Death Punched in Oklahoma on Friday the 13th

3 days ago

*Ivan Moody with Five Finger Death Punch in Choctaw. Photo by Craig Youngblood*

It was warm September Friday the 13th as fans poured into the Choctaw Casino to watch the incredible show Five Finger Death Punch had put together for them. Looking up at the stairs, you turn the corner to walk up towards Choctaw Grand Theater. All you could see was fans everywhere. They were lined up at every possible entrance, waiting to go in and rush to the front rail, where they would remain throughout the entire show, just wanting to get as close as possible to their favorite acts that were performing that night. As they were all just standing around and waiting for the doors to open, many were talking with other fans and discussing their favorite moments from previous shows they had seen of this line-up and getting their merch fix early so they wouldn’t have to miss any of the performances from the bands. For many fans, including myself, there was someone in this line-up we were getting to experience for the first time. Fans continued patiently waiting, swapping stories, and having conversations until the doors opened and security began letting the first of the long lines in. Fans began hurriedly entering the venue to grab their spot in the pit for the night to get the best experience possible. I knew, hearing these stories and talking to the other fans, that this would be an incredible Friday the 13^th, but I had no idea how amazing it would be, and it was an insane ride of energy from the opener to the headliner!

As it got close to the time for the insanely talented Russian deathcore band Slaughter to Prevail to take the stage, the rest of the fans that had been lined up for hours were funneling in and finding their spots in the remaining space in the pit, and others were finding their seats. Minutes before the band was set to take the stage, the crew was on stage checking one last time for anything that may need to be done and stepping off into the darkness after their final check while the crowd grew silent with anticipation for the show to get kicked off as the lights went out. As the lights came back up, the band started appearing on both sides of the stage and got into position to start the first song of the night. The band began playing the intro to Bonebreaker as the frontman, Alex the Terrible, came running onto the stage with the biggest smile across his face while the fans erupted with cheers and applause. He immediately jumped into the growling lyrics that fans all knew and love, singing along with him. If you have never seen Slaughter to Prevail, you are in for a treat both audibly and visually as their appearance is a little bit nightmarish as the masks the band wears look like they could tear your face off at a moment’s notice. Nothing could be further from the truth as the band all smiled and laughed amongst each other while soaking up the applause of the fans. The band made sure to make the fans feel special by interacting with them as they played and went from one side of the stage to the other to get a chance to see the whole room. After a few of their songs Alex stopped for a minute and began chatting with the fans. He was talking about making changes in this world and how you have to start with yourself. It’s hard, but you can do it. He was so uplifting and positive, increasing the insane energy that was flowing through the venue so far tonight. As they wrapped up their set, they left the fans with one more jolt of energy with their song Baba Yaga; the crowd erupted, and mosh pits began swirling. As Alex and the rest of the band left the stage, the crew came out and prepared the stage for the Legend Marilyn Manson to come on next.

As the crew finished setting up the smoke machines began rolling smoke that filled the theater and was so thick you could barely see in front of you. It was so thick you could barely see the drummer take the stage and sit on his throne to kick things off. The rest of the band continued taking the stage and getting set to start the first song, the Legendary front man Marilyn Manson walks out onto the smoke-filled stage with a super cool stroll in large black platform boots and long black trench coat. As the band began hitting the opening chords to We Know Where You Fucking Live and Manson stepped up and grabbed his microphone, the crowd erupted with screams and cheers of happiness, getting to witness an Manson show. The song begins with heavy thundering kick drums and bass hammering you in the face as Manson joins in with the song’s first words. His unmistakable voice grabs you to listen intently as he sings to you. A couple minutes into the first song Manson sheds his coat and you get the first glimpse of his all-black outfit that he donned for tonight’s performance. Marilyn Manson has always been known to be totally himself and will always look great when he comes out to perform for the fans who have supported him throughout the years and all the ones who have just recently found him and are eager to soak up everything they possibly can about him and his music. A couple more songs in and they jump straight into a high-energy groove with This is the New Shit, and the fans sway around and sing at the top of their lungs through the venue. Marilyn Manson lets his fans know that no matter what kind of hatred and lies try to beat him down, he knows one thing is that he can believe in you. As he wrapped up addressing his fans for a moment, they went into a fan favorite Tourniquet as the lights behind them lit up the fans, you could see them swaying around as he sings to them. As they continue through the set list you hear the fans screaming, “I love you” and “Hell Yeah” all around. He stops and tells Oklahoma that is nice to meet them and introduces the band; as he introduces himself, he says he is Marilyn Manson, and the fans erupt as the opening riffs of The Dope Show began to play. Hands go up all at once and begin waving back and forth to the tempo of the song. Manson even let us hear some of his new music with the song we are only As Sick as the Secrets Within and the fans ate it up and loved every note and word of the song as the band played it out for them. As he finished serenading us with some new music, he brought us to one of his other hit songs. As Manson made his way towards the back of the dark stage suddenly a bright light turns on and he lights up the stage and turns it onto himself and begins his incredible eurythmics cover of Sweet Dreams. The deafening screams and cheers were heard everywhere as the fans took to their feet and began waving their lights around with him. Of course, now that he had played this song the fans knew it wouldn’t be long before Manson and the band would get to perform one of the fans favorites. Manson shouted Oklahoma and they cheered and screamed for him as he asked how does it feel to be one of The Beautiful People the band kicked into the first chords of the song as the light show behind them began; Manson started singing the words and the fans were moshing and jumping around the pit. They thanked the fans and walked off the side of the stage into the darkness. The lights went up and the crew rushed onto the stage to start breaking down and getting prepared for the one and only Five Finger Death Punch to take the stage and close out the night.

