If anyone thought rock music was finished and done with... think again. The Rock Resurrection Tour certainly proved not only is rock music as good as ever, it revived the notion that live shows are the place to be in 2023. With a capacity crowd packed inside downtown Houston's Bayou Music Center on a Tuesday night, March 14, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet and Saint Asonia delivered a nonstop, action-packed good ol' rock and roll show that featured phenomenal production for more than 3 and a half hours.
Canada's Theory of a Deadman held the headlining slot in Houston and jumped right of the gate with a brand new song, "Dinosaur," which is also the name of their forthcoming album on Roadrunner Records. It's ballsy to begin a set with a new track, but the band delivered and the crowd seemed to have already memorized every word of the new tune. In fact, I thought it was smart not to bog-down the setlist with too many new tracks from "Dinosaur," instead let a few flow into an already packed resume of hits. The band also played "Ambulance" and "Two of Us (Stuck)," which is my personal fav from the new record.
Despite being around for more than two decades, Theory of a Deadman sounds better than ever, and did an excellent job with a 14-song setlist that also included their big radio hits "Not Meant to Be," "Hate My Life," "Low Life" and show-enders "RX (Medicate)" and "Bad Girlfriend."
What hasn't been already said about Skillet? Powerful stuff. If you've never seen Skillet live, do yourself a favor and and put them on your concert bucket list.
The four-some wasted no time with their arsenal of hits and started their co-headlining set with "Feel Invincible," and followed it with a plethora of feel-good venom in "Rise," "Surviving the Game," "Awake and Alive" and "Hero."
Jen Ledger, who does an amazing job on the drums and backing vocals, left her drumset for a brief moment to join lead singer John Cooper at the front of the stage for the tune, "Not Gonna Die," while guitarists Korey Cooper and Seth Morrison went vertical in the air on mechanical risers. It's safe to say that all four members really love what they do.
Not to be left out is Saint Asonia, who is fronted by Adam Gontier, the original singer in Three Days Grace. Their six-song set featured three of their own songs and Gontier surprised the crowd with his former band's "Never Too Late," "I Hate Everything About You" and "Just Like You." Very cool moment.
Chad Cooper is the Entertainment Editor. Contact cooper@theexaminer.com