It’s rare that a concert tour gets announced, and all four bands are must-see and on fire but, when Seether and Skillet announced a Fall co-headline tour with Royale Lynn and Tim Montana as support, it became a must-see bill, and it recently rolled through Radius in Chicago.
This was Royale Lynn’s first national tour, and she opened the show early, playing a short set loaded with hits from rock radio in “Death Wish,” “Sacrifice” and “Six Feet Deep,” along with a cover of Flyleaf’s “All Around Me,” getting the crowd amped up and active, ready for the rest of the night.
Lynn is still trying to find her footing and the stage presence that works best for her, but she knew how to work the crowd and knew exactly what she needed to do to set the stage for the rest of the night.
Tim Montana was up next and blasted through a short set that was loaded up with favorites from his latest record- Savage. He also took time to talk to the crowd about how much it meant to him to be playing a room full of people and to be out on tour with bands like Skillet and Seether- bands that he would play when he was growing up in a small house in the middle of nowhere with no power.
He explained that, growing up with no electricity- a growing exercise he calls “poverty,” he would listen to Skillet and Seether when sitting in his room with nothing but a lantern lit next to him.
He closed out his set with the two biggest hits from Savage- the title track and then “Devil You Know,” during which he was joined by Royale Lynn.
Skillet kicked off their set next with a performance that was almost impossible to follow. They had the biggest production, the best lighting and were the most energetic between them and Seether.
The LED vertical screens behind them mixed with an LED board in front of the drum riser gave a cool effect and there wasn’t a lot of time to talk as the band wanted to fit in as much music as possible.
However, singer John Cooper did take time to point out a few fans that he remembered from the meet and greet earlier, including fans from the Ukraine and a fan from Turkey, who couldn’t get off work for the band’s upcoming concert in Turkey, so the fan bought a plane ticket and flew to Chicago to see the band.
Whether it was the many hits and favorites from the band’s last 10 years or the new single, “Unpopular,” the Chicago crowd was deafening, singing at the top of their lungs. People were smiling, people were crying, people were in the moment, loving every minute of Skillet’s set.
Closing the night out were Seether, who packed the heat in from the very start, opening with “Gasoline” and going straight into “Fine Again,” “Broken” and “Country Song,” kicking the party off right.
Contrary to Skillet’s set, Seether weren’t quite as active but that didn’t matter- they sounded amazing, and fans were into every second of the set.
The band’s latest record- The Surface Seems So Far dropped the Friday before the show and fans already knew every word to lead single “Judas Mind,” which had been spinning on rock radio for a month or so and was met with a roar of excitement.
Closing things out with “Remedy,” as they have for decades, this night was the epitome of rock royalty and a perfect lineup. Two bands who have long-been established as heavyweights in the rock world along with two rapid-rising new acts couldn’t have been more of a perfect balance.
-Reggie Edwards