert in December. And this year was no different with featuring one of my favorite all-time bands in Sevendust. Sevendust decided to do a small tour to their Countdown to 2022 in Orlando, Alabama, Georgia, and Alabama again. On this tour, they brought with them Plush and The Lonely Ones.
The Orlando show was held at the Hard Rock Live Orlando at Universal Studios. On the way over the Hard Rock the crowds were massive, as always during this New Year’s Eve week. And the crowd inside of the Hard Rock was no different. Fans came in their festive wear, metal wear, or a mix of both ready to rock their heads off and end 2021 with a bang. And a good number of my friends both in and out of media was also there to rock out the show. The majority of media hung out behind the soundboard giving us a clear view of the stage as there was no photo pit access that night.
The first band up to the stage was The Lonely Ones a re-branded four-piece rock band formerly known as Bobaflex without Sean McCoy. The Lonely Ones picks up where Bobaflext left off, delivering some solid hard rock to the crowds, leaving a lasting impact through each of their songs. Featuring Marty McCoy (lead vocals, guitar), Tommy Johnson (drums), Jymmy Toland (bass), and Jake Earley (guitar), the moment they hit the stage you could immediately sense the energy and vibe of a band ready to lay it all out on the stage. The crowd immediately cheered for them the moment they walked out on stage and from the look on Marty’s face, he was overjoyed by the reaction.
Marty has the personality you want to see from the frontperson of a band. He’s charismatic, energetic, and loves the audience. And the moment he introduced The Lonely Ones and started performing it was a rock n’ roll vibe the audience loved. “Change The Station” was harmonious rock tune that grabbed me from the start and showed how well this band worked in unison. Through the vocals, the guitars from both Marty and Jake, and the cadence this song was downright awesome. The crowd was taken aback from the talent The Lonely Ones were showing and they were just getting started. “The Lonely One” single continued with that wonderful harmony between Marty, Jymmy, and Jake with a slower pace. Tommy’s drums thundered through the venue driving the song through the crowd. I really got a kick out of this one.
But, it’s not just the music that gravitates people towards The Loney Ones, it’s their individual personalities and the group personality. As a group, they are hard rockers, entertainers, with an audience-first mentality ensuring the fans are getting their money’s worth and make them part of the show. Individually, they’re all unique. Tommy behind the drums stays quiet and speaks through his music, donning war paint that would make The Road Warriors proud (bonus points for you if you know who they are). Jake makes his guitar sings and he vocally sings amazingly well. Marty is the voice of the group, reaching out to the crowd, and leading the band through the songs. And Jake is the crowd pleaser. When he’s not joining in the harmony, he’s gesturing towards the crowd, playing up towards them with kicks, aiming his bass, and even tossing it in the air and catching it. They were definitely making an impression with the crowd.
“Gettin High” amped up the pace and really had the crowd moving. I really enjoyed this song and the way Tommy rapidly laid down the drumbeats. But, The Lonely Ones did something I never expected any rock band ever to do. The band performed a cover song that night. And not just any cover. A Queen cover. And this wasn’t just a cover of any Queen song. This was a cover of “Flash” one of the most iconic movie theme songs of the 80s from the movie Flash Gordon. This song resonated through my childhood and adulthood forever, so to take on this song to me was a big deal. They call their version “Flash/The Hero” and with good reason. Their take on the song is double the length of the original. They keep with the original through the majority of the song up and through the slow part. But, right after that, The Lonely Ones make it their own with a beautiful musical and vocal piece and the fast tempo ending is just phenomenal. Needless to say, I was impressed.
The Lonely Ones provided a great start to the evening and definitely made new fans that night. You can check out their music and merch at their website HERE.
Next up was the band Plush. I’ve been waiting to get the chance to see them live because the buzz all around this band is huge. They recently released their debut self-titled album on October 29, 2021, via Pavement Entertainment and it’s been generating great reviews. And the individuals in this band were known before they joined up together. Moriah Formica (vocals, rhythm guitar) is the youngest performer on The Voice at age 16 to turn all four judges chairs during her initial performance. Brooke Colucci (drums) has a YouTube channel with over 293,000 subscribers and 14 million views. Bella Perron (lead guitar) is a natural and currently a freshman at the Berklee College of Music. And Ashley Suppa is hailed as “the female version of Cliff Burton”. With this much talent under one band, there is no wonder why they are generating such buzz through the internet.
When they stepped out on stage they received tremendous applause and cheers. Moriah smiled towards the crowd and the band wasted no time to get us rocking. “Athena” revels in the bass riffs Ashley delivers and how Brooke and Bella interweave between those riffs. Though Moriah’s vocals will sink into your soul when she sings “Goddess of love, fallen from the heavens above. If you’re the one, feel the power of my love.” This song is truly amazing and bleeds a hard rock sound and the fans absolutely loved it. “Champion” has a solid rock vibe and a chorus that will just stick with your brain. And Moriah’s powerful vocals during the chorus will absolutely blow your mind. Her vocals are purely fantastic.
