Avenged Sevenfold, Philadelphia, Pa written by Lynn
DATE: October 17, 2007
VENUE: Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
written by Lynn

So the Electric Factory does it for me yet again. I've been seeing a lot of shows there
lately, and I don't know what it is about the place, or their booking person, or...
whatever it is, but that venue really does get some of the best shows, made only
better by the fact that the venue is only "so" big.And granted, while not every show
there is the end-all to concerts for me, the Electric  Factory has once more come
through in another '5' show - making it my fourth, my  third at the Electric Factory -
this time on Thursday, November 15, as Avenged Sevenfold obliterated the stage,
performing to a sold-out, screaming crowd here in Philly. Suitably supported by the
bands Black Tide, The Confession, and Operator, this show - in its entirety - definitely
rates up there as one of the best I've seen this year.

I arrived at the venue a few minutes late, thanks to the lovely Schuylkill Expressway
and the rush-hour traffic, so when I got over to the area where the photographers
stand, next to the stage, and had a moment to give a listen to what was Black Tide's
last song, I knew already that it was going to be a good night, and a great show. I have
to look Black Tide up and give a better listen; just that one song I heard - and I don't
even know what it was called - had such a great, classic metal sound, I slipped right
into that metal groove, where I stayed the entire evening. Best thing of all? Flying-V
guitars playing those "Maidenesque" riffs! Woo! I haven't seen one of those on stage
in ages, but the guys in Black Tide were up there, long hair flying, guitarists
playing in unison, playing Flying-V guitars. I loved it!

The Confession took the stage next. I had never heard them before. Actually, I had
never heard any of the supporting bands before this night, and I was really impressed with all of them. The Confession played a great
set of hard rock / classic style metal songs, and really got a great response from the crowd, probably the best, other than the stars of
the evening, Avenged. I thought the lead singer had a bit of a Papa Roach/Jacoby Shaddix thing going on, and his vocal expressions
were a bit exaggerated, watching him, but their sound, and his voice was great, even if they did play half the set with only one guitar,
having had technical issues with the second.

After The Confession, Operator played, and they were also very good, although I have to say, The Confession and Black Tide really
appealed to me more, being the classic metal, Iron Maiden fan that I am. However, I'll mention that a lot of Operator's stuff is very
reminiscent of old Soundgarden, and the lead singer, though he looks like Rambo, really has a great, steady, strong voice, so perhaps I
just need to listen to them a few more times for the band to make more of an impression on me. They did a good job of commanding
the crowd, though, and keeping the place loud and rocking, so I can confidently say at least, that the fans were appreciative of their
presence. All-in-all, it was a very well-matched show, and all three openers really complimented the performance that everyone was































Playing a full set of both the old and the new, the band continued
after Critical Acclaim with Remenissions, off 2003's Waking the
Fallen, and then the ever-popular Beast and the Harlot, off the band's
album smash, City of Evil, which is the record that turned these guys
from Huntington Beach, California, into rising stars of the metal
scene. Burn It Down was next, and then the multi-faceted tune
Afterlife, and I Wont See You Tonight. A rocking rendition of Almost
Easy, followed, in which Sanders had the audience scream out the
chorus part of I'm not insane, I'm not insane! every time he held out
his mic; this was the most 'with it' I've seen an audience in Philly
for a while, too, which made me proud as I screamed right along.
And screaming, it was a perfect lead in to, none other than, Scream,
and then, lastly, Bat Country, which, I think, got more people up and
over the crowd, crowd surfing, and more people in the circle pit,
than I have probably ever seen at one time.

