Review & Photos: Daughtry delivers top-notch performance to sold-out Columbus' crowd with Sleep Theory and Devour the Day
Chris Daughtry has come a long way since his first appearance on American Idol season five in 2006–during which he placed fourth as a finalist and was invited to join rock band Fuel. Not to mention, his roots going back ten years prior as a 16-year-old in high school performing in his rock band Cadence and later his 2003 band Absent Element.
The North Carolina-Virginia native has since released six albums, selling more than 9 million, and he has released several chart topping hits. He has also experienced personal tragedy with the passing of his mother and stepdaughter in 2022.
Friday night Daughtry brought a sold-out crowd to their feet at KEMBA Live! in Columbus, Ohio as part of local rock radio station WRKZ 99.7 The Blitz’s annual Blizmas’ concert series.
Daughtry is without a doubt a first-class rockstar—his motions, gestures, physique, visual appearance (including his black-out arm and shoulder tattoos, black facial chalk markings, black fingernails), and above all, those indisputably phenomenal wide-ranging live powerhouse vocals.
The production complimented the singer and the outstanding full five-member backing band: Large backing split video walls, upwards walkway ramps, a deep spread-out stage, frequent bursts of scattered up smoke across the stage.
The Grammy-nominated artist and BMI, AMA, Billboard winner has evolved through the years and has seemed to have entered a somewhat heavier, darker phase with his most recent release: a two-part EP titled Shock To The System, from which he performed all six tracks.
Daughtry also took fans back to 2006 with a solo acoustic performance of “Home,” which he mentioned the single was life changing for his career. He followed that song with an emotional solo acoustic cover of Deftones’ “Change (In The House Of Flies),” which he introduced by jokingly saying it was a song he wish he wrote.
Daughtry complimented the crowd’s energy, but noticed a little silence which made him anxious after “It’s Not Over” (“…You ever get anxious for no reason, out of nowhere? Or maybe it’s just [that] life is fucking hard sometimes…”), it was the perfect segue into “Nervous.”
Daughtry introduced “Pieces” with a positive genuine message: If you’ve ever “suffered loss or heartbreak,” there is “light on the other side of darkness, just keep holding on.”
Other songs during the 90-minute set included: “Over You,” “Heavy Is The Crown,” “World On Fire,” “Changes Are Coming” and a cover of Journey’s “Separate Ways.”
From a fan’s perspective in the crowd, the overall concert was phenomenal and A1 with no detectable audible or visual defects.
Following the rest of Daughtry’s December tour dates, he will join Disturbed and Nothing More for an extensive Spring amphitheater tour.
Earlier, Memphis rockers Sleep Theory took the stage with a mix of lighter alternative rock and heavier modern rock.
The crowd was very familiar with the band’s singles and Paper Hearts' EP; fans sang the lyrics (“stuck in my head, unlike anything that you ever said”) while waving their hands high from side to side.
Lead vocalist Cullen Moore projected a unique blend of metal and R&B while backing vocalists Daniel Pruitt (guitar) and Paolo Vergara (bass) complemented Moore’s range with their own touch as Ben Pruitt (drums) kept the beat.
Devour the Day opened the night for thirty minutes of energetic hard rock.
Bassist Joey Walser ran across the stage, yelled, and spun around to hype the crowd throughout the set while vocalist Blake Allison treated the crowd to his wide range of clean/dirty vocals. Both of whom are also current Pop Evil members and former Egypt Central members.
Fans roared after Allison said: “My dad always used to say [that] music has the power to save you; I don’t care if you’re 15 or 55, music can get you back on your feet again.”
They performed songs including “Nobody Owns Me” and “Worst Than Death” from their new 2024 EP Fragments Of Us and they revisited 2013 and 2016 with “Good Man” and “The Bottom.”
DAUGHTRY (click to enlarge)
SLEEP THEORY (click to enlarge)
DEVOUR THE DAY (click to enlarge)
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