July 30, 2010, The Oakdale Theater - Wallingford, CT.....by Alaura Christine
Personally being a HUGE Avenged Sevenfold fan, owning all their albums and having purchased NIGHTMARE on it's release three days prior, I was extremely excited for this show.
As I'm standing in the photo pit, my heart races as the lights go down and I take my position. Sounds of screaming fans fill the air as smoky fog swirls on the stage. Then the haunting xylophone intro to NIGHTMARE echos through the theater.
The guys take the stage and OWN it! They looked great, totally amped up for the show and having fun! Shadows was running around the stage like a madman belting out the lyrics to NIGHTMARE... Johnny Christ out there plucking his bass and bangin his head with his American flag shades....the crowd reacting wildly to the back to back shredding of Zacky Vengeance & Synyster Gates....and Mike Portnoy at the drums, certainly with the spirit of The Rev pumping through his veins. At everyone's favorite part Shadows stretches his microphone out to the crowd and in unison, they scream "IT"S YOUR FUCKING NIGHTMARE" For me, it was truly epic!
With the second song of the set, CRITICAL ACCLAIM, the gone but not forgotten Jimmy THE REV Sullivan's light filled the place as his recorded voice echoed through the theater with the lyrics he sings in that song. At that time Shadows is looking up with arms outstretched above.....truly a hauntingly beautiful moment for me and many other Avenged Sevenfold fans there in attendance.
Half way through the set, Shadows introduces the song So Far Away......He says, "This song was written by Synyster Gates. The vocal arrangement, the lyrics... all by Synyster Gates. This one is for of course (he points a finger up above) The Reverend up there! We KNOW he is smiling down on us right now." At that moment they break into the song and a larger than life image of the infamous photo of The Rev embracing his brothers, becomes the backdrop. The crowd reacts in a screaming frenzy releasing to lighters and cell phones being held up in homage to Jimmy.
Truly a successful band, they played what could easily have been a full headlining set with songs from their albums 'Nightmare', the self titled 'Avenged Sevenfold', 'City of Evil' and 'Waking The Fallen'. The set list from that night was:
Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Welcome To The Family
Beast And The Harlot
Buried Alive
So Far Away
Afterlife
God Hates Us
Unholy Confessions
Almost Easy
Thank you to the guys in Avenged Sevenfold and to those that made it happen for RAWR Magazine to be there! Can't wait to do it all over again on August 22, 2010 at Rockstar Uproar in Buffalo, NY! RAWWWWWRRRRRR!
~R.I.P. Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan~
foREVer
