Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL 22NOV2022
Crossovers in music are nothing new. Aerosmith and Run DMC. Metallica and San Francisco Symphony. FFDP and Brantley Gilbert? That’s right, after their cover of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue on Black” with Brian May of Queen and others joining in, they hit the road together. Joining them was Canadian country music sensation, Cory Marks.
Cory’s not a newcomer to the stage or music. For a few years now he has been cementing his status in county music, and it’s something people of all ages were there for. With his band starting the rain of guitar picks through the night, this electric stage performance set the bar high for the night. Coasting across the stage he made sure everyone felt the love, especially as he kept yelling “Tampa” to hype the crowd.
Playing through a seven-song set, he put a crushing touch on “Keep Doing What I Do”, “In Me I Trust” and “Blame It On The Double” to a rather full audience for the opening band. His incredibly talented set of touring musicians backing him play like a well-oiled machine.
Their fan interactions are just as powerful as Cory’s and it sets the stage for a great night of music. The backlit stage makes for an interesting mix of band lights and smoke for a unique experience, especially when he tosses out t-shirts and grabs a fan’s phone to record a quick clip!!
Brantley Gilbert has been at this for some time now. Over the course of his 15 years in the big time, he’s racked up a few CMAs, iHeart Radio awards, and some mainstream success with the song “Bottoms Up” as well as his cover with FFDP, and well as “A Country Boy Can Survive.” Naturally, all three were on tap tonight, along with 12 other tracks.
Emerging from the back to a dark but foggy and backlit stage and the start of “Back in Black”, Brantley Gilbert took command of the room from the opening notes of “Kick It in The Sticks.”
This kind of country anthem is one that both the guys on the farm and those who wish they could be can connect with, and even the metal heads found themselves nodding along as the country fans all around sang along. Jumping through “Hell On Wheels”, “Son of The Dirty South”, and “Country Must Be Country Wide” before landing on “One Hell of An Amen.”
Taking a moment to express his pride in being a southern man, and how in the south that means showing appreciation for the Veterans. Thanking them for their service, he dedicated the song to them, and the patriotism and love on his face were the signs of deep respect from a true American. With just three songs left in this 15-song set, he ended with “Read Me My Rights,” a song nearly half of the audience could personally identify with, and the other half had family that could attest to it.
Following a lengthy break to change over the stage, the lights dropped before FFDP took the stage. With the sounds of Ivan teasing the crowd through the mic, the roars of the crowd became deafening. As the curtain dropped, Washington monuments on both sides of the stage flanked an infinity-shaped snake behind the drum kit.
Kicking off with “Inside Out” Ivan ran around the stage a bit as he sang and tossed his sweater to a fan up on the rail. Carrying over through “Trouble” and into “Wash It All Away” you could sense and see a change in the crowd. Especially as the pyro kicked in at full force.
People of all ages connect deeply to the song, and you could see them hugging and dancing together as they sang. Even my non-metal head fiancé was surprised and touched at seeing this. Oddly enough, the photo pit and rail were “washed away” by Ivan’s water bottle mid-song.
Complete with a voiceover segue, “Jekyll & Hyde” came up next. With Ivan now doing another wardrobe change and coming out in a custom Lightning sweater, the energy in the building hit one of its highest peaks of the night. Fans followed his commands to raise their hands and waive them side to side, he paraded around the stage while dancing at times as he sang.
The energy coming from the stage by the entire band was being picked up by the audience and reshared back out. Seeing a kid pressed to the rail, Ivan shooed the wet photographers to the side so he could hand his signature cobra cane to the young man. His eyes shrink wrapped in tears, he was overcome with emotion being so close to him.
Ivan tossed out stacks of the FFDP signature cash as confetti coated the arena, and gave the sound guy what he had coming for forcing Ivan to push his voice too hard. Following the tongue-lashing, Ivan’s sound was not only much louder but also clearer. For “Sham Pain”, he really needed the extra range by not having to scream, or else he’d likely break his vocal cords.
Ivan brought back the patriotism as he came out with an American flag, waving it and telling the crowd “Every time I hear you chant ‘USA’ I know my grandfather can hear you!!” He explained how his grandfather served as a Marine as they launched into “Bad Company.”
The cover of the Bad Company signature tune that put them on the map with those outside the metal community still sounds just as amazing in 2022 as it did when they first released it. What wasn’t out then were the “F*ck Joe Biden” chants that also accompanied the intro. Given the lack of respect for the military given by the current administration and their pro-military stance, as shown in the video for the single, it fits well.
Following that, Ivan discussed his love for covers, and joked about someone yelling for “Freebird,” but not much of the crowd sang along beyond the opening bars. However, “You Remind Me” by Nickleback had a thunderous response. Joking about how guys will sing that with the lights down, but not up, he pressed through the rest of the 17-song set. Unfortunately “Wrong Side of Heaven” suffered from some problems getting into the right key, and it seemed to be a reflection of the earlier sound problems for Ivan. Mind you, the rest of the band’s guitars and bass sounded amazing.
With a side-versus-side competition for “Burn mother*cker, burn!!” between Ivan and bassist Chris Kael, the crowd somehow got even deeper invested in the set. As the rest of the band took a break with just the drummer lit, one of the best-lit and performed drum solos from Charlie Engen, came forth.
Not having seen him before, I was absolutely amazed at what he could do. Naturally, Zoltan Bathory and Andy James raised the bar once again after this brief break, and they had even the “seasoned” farmers in overalls and s*itkickers dancing around across the floor.
Heading into “Life Me Up” Ivan took the opportunity to recognize more members of the audience. One lady “Hack” chose one of Ivan’s bats over a hug for her 4-year sobirthday. Another guy whose social media content Ivan has grown to love also got a bat of his own. Ending with “The Bleeding” the band took a bow and preceded to hand out a ton of guitar picks, extra FFDP cash, drumsticks, and setlists.
After the band left and most of the crowd too, Ivan stayed around to shake hands, take photos, and give fans a real connection moment. I’ve never seen him do this before, and it was a real treat.
The tour rolls on, with dates scattering the country before ending back in Las Vegas on December 17th. If you haven’t caught these groups before, it’s worth the price to spring for floor tickets.
The energy on the floor for these bands is much stronger as you rub shoulders with your fellow knuckleheads. It’s strange seeing the energy-crossing genres like this when you see how so many paint country music and metal into different categories. Truth be told, both groups are the same people, just one has closer neighbors and grocery stores.
The Panthers also caught up and took the lead in the face-off circle late in the third period as the Lightning controlled the draw early in the game. Adrej Sustr took a penalty at the 4 minute mark in the third and Vincent Trocheck made the Lightning pay to tie it up at 4.
