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PANTERA SETLIST A New Level Encore: LAMB OF GOD SETLIST NEST SETLIST PANTERA TOUR DATES 14 FEB PINNACLE BANK ARENA – LINCOLN, NE
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(Note that this show and our reporting, happened prior to the horrible events at Union Station, and our hearts and prayers go out to those affected by the violence)
The party rages on! -
Kansas City and downtown in particular, had been on a multi-day collective bender, beginning with that Sunday’s overtime Championship football game, and continuing on, in the days since.
Though far enough away from New Orleans, Fat Tuesday seemed like another excuse to raise a tall beverage and inside the confines of the T-Mobile Center, fans celebrated the long-awaited return of Texas power groove metal legends Pantera, who brought along Lamb of God and Nest, for a formidable triple-threat bill of an evening.
After years apart, tragedies and animosities, Pantera had decided to reform mostly in part to honor the fallen Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell, the distinctive power guitarist and Vinnie Paul, his hard-banging drummer brother. Remaining members bassist Rex Brown and vocalist Phil Anselmo had grown older and perhaps less stubborn, agreeing to reunite again both in tribute and as a ‘thank you’ to their loyal fans.
To replace the un-replaceable is an impossible task, but the pair managed to team with the very best available- Zakk (Black Label Society, Ozzy) Wylde on guitar and Charlie (Anthrax) Benante on the drum kit. The foursome had honed their collective skills over the last year, mostly in other countries and also supporting Metallica) and are playing a creative musical apex, for this run of headlining shows.
For rising St. Louis trio, Nest, this was an opportunity to play in the largest venue in the area, both to its loyal fans, and gaining new ones who arrived early. Although the bands had a couple days off before this show, Scour and Agoraphobic Nosebleed bassist John Jarvis, bassist Tim Haar, and drummer Derek Bonn, was out working hard to support their recently released third full-length, “Endeavors” on Housecore Records.
Before leaving, they played a small hometown gig, then were off to The Replay Lounge in Lawrence the night before this big for a show in a room probably the size of one of the T-Mobile dressing rooms, but impressed the show on this big stage, ending their set with a sing-a-long cover of ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses” that brought our crew and other band’s members all decked out in Chiefs jerseys, to gather around the mics to sing the choruses.
Longtime Virginia rockers Lamb of God, who in many ways picked up the groove (as well as thrash) metal baton after Pantera had left the scene, shook the crowd with an hour-long-set, in support of their latest and ninth studio album, “Omens”, out last October.
Lead singer Randy Blythe was in rare form, coming out himself in a Chiefs Kelce jersey and stalking the stage while rarely standing still , playing the highlighted eras from their now thirty-year career. Blythe hurled the jersey into the crowd after the first song, resulting in a predictable scramble for it; and meanwhile towards the back center of open general admission pit area, some serious moshing was finally beginning to develop.
We’d last seen LoG back in 2018, supporting the mighty Slayer on their farewell tour, and the band has only perfected their rage sound since, ending poignantly with 2004’s “Laid to Rest” and 2006’s “Redneck”, dedicating the final song to the fallen Abbott brothers, who undoubtedly would have taken the name as a badge of honor.
For TX legends Pantera, our own history with them dates back to their first local Kansas City appearance, at a very sold-out Lone Star club in the Westport district, in the fall of 1990. Our ears are still ringing from that show, and it’s a true wonder the club remained in one piece following, as walls teetered and swayed as a capacity crowd (in a space smaller than, and attended by less people in the GA area on this night) jumping and moshing, seemed collectively able to bring down the entire building.
After the intro music, the set started strong, with 1992’s “A New Level” from their sophomore album and the sonic attack continued with 1994’s “Strength Beyond Strength” with vocalist Anselmo in bare feet on a custom Pantera rug, often holding his hands high, to illicit the crowd’s response, as he’s familiarly done for forty years. Bassist Brown (also displaying a Chiefs Mahomes jersey on his speaker stack – everyone’s on the dynasty bandwagon! Wasn’t content to stay on his side, often making his way from one stage edge to the other.
Guitarist Wylde sported a signature Flying V instrument and a custom leather vest, proudly in tribute to one of his musical heroes, “St. Dime”. Apart from that, Wylde was his usual mass of bobbing hair, legs wide in a set position as he almost non-stopped shredded for the duration of the eighty-minute set.
Benante’s bass drum featured a custom portrait of Vinnie Paul that vibrated and ebbed with every beat, as if to help summon him back, and there was no grandstanding, exclusive solos, or desired limelight from either ‘new’ member, as both clearly understood the underlying purpose of staging these tribute shows.
“Floods” from 1996’s “The Great Southern Trendkill” was especially touching, intermingling screen scenes of thunderstorms and lightning, with casual home video footage of the Abbott brothers having fun together on tour, back stage, and on the road in the 1990’s.
Anselmo prefaced 1992’s “Walk” by acknowledging it was one of those songs people have a personal connection to, from a particular moment in their lives, and urged the crowd to unleash whatever energy was associated with that personal moment, into enjoying the song as they played.
Breakthrough hit, “Cowboys from Hell” came predictably late, ending the main set, with those distinctive opening riffs acting as a musical call-to-arms. Though there was occasional crowd surfing and somewhat of a mosh pit going throughout (and not to knock on the younger generations… well, maybe a little), it seemed that most of the crowd ferocity was tempered down, sometimes almost tame, compared to the scene in the 90’s when Groove Metal was truly having its day. Have all the great mosh pit survivors retired and not properly shown their future generations?, Who’s to say without sounding “well, back in my day…” old.
Although we wanted to hear multiple other favorites, the foursome returned for only a single-song, 1992’s “F**king Hostile” which more than suitably riled up the crowd that one last time, to help leave an impactful and lasting memory of the show.
Despite the usual rumors, Hard Rock still lives strongly, and Pantera has successfully navigated the tricky waters of today, to pull off something complicated and admirable- they’ve taken back their rightful place among the metal echelon, while giving the fans something they hoped to see again for years, and most importantly, kept the memories of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, strong and burning bright in the hearts of the fans.
(Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
| JohnC ♥ johnc@weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com |
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