LIVE NATION PRESENTS: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
LIVE AT SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA ON 9/4/24
Five Finger Death Punch has spent the early part of 2024 as support for our own Bay Area Metal Giants Metallica during their European tour. They’ve also made time to squeeze in some headlining shows during the little downtime they have. Their show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Ca happens to be one of those shows.
It’s been two years since the last time I’ve seen them and I always look forward to this band’s live show. The lineup has stayed the same since 2020 and I think that the Afterlife album shows just how unified this band is.
Five Finger Death Punch started the show off with a darkly lit stage with a light show as drummer Charlie Engen hammered out a solid rhythm until the band fully hit the stage to perform “Welcome to the Circus”. Ivan Moody took center stage wearing a white hoodie and white pants as Moody and the band brought the heat as the played through “Lift Me Up” and “Trouble”.
The band was sounding incredible and truly in synch with each other. Oh, and did I say they were F’n LOUD!! I have to say now that this is the second time seeing guitarist Andy James as part of the band and he fits so well with the guitar riffs Zoltan Bathory lays down. At this point, Moody takes off the hoodie and tosses it into the crowd and he takes his first break to talk to the audience. Ivan thanks the opening acts and then the band goes directly into playing “Wash It All Away”.
The stage turned into a laser show at this point as Moody appeared on stage with his bowler hat, alligator adorned jacket and cane to rip through “Jekyll and Hyde”. After the song Ivan saw three females holding a sign stating this was their first 5FDP show. He not only brought them onstage but allowed them to spend the rest of the show in the booth next to Engen’s drum kit. (Very cool move)
Other than the music the band makes, and the show they do live, one of the things I appreciate most is that the band knows how to work with photographers. These guys give us the shots we ask for and they work with us by getting into locations for us to get the best shot possible. This doesn’t happen as often as we hope so it is appreciated. A huge shout out to bassist Chris Kael for always flipping me off and each tour the shot comes out better than the last. Now back to the music.
For the song Sham Pain, Moody tosses out the 5FDP money into the crowd and a rain of confetti covered the air as the evening continued as one big party. It seems that this tight running machine known as Five Finger Death Punch have made sure that they were not going to play the same song set list tour after tour. They brought in a cover of “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals and “Salvation” from their album ‘Way of the Fist’.
There were certain mellower tracks that I would’ve liked to hear “Darkness Settles In”, “Brighter Side of Grey”, “Times Like These”, or “Thanks for Asking”. With that being said, I know that the show would be boring if it was always just the same top hits played at every show. The diversity in their music shows just how much the band has grown. Another high point during the show is when Ivan introduced his backup singer Scott Proctor; who is also a Bay Area resident and bassist for State Line Empire.
One of the songs played later in the Five Finger Death Punch set that evening was a very ballsy version of “IOU”. Part of the lyrics to that song are “I’m here to show you…I owe you nothing”. That may be true but 5FDP gave us everything a concert fan could ask for.
I was so glad to hear “This is The Way” featuring the late DMX as the recorded outro as the band thanked the audience and left the stage. Much respect for making sure the track is part of their show.
Thank you Ivan, Chris, Zoltan, Charlie, & Andy for one Hell of a show!!
Setlist
Welcome to the Circus
Lift Me Up
Trouble
Wash It All Away
Jekyll and Hyde
Sham Pain
The House of the Rising Sun (traditional cover)
No One Gets Left Behind
Burn MF (With drum solo)
Gone Away / Turn the Page (A Capella)
Wrong Side of Heaven
Salvation
IOU
Under and Over It
Never Enough
The Bleeding
This Is the Way (Recording)
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