The Take Back Your Life Tour
Noblesville, IN
Photos by Laura Fox (LLFoxphotos)
Review by Dave Fox
Breaking Benjamin is one of those bands that don't make a lot of headlines, but that has tremendous staying power. Whenever "Breathe," or "Diary of Jane" start playing on the radio, you immediately recognize them and know who did them. I was curious to see and hear Breaking Benjamin live, and my first chance to do that was Saturday at Ruoff Music Center when they played in support of Disturbed.
It was the last show of the "Take Back Your Life" tour, and it was pretty obvious that Burnley was not in peak form. There were special air conditioners and fans all around him, and between songs he covertly sucked on a vape pen, which probably had some sort of medication in it. He relied on the audience to sing some of the lyrics for him, and he sat on a stool almost as much as he stood up. He still sang his heart out, though, and I thought he sounded great.
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We also got to hear lead vocals from bassist Aaron Bruch on “Simple Design,” and from rhythm guitarist Keith Wallen on “Sooner or Later.” Both normally provide backing vocals, and I enjoyed hearing them more.
Drummer Shaun Foist was a little hard to see behind his screens, but we could definitely hear him, and he sounded fierce. Although lead guitarist Jasen Rauch was less smiley than Wallen, his licks were clean and ferocious.
Wallen's performance was my favorite – he was the most animated of the band. I get that Breaking Benjamin’s music is heavy, but I prefer live shows where the artists aren’t just standing there glaring at the audience. Wallen was smiling, moving around, sticking out his tongue, and even ended up on his back while playing. That’s a guy I’d like to hang out with!
Breaking Benjamin's 13-song set started out with “Failure,” a hugely popular tune, and ended with everyone’s favorite song, “Diary of Jane.” Throughout the set, most of the audience was standing and singing along, and the end of the set brought huge cheers and applause. You can tell that Breaking Benjamin fans will be there “Until the End.”
Side note: During the show, Burnley revealed that Breaking Benjamin is back in the studio. He didn’t give a release date, but the news got the audience (myself included) pretty excited.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with any sort of mental health issue, there are many resources at NAMI:
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