The security that night at the Electric Factory really had their hands
full, especially by the end of the set, when Bat Country played, but
I'm impressed with how the A7X fans reacted that night, both to the
band, and to each other. In spite of all of the rambunctious thrashing,
there were surprisingly few injuries, which leads me to think of something that Matt Sanders was quoted as saying once in an interview
(that I unfortunately cannot recall or place), his words seeming pretty accurate to me now, having experienced it. Sanders [?] said that
at an Avenged concert, basically, the bad element that has the ability to take a really good time and ruin it, is gone; the fans that come to
see them are the true metal and metalcore fans, and can really get into the show without killing each other to do it. He made it sound as
though there was this unspoken respect thing among A7X fans, and I remember thinking that was a pretty interesting thing for him to
have said about the band and its fans. Sure, there's pushing and shoving at every high-energy show, and quite a number of kids decided
to let security bring them over the barrier to keep themselves from getting pushed around too much, but in general, the crowd was a
hell of a lot more respectful of each other than the kids were the night I saw The Academy Is at the same venue, as odd as that
sounds. So who knew? An Avenged Sevenfold concert is where you want to be to not get trampled by the 100 kids behind you, since
they're all kind-of looking out for each other. Good work, people. Good work.






















What great guys. Seriously. Being such a big
music fan myself, it really does my heart
good when I see members of bands going
that extra step to stay a little more connected
and a little more "real" to their fans, the
people who are responsible for their fame
and good fortune. The guys in Avenged
Sevenfold left me that evening with a real
feeling of being part of a connected group
with the way they treated their fans, and
with the reactions received in return, so I
have to give kudos to the five of them for
simply being amazing like that, and
appreciating the people who were there to see them perform. There is nothing pretentious about these guys. They're just regular people,
like all the rest of us, and I love that.

Avenged Sevenfold is currently continuing their US tour through mid-December. Then, after a short break, the boys will be in the UK
for some dates starting on January 17, 2008, along with any other appearances that might pop up in the interim. I have also heard
whispers of Taste of Chaos, '08, but that's all they are right now, apparently, as I have not been able to find any kind of confirmation
to that effect, but I'm sure there will be lots more opportunities to see Avenged Sevenfold in the new year, with their great, new CD
having just released recently. In the meantime, be sure to check out the official band web page at their Official Site, which is an
extensive website with tons of information including offers and contests, as well as their MySpace to keep up with the latest
happenings. And if you haven't picked it up yet, grab a copy of the new CD at Target, as A7X has joined the growing ranks of artists
attempting to bring their fans great music at affordable prices, with the regular edition CD selling at a mere $9.99 US.

                                             Special thanks to Renee Harrison for making this review possible.
BAND: Avenged
Sevenfold
DATE:
November 15,
2007
VENUE: Electric
Factory,
Philadelphia
X5
Avenged Sevenfold.

By the time Avenged Sevenfold took the stage, the filled-to-capacity
Electric Factory was just about off its hinges. I've never seen Avenged
Sevenfold before, though I have been a fan of their music, so naturally,
I expected a good show. What I was not expecting, however, was the
electric feeling of sheer insanity and pure excitement that floated
through the place, and how truly amazing this band really is, live. As
the band - lead singer Matt Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates,
rhythm guitarist Zacky Baker, bassist Johnny Christ and amazing
drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan - took the stage, opening their set
with Critical Acclaim, the first song off their new, self-titled release,
the place erupted... and this was just during the instrumental song
opening! Once they were rocking full-force into their set, however,
Matt grabbed his mic and proceeded to make his way all over the
stage, leading the band in a stellar performance that I don't think could
have been improved upon in any way.
After a few minutes break, Sanders returned to the stage, drawn out by the screams of
fans crying out for more tunes, but at first he was alone and complaining that he didn't
know where the rest of the band had gone off to. One-by-one they returned, except for
guitarist Zacky Baker, however, who didn't return until a few more moments after the
rest. "What? I had to take a piss," Baker said to Sanders with an amused smile,
appealing to the crowd as he did. After an eye-roll, and a quick negotiation with the fans
though, Sanders and the band launched into their encore, the melodic Seize the Day and
another oldie, Unholy Confession. After those two songs, and after thanking their fans
and repeatedly touting how much they loved performing in Philadelphia, the band then
left the stage, but not before removing every set list off the stage floor, every spare
guitar pick off the mic stands, and The Rev's drumsticks and handing them out
personally, rather than leaving it all for stage crew to deal with, as I've seen more and
more lately. Sanders then jumped down off the stage and walked along the barrier,
meeting fans and shaking hands with them.