Hinder welcome Fort Wayne to the Freakshow

by Reggie Edwards Hinder’s Welcome to the Freakshow Tour is just underway and the Oklahoma rockers are definitely on their game, featuring Nonpoint and Charm City Devils as the openers. The Fort Wayne date was no different, with Charm City Devils getting the party started right with a set that included a rock rendition of “Man of Constant Sorrow,” the bluegrass hit from the major motion picture, O Brother, Where Art Thou? I’ll be honest, I’d never really heard these guys before that night and I was blown away. Frontman John Allen also reminded me a lot of M Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold), with his stage moves and attire. Charm City Devils definitely did the job of an opening band- the crowd was wild and ready for Nonpoint. Nonpoint are a band I’ve wanted to see for awhile so there was a lot of expectations in my mind. Usually