On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, fans gathered at the Wind Creek Event Center formerly known as Sands Bethlehem Event Center, for the billed “Who Do You Trust Tour?” to a nearly sold-out crowd. The evening began as a more modern electrifying night of metal, music that quickly transitioned into nostalgia with the trio of acts – Bad Wolves, Asking Alexandria and headliner, Papa Roach, who is celebrating a nationwide tour in support of their early 2019 released album, “Who Do You Trust?”, the band’s 10th studio release.
Bad Wolves began the night serving to dedicated fans as lead singer Tommy Vext checked-in with the crowd asking “is this your first time seeing Bad Wolves?! If not, Welcome to the Wolf Pack!” Vext stressed the importance of mental health, taking care of yourself and greeted fans by shaking hands with them before commanding the stage. He playfully asked fans to take a knee then jump up and go crazy because they were shooting a music video during this live performance. Vext and his bandmates left fans in a haze of cheers and amped energy by concluding their set with the noteworthy Cranberries cover hit, “Zombie”. Encouraging fans to raise their cell phones in the air, the scene was nothing short of magical as the capacity crowd obliged and sang along in unison in what would be one of the most emotional moments of the night. The Bad Wolves’ cover of Zombie went Platinum on the 2018 Billboard charts which is a remarkable accomplishment. Proceeds of the track were generously donated to Cranberries’ lead singer Dolores O’Riordan’s children after her passing.
After a short break between sets, U.K. metal rock band Asking Alexandria took the stage, as they emphasized, they are “really fucking good at this music thing!” and have been playing as a band for over 12 years, seemingly on tour constantly. The set combined some newer and previous cataloged tracks as they continue to be a driving force in the music scene. Lead singer Danny Worsnop even took the time to slay a Van Halen guitar riff at center stage as fans cheered wildly. Soon after, the band mellowed out the crowd a bit with some acoustic jams. They even joked with the crowd and engaged in playful banter, an indication of what they themselves were having a great time too.
Fans were eager for the night’s headliner, Papa Roach, a band that has released albums and toured for close to 20 years. It’s not every day that a band has stuck together, continuing to make music and achieving accolades as Papa Roach has. Fans erupted into deafening cheers as each song started, with many, breaking off into mosh pits. Papa Roach and played fan favorites including “Getting Away with Murder”, “Scars” and “Last Resort” feeding off the wild energy of the crowd. It was obvious that frontman Jacoby Shaddix and his bandmates felt completely at home in Bethlehem. Shaddix referred to some of the bands that felt influenced him throughout his set including his favorite Pennsylvanian rock band Poison! He shouted, “Put those horns into the air if you like Poison!”. He was feeding off the energy as he dashed around the stage, thriving on more headbanging from the crowd. The band was tight as each member fed off the venue’s collective energy as well. Nostalgia is something intimate and bands like Papa Roach continue to prove that they have achieved this status night after night, not just by flashing phones during sets but a band that continues to feel passionate and love what they do on stage. Now that’s special!
Review by Brendan Maurice | Photos by Nick Scalera
