Evening Concerts don’t get any better than this. I’m talking about a Southern California evening at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre located in San Diego with Bad Wolves, Nothing More, Breaking Benjamin and our featured artist Five Finger Death Punch.

5FDP started the show with a taped recording of Barney the Dinosaur’s “I Love You”; yes, you heard me right, Barney the Purple Dinosaur.  The curtain covering the stage drops and we see a huge Skull floating above the Drum Platform and the music to “Lift me Up” starts to hit your ears, led by Jason Hooks amazing guitar playing, which starts the catchy intro riff to the song “Trouble”. Following Trouble was the song “Wash it all Away” into “Jekyll and Hyde” both songs with some deep Lyrical content.  Something that might get over looked with 5FDP is the fact that the Lyrical content has some very strong messages of someone in pain. These are some real world messages that need listened too and not just ignored.

5FDP also puts the message out there to support our Troops which lead us into the cover song “Bad Company” from the band Bad Company. Watch the Music video for Five Finger Death Punch’s version of the song, it features video footage from their 2010 trip to IRAQ for the troops and is a salute to the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our freedom. After the song “Fake”, tears you a new A@@hole, Jason Hook grabs an acoustic guitar and sits down for a pair of amazing songs, starting with “Wrong side of Heaven” and ending with “Remember Everything.”  Both songs have amazing lyrics that make you think about life and the world we live in.  During the songs, Ivan would sing the first part of the lyric and the crowd would finish.  It was a very cool moment and one of those moments that make Live Concerts great.

The band crushed the entire set continuing with killer songs that grab your immediate attention and make you actually think.  The band is still a Heavy Metal Rock band but with a caring attitude that is infectious and makes you fall in love with their music and cause.  The band continued pounding your ear drums with songs like “Coming Down”, “Burn MF”, “Under and Over It”, “The Bleeding” and even an Offspring Cover.  Closing out the set was the newer song “Sham Pain” from their 2018 album ‘AND JUSTICE for NONE,’ another great song that deserves your full attention.

The night ended with a recording of the Animals hit “House of the Rising Sun” with Ivan singing the first verse and walking around the stage with the rest of the band throwing picks and swag into the crowd.  The band walked around being very interactive with their fans and making connections with the audience.   Please support the music and bands and help get their messages out there. I believe their hearts are on the right side of Heaven.

Five Finger Death Punch is:

Ivan Moody – Lead Vocals

Jeremy Spencer – Drums, Percussion

Jason Hook – Lead Guitar

Zoltan Bathory – Guitar

Chris Kael – Bass

Mattress Firm San Diego Set List:

• Lift Me Up
• Trouble
• Wash it all Away
• Jekyll and Hyde
• Bad Company (Bad Company Cover)
• Fake
• Wrong Side of Heaven (Acoustic)
• Remember Everything (Acoustic)
• Coming Down
• Burn Mother F*@!@ker
• Gone Away (Offspring Cover)
• Under and Over It
• The Bleeding
• Sham Pain
• The House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)

Five Finger Death Punch

Review by Storm@backstage360.com

Venue:  Mattress Firm Amphitheatre

Images: Brian Tierney / BackStage360