Carnival of Madness Concert

Recently, I went to the Carnival of Madness concert. The price per ticket was about $60. The line up for this concert is 10 Years, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, and Shinedown (headliner). I will admit that I have only been to one concert before, the X-mas Ball in 2006 (the line up was Nonpoint, Flyleaf, Three Days Grace, Stonedsour, and Disturbed). In comparison, the CoM had a much better atmosphere and was more comfortable. Anyway, I will start at the beginning of the concert. We arrived to the venue about 15 minutes after the gates opened. I assumed that we would have to wait in a long line. Turns out that there was no line and we just had to get patted down and show our tickets to get in. We then walked into the actual seating area (we got seat tickets since I am way too short to stand on the floor and see anything, so if you would like the "full concert experience" and don't mind the occasional mosh pit, I would suggest a ticket on the floor) and it was barely filled. It was still early but a little shocking. As the time approached the listed start of the concert, the band 10 Years took the stage and performed. As assumed, their voices weren't quite as strong as their recorded music, but still decent quality. As they left the stage, we walked out to the lobby area and got autographs from Chevelle. As they posed for a picture for me, I was stopped and yelled at by security, so a word of advice: while waiting in line for a signing, you can take pictures but you will need to stop as you approach the table to keep the line moving. We went back into the arena to listen to Sevendust, which I am not a big fan of so I didn't know any of their songs. If you are a fan of Sevendust, they did have amazing stage presence, were loud and excited, and entertaining to watch. Puddle of Mudd came up next. They were very loud, jumping around the stage, and the lead singer even had his son come up on stage and play guitar. Towards the end of their performance, we went back out to the lobby and got autographs by 10 Years. We went back in to watch the rest of the concert, Chevelle and Shinedown. Both were amazing, with Shinedown really hitting hard and running through the audience. This was a great concert and I recommend anyone and everyone to buy tickets and enjoy! (The top picture is of Chevelle and their signing, the bottom picture was Puddle of Mudd performing "Blurry" and the audience holding up lighters and cell phones. The video is a clip of 10 Years performing Wasteland.)

Britt