LIVE REVIEW: Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion 8/11/22
Photos and Review by: Gina Monahan
Lineup: Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Bush, The L.I.F.E. Project
Date: August 11th, 2022
Location: The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ
Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin just kicked off their summer co-headline tour with Bush. The second show of the tour stopped in Camden, NJ at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, a large amphitheater on the Camden waterfront. The L.I.F.E. Project was the special guest for the night.
The L.I.F.E. Project opened the night right at 6pm. The group is an up and coming new rock band consisting of Josh Rand of Stone Sour and Cassandra Carson of Paralandra. They played the entirety of their self-titled EP as well as a cover of Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh”.
Bush was next in the lineup. They were definitely one of the highlights of the night. The British rock band is a veteran in the game, and they brought their all to their performance. Bush consists of Gavin Rossdale on lead vocals and guitar, Chris Traynor on lead guitar, Corey Britz on bass, and Nik Hughes on drums.
Rossdale lended a charisma to his live performance that old and new fans alike were sure to love. During the song “Flowers on a Grave”, he went out to the lawn area and directly sang to audience members. The band also invited three women on stage before the song “Glycerine” to celebrate their 100th Bush concert and dedicated the song to them. Bush played all of their hits including “Machinehead”, “Bullet Holes”, and “Comedown”.
Breaking Benjamin brought the heat from the very first song. Pyro and sparklers went off in the background as the band entered the stage. The modern rock band consists of vocalist and guitarist Benjamin Burnley, guitarists Keith Wallen and Jason Raunch, bassist Aaron Bruch, and drummer Shaun Foist.
Breaking Benjamin is possibly one of the most crisp bands I’ve ever seen live. Even with minimal spotlights, especially on Burnley, the band brings an incredible performance to their already heavy tunes. The band opened with an older hit titled “Blow Me Away”. They played all of the fan favorites, including “Breath”, “So Cold”, “I Will Not Bow”, and “Red Cold River”. One of the highlights of their set was their rendition of Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever”. The song was stripped down, all acoustic, and nothing but raw emotion. Breaking Benjamin ended with their biggest hit “Diary of Jane”.
Alice in Chains took the stage just after 10pm. The 90s-grunge band garnered an explosion of cheers and screams from the crowd as soon as the lights dimmed and the first notes of “Again” started to play. Alice in Chains consists of vocalist William DuVall, guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Inez.
Alice In Chain’s stage production was quite different from that of Breaking Benjamin’s, but it packed the same punch. The band had long LED light panels running at a 45 degree angle up the stage and around Kinney’s drum set. The panels added to the band’s tight performance, allowing additional pops of color to fill the stage. DuVall’s vocals were on point and the instrumentals were clean and impressive. The band played all of their hits, including “Man in the Box”, “Would?”, and ended with “Rooster”.
Alice in Chains’s tour with Breaking Benjamin and Bush is just getting started, so be sure to check their website for additional tour dates. You can follow Alice in Chains on Instagram and Facebook.