And this was apparently a night of cover tunes. During Plush’s set, I started to hear the infamous guitar riff that is so easily recognizable regardless of your age. And then when I heard that guitar wail I actually said, “Oh shit.” That song Plush decided to perform was “Barracuda” by Heart. Moriah took on Heart during her initial performance on The Voice so I shouldn’t have been shocked by the song choice. But, this is such a recognizable song that it’s either you do it well or don’t do it at all. Plush nailed it. From the bass to guitars to drums and especially the vocals, Plush was grooving through the song as it was their own and if they played it a million times. And the fans absolutely loved it.
“Sober” was a nice change of pace in their setlist. It’s a slower song that still retains the hard rock sound Plush brings to the stage. Even with the slower rhythm, Plush still knew how to rock the song and captivate the fans. And of course, they had to play their debut single “Hate” that hit #24 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. What starts off with a great drumbeat, rips into beautiful bass and guitar riffs, and Moriah’s vocals weave into the song. I truly love the vocal rise the moment Moriah hits “Dirty, I’m unworthy” and then the rest of the chorus just rises through your bones. It’s a fantastic song and no wonder why Plush is getting so well known for such an amazing single. Overall, Plush provided such a fantastic performance and I’m so glad to finally see them perform. You can find their music and merch at their website HERE.
Now, the band everyone was waiting on, the Atlanta metal band, Sevendust. But, to me, they belong to Florida too, especially Central Florida. The band has recorded albums here and visits here pretty frequently so they’re part of our fold too. After their initial self-titled debut album in 1997, they’ve released 12 additional studio albums with their most recent one Blood & Stone hitting #55 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard U.S. Top Hard Rock Albums. They are a well-loved and well-respected band and the moment Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Clint Lowery (lead guitar), John Connolly (rhythm guitar), Vince Hornsby (bass), and Morgan Rose (drums) stepped onto the stage, the Hard Rock Live Orlando erupted in cheers.
Sevendust opened with the single “Dying To Live” from Blood & Stone. It’s exactly what you want from a Sevendust song; great vocals, great riffs, and that drumbeat that only Morgan can deliver during their songs. It’s a heart-pumping song that already had the crowd moving and a mosh pit going early. And after this, Sevendust took the crowd through memory lane of some of their best songs, many from their early days, and many of them were fan favorites. “Denial” from Home and “Praise” from Animosity are such excellent songs to get any crowd moving. The guitar riffs between Clint and John, probably the best guitar duo in the industry today, lay down such a great metal sound. These songs have been played so many times and they pour into me with such energy every single time.
There wasn’t a song that evening the fans didn’t recognize. A great few of them off the Animosity album were performed that night. “Trust” is such a fantastic song both recorded and live. Hearing Lajon let out that guttural vocal “So cold!” and Morgan belting out “Trust!” absolutely ran chills over my skin. Even as a slower song, it still retains that energy and power to make the crowd feel alive. And then you have “Angel’s Son”, by far one of their most well-known songs. While the song is drawn towards sadness, it’s done in such a beautiful way every single time they play it. I was absolutely loving this performance from Sevendust.
Sevendust is that fan-friendly metal band and just elevates fans to a whole new level. Their interaction with each other on stage shows how tight-knit they are as a family. Besides hearing Vince drop killer bass riffs and great background vocals, I love the way he interacts on stage with the fans, but especially with his family on stage. He got Lajon laughing multiple times and made me laugh when he moved Lajon’s mic stand onto the platform when Lajon didn’t expect it. Lajon made his way around to each of his family at various times giving them hugs. You can tell he was very emotionally engaged during the show. Right off the bat hearing the fans cheer and yell he shook his head and said, “Y’all gonna make me cry.” It’s OK Lajon as we all felt the same way that night.
But, where Sevendust truly excels is pumping the crowd up and getting them to release all that pent-up energy. Lajon dedicated “Enemy” from Seasons, truly one of my favorite songs, to COVID and the crowd roared in approval. And as they made their way through the song, you could feel the crowd buzzing and getting Sevendust amped up too. It’s a great song to let loose during one of their sets than that one. The choice to finish up the show with “Face to Face”, also from Seasons, was a fantastic decision. Hearing Morgan belt out “You can’t stop fucking with my head!” got that crowd to go insane. Sevendust left it all on stage that night closing with this song. You can find Sevendust’s music and merch HERE. The full setlist from that night was:
- Dying to Live
- Denial
- Praise
- Dead Set
- Trust
- Black
- Driven
- Angel’s Son
- Waffle
- Enemy
- Pieces
- Blood From a Stone
- Shine
- Face to Face (encore)
Sevendust’s performance that night will certainly be one of my favorites of all time. From the mixture of new songs to old-school singles, it was a phenomenal performance by the band. Sevendust always leaves the audience wanting more, always gives everything on stage, and, most importantly, always appreciates and loves their fans. It’s the reason why I never miss one of their shows.
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