As the time drew near for the Final Act of the night fans hurried back to their seats and spots in the pit with drinks and merch in tow. They got settled in for one more act and another increase in the already electric energy flowing through the Choctaw Grand Theater from the opening act to the final act we were all about to witness. As Mother from Danzig was playing over the speakers, the Incredibly Talented Five Finger Death Punch members took the stage to kick off the final part of the night. The lights went out and the band welcomed everyone to the show with Welcome to the Circus and the fans erupted and lifted the roof off the theater with screams of cheer and pure excitement. As they made their way through the end of the opener Ivan talked with the fans in the pit and interacted with the small kids that were in attendance. Shortly, they worked their way into not only a fan favorite but also one of my favorites, Jekyll and Hyde, and the energy jumped another notch as they struck the song’s first notes. The fans were all rocking around jumping all over the pit and singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs word for word with Ivan. As they wrapped up that song Ivan stopped and was talking to the fans and said he noticed there were more than a few kids in there tonight. He said that is the best part of the show for them because they are doing something right. He then noticed one young fan sitting on his dad’s shoulders and asked him to join them on stage for a few songs. As he got them to their spot on the stage, he asked him if he was good and said the rest of this show for you will be Sham Pain and the thundering drum hits started coming in along with the deep bass grooves as they jumped into the rest of the song. Halfway through the song two large cannons began going off spraying confetti from the front to the back of the theater. The crowd was jumping around, cheering, and whistling as they worked through the set list for the night. The lights and lasers began going off everywhere as they kicked into Burn MF; you could see the mosh pit breaking out, head banging and singing from all over. Part of the way through the song Ivan said it was time for some crowd participation and were going to do dudes and ladies and let’s see how we do. Ivan had them go back and forth and laughed when the ladies were louder than the men and said the dudes were lame tonight… He then had them go again and laughed because there was a small group of ladies helping the dudes up at the front that he could see. He continued doing that a couple more times and then they went back into the song as the time drew close to the end the band started exiting the stage and Ivan said Charlie give them Hell. As Ivan exited the back of the stage Charlie did indeed give us Hell and kicked straight into an insanely high energy all over the kit drum solo and fans ate up every lick he hit. The band joined back onto the stage and they finished up the song. Ivan then took a minute to address the crowd and expressed how much he loves his job and all of his fans that let him do this. He told the fans that he and his band are deeply appreciative for their support and to give ourselves a round of applause. He then began singing the intro to Wrong Side of Heaven A cappella but after he sang the first couple words the crowd began singing along with him and he stopped and smiled at the fans. Ivan then began again and this time went back and forth with the fans singing part and him singing the other. After the intro he said let me welcome you all with your biggest singing voices to the Wrong Side of Heaven and the fans cheered as they played the song. Everyone had left the stage, and the lights came up at the back of the stage. The Vikings song, mixed with the 300 Spartans, began playing. The band appeared back on stage and they hit the first notes of Under and Over It as the kick drum went off and the drummer was reigning down blows to his kit. Ivan and the guys were working the stage and he said I want to feel this and the crowd surged with moshing, head banging, and singing along with the band. Towards the end of the show Ivan was walking around and explaining to the fans about a bat that he hands out at the end of every show. He asked who here was seeing them for the first time tonight and hands went up all over the place. He was shocked and said thank you and welcome to the Family. He continued talking to the fans and got side tracked by seeing a baby and ended up giving the dad of the baby a bat and the jersey that he had on. Ivan continued talking and conversing with his band as they joined him back on the stage. He told fans to get out their cell phones and have some fun and said we want you to know that you are the reason that we continue to bleed and immediately jumped into The Bleeding to close out an truly incredible show. He said come on everybody this is your last chance to dance. Ivan then had everybody scream and then took his turn with the opening lyrics of the final song of the night.

As they finished their last song, they thanked the fans and took a bow and began throwing out guitar picks as the fans began dispersing and exiting the theater for the night. You could hear conversations all over the place talking about what a great night it had been. They were saying what an incredible experience it had been and how everyone that performed left it all out there on that stage tonight. This was the first time I had been able to experience a Five Finger Death Punch show and it was truly an amazing experience. Every band that performed that night put on great shows. It was a great experience because all the bands had great energy, incredible performances, and interactions with the fans. I am looking forward to being able to see another Five Finger Death Punch show again in the future. If you have not been out to see this line-up yet and they are coming to your town, I suggest going to it and seeing what an experience it truly is.