When the deck seems stacked against you, you can’t keep good music down for long. Even if you do have to go to the airport.

Our story starts with the need to get one of the bands, in part, from the Detroit airport to the venue and trying to help another band with some video needs. One affected things down the road while the other made this photographer a bit late for the bands that were opening.

So, to Fail & Deliver‘s Robert Longoria, Ricky Longoria, Ronnie Longoria, Brandon Metroff, Rudy Guyton, I apologize for missing your set. We’ll get you guys next time around. But if you see the guys, buy a new shirt from them and help keep the music dream alive for them and all of your local bands.

After an eight-month break, the guys in Breaking Grace, made the trip from Temperance, Michigan to knock the cobwebs out and a few fan’s quivering hearts as well. The band, for those of you that don’t remember these local juggernauts, just happens to consist of Jeremy Rober (vocals), Johnny Krill (guitar), Brandon Gill (drums), and Randy Johnson (bass).

Only having one practice before this show is amazing for the quality of what they played on stage. The songs off of Redemption Road sounded as good as the day the album dropped. We hope the guys, in whatever this configuration might be, stick around and maybe even talk about new music with each other.

Next up were the Toledo, Ohio sons, Angola Road. Scott Miller (vocals), Parker Harroun (guitar), Johnny Cappelletty (drums), Andy Kunkel (bass), and Jay Shrodek (guitar) came back to the Realm stage for the first time since their CD release party.

Big hair, big personality, and big sound is all a part of the show with these guys. From funny faces made in the moment to guitar players undressing as the songs go on, the band has a little bit for all of their fans in the crowd. The guys set the mood up a notch in intensity and big expectations for the first of the touring bands to follow them on this night.

The first three acts down brings us to Guns Out At Sundown. This Oakland, Maryland five-piece “Beardcore”/Hard Rock/Metalcore band is made up of Nate O’Haver (vocals), Mike Dennis (guitar), Joseph “JBONE” Symons (guitar), Stache (bass), and Christopher Tepper (drums). The beards are strong with some in this group of jumping, instrument playing, vocal killing, crowd engaging musicians.

The guys played a nice set to introduce any in the crowd unfamiliar with the band’s sound. Dark Horizon is the outfit’s latest release and came out on Mar 25, 2016. If you like what you hear, see them on tour or grab your copy from iTunes.

Their set list was as follows: “Despair Trips,” “Bloodlust,” “Chase The Meaning,” “Sold To Grief,” “War In My Mind,” “Ruiner,” “Desperate Times,” “Cowboy Killer,” “The Roof, The River.”

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While many need no introduction to who C.J. Pierce (guitar), Stevie Benton (bass), Mike Luce (drums), and Jasen Moreno (vocals) happen to be in their alter ego, for those that might not have seen the parrot singing a very familiar song video, we give you Drowning Pool.

While we didn’t see much in the way of beer, vodka, and kicks in the crotch specifically with the guys, there was a bit of buzz about some of the fellas before the show even started. A few guys in another local Toledo band had to make a short drive to be the personal chauffeur for a few Drowning Pool members to be at the show due to issues beyond the band’s control. In return, a special guest was allowed onstage to help sing towards the end of the set.

After a few technical issues due to not having the opportunity for a sound check before the show were solved, the band gave a full set to fans with a bit of built up frustration and attitude. The band sounded fantastic and played a bit of Hellelujah as well as classics that are a mainstay of the set list.

Speaking of which the following made up the tracks played before turning the stage over to the headliners of the night: “Drop,” “Push,” “Sinner,” “We R Devil,” “Think,” “By The Blood,” “Step Up,” “Sermon,” “Tear Away,” “Pity,” and of course “Bodies.”

Even with the later than normal start, the Memphis “based” Bobby Amaru (vocals), Wayne Swinny (guitar), Brad Stewart (bass), and Paul Crosby (drums) came out on stage with only one goal in mind. They wanted Saliva tunes to be in the heads of every fan in the crowd that showed dedication to the band and stayed well past many reasonable bedtimes to rock out with the guys.

While they played no new music off of Love, Lies, and Therapy, the band’s new crowd funded project due out Jun 10, 2016, was mentioned along with some of the cool things you can get by going to their PledgeMusic.com helping out a bit.

There’s some cool things to be had if you’re a diehard fan. It was good to see Bobby with the rest of the guys after he played his acoustic set at Realm at the beginning of the year and sounded as good tonight as he did then.

“Saliva is back with a vengeance and looking toward the future without forgetting where we came from. Front man Bobby Amaru shines on our latest effort, and I am proud to share the stage with him and new bass player, Brad Stewart, each and every night on tour. Love, Lies, and Therapy stands toe-to-toe with our biggest hits and sets the stage for bigger and better things in 2016 and beyond.” ~ Wayne Swinny

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If you happened to be at the show or are lucky enough to see/have seen any of the bands live in your neck of the woods, we’d love to hear your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter.

Drowning Pool
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Saliva
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Angola Road
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Breaking Grace
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Fail & Deliver
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Realm
Website | Facebook | Twitter

About The Author

After getting the photo bug in the far, past days of black and white film, Erich continued to develop his eye for photography which lead to stops in the sporting, art, wedding, and eventually concert music worlds. Now, doing more writing for National Rock Review, he has entered into the journey of getting to know the artists and the industry, not just the faces on the other side of the lens.