Breaking Benjamin Brings Epic “Dad Rock” Set to the Allegan County Fair
If you were anywhere near Allegan, Michigan, on Saturday, September 12, you probably could hear the amazing rock show that took place at the Allegan County Fair. An unexpected, impressive, and appreciated lineup of Kami Kehoe, Starset, Chevelle, and Breaking Benjamin took the stage and rocked the evening through golden hour, a beautiful sunset, and late into the evening. Not a single soul in the fairgrounds remained still for any of the sets, which is a testament to the lineup of this tour.
KAMI KEHOE
As the show began, I was entering this set blindly, having never heard Kami Kehoe before. Kami began on drums, sharing heavily impressive skills and stick twirling, before being replaced by the drummer as she took the main mic. She had so much energy, and the crowd and fans at the barricade were really into the music. The heavy rock and headbanging made perfect sense as a support for Breaking Benjamin, and the stage presence of her and her band was electric. Her nine-song set consisted of “Psycho”, “Fade Out”, “The End”, “Dopamine,” and others, and it was quite the opener that set the stage for the entire show. If you can, catch a Kami Kehoe set because she is absolute fire on stage.
STARSET
With all of the LED screens on the stage, you know that you are in for an epic set. No matter the length or size of the “demonstration,” as Starset calls it, you know it is going to be mind-blowing. The amount of production put into every show they perform is next level and deserves attention.
Starset is usually best experienced in a dark venue where the fog and lighting changes can be seen and felt to their fullest dramatic effect, but that didn’t deter them from performing an incredible golden hour performance. Dustin Bates took the stage on a raised platform as his new alter ego, “The Prophet”, with both Siobhan Cronin (Violin) and Zuzana Engererova (Cello) standing at attention in their new dystopian style stagewear in front was powerful for their new single “parad0x1c,” which was absolutely incredible live.
Brock Richards and Ron DeChant flanked the lower stage standing still with their guitars, Cory Juba (keys/electronics/guitar) and Adam Gilbert (drums) on the top of the risers at their instruments. Their eight-song set was filled with some of their massive hits and their two newest releases, including “ann1h1lat10n”. “Carnivore”, “Brave New World”, “Monster”, “Silos”, “Toksik”, and “My Demons” finished off their demonstration strong and to the screams of the crowd below.
This was my third demonstration by Starset, and as a fan and photographer, they are a favorite to experience and capture because they, behind the scenes, create this separate world that feels like an escape from reality. The set from start to finish was captivating and was sure to create new fans from people in the crowd who had not experienced them previously. The two new songs and the stage presence were top-notch, and the fans I spoke to were excited to see what comes next for the sci-fi rock band.
CHEVELLE
Following Starset, the sky got dark, venue lights came on, and oriental rugs were laid out on the stage to prepare for Chevelle, who also would perform in front of massive LED displays. Chevelle is a band that gets straight to the music- never one to incorporate stage banter or talk with the fans; they keep their sets all bangers with no filler in between. Chevelle makes it an experience that sets them apart from some other bands.
Pete Loeffler (vocals and guitar) creates a personal feeling during their songs- with the rugs, the minimal setup with nostalgic images on the LED screens of vintage school photos, and other images that give you that feeling of being at a garage party back in the day, watching the local neighborhood band play their hits for you. It felt intimate despite the large crowd you were standing in, which is really hard to do with so many people, but then again, Chevelle are veterans of the music scene.
“Family System”, “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)”, “Pale Horse”, “Face on the Floor”, “The Clincher”, “Send the Pain Below”, and “The Red” (as well as other bangers) brought the heavy and headbanging, making this lean three-piece band feel larger than life on stage. The riffs and set were just as heavy as when I first saw them live in Ozzfest 2003. This band knows how to captivate the audience and yet make them feel like there isn’t the chaos surrounding us in the crowd. Sam Loeffler (drums) and Kemble Walters (backing vocals and guitar) helped make the live experience solid and sound incredible. Chevelle was such a great lead-up to a headliner!
BREAKING BENJAMIN
The amount of following for Breaking Benjamin that were at barricades that have been to so many of their shows over the years was so cool to see. The excitement as the lights turned off and their display of a Windows XP Limewire experience of downloading their music turned the screens into screams and excitement from the crowd. Breaking Benjamin has always been a band that reminds you of the early 2000s nostalgia, and having grown up in the time when they were releasing some of their biggest hits, it’s a band that will always take me back and reminds me that it’s not just divorced dad rock, but it’s rock music that got me through some of the toughest and most confusing years as a teenager.
Benjamin Burnley (vocals) took the grandstand stage with the band, while the crowd lived out their best evening ever. It was loud, and sounded exactly like the CDs we used to blare in our hand-me-down Honda Civics and Toyota Camrys back in the day. The entire band, consisting of Burnley, Keith Wallen (Rhythm Guitar, Background Vocals), Jasen Rauch (lead guitar), Aaron Bruch (Bass, Backing Vocals), and Brian Medeiros (drums), turned a sleepy agricultural fair in rural Allegan, Michigan, into a full-throttle rock arena. Their entire set was nostalgic, loud, heavy, and left me singing for days. The first song to start the set was seamlessly worked into the opening Windows XP setup, “I Will Not Bow”. “Until The End” and “Evil Angel” were an incredible mix to cover in the first three songs, sharing that quintessential Breaking Benjamin sound with range and catering to all of their fans.
If you weren’t at the show, you most definitely were missing out on the dad rock jokes, the heavy-hitting tracks like “So Cold”, “Polyamorous,” “Dear Agony”, “Something Wicked”, “Dance with the Devil,” “Diary of Jane,” and so many other songs that are always identifiable by their opening riffs. Jasen Rauch, Keith Wallen, and Aaron Bruch all added their background vocals flawlessly alongside Ben Burnley, creating an unusually rich multi-vocal dynamic live. The band was all over the stage, packing high-energy into their 18-song set. This is a band that is confident that their genre is alive and well 25 years later- with fans of all ages, including children of the OG fans rocking out together and singing along to their favorites.
The stage banter was mostly limited to Ben, who thanked the support bands for coming out and joking that Starset went back to whatever planet they were from, added a belch into a song, and made a few jokes about getting old. For one night, this random venue near the start of the “Something Wicked” Tour was not a fairground where they also hold other events that don’t pertain to music but car derbies, etc.- it was the stage where the fans came together to watch an epic show from four artists that were determined to make that evening one to remember for fans of old and new, and of all ages.
If this entire tour has proven anything, it’s that Breaking Benjamin and post-grunge aren’t going anywhere soon- they are just getting louder. This show also proves that people will travel from out of state and all over Michigan to see their favorite artists. Whether you are a new fan or have been listening since 2002, Breaking Benjamin showed everyone that heavy rock belongs on the main stage no matter where that may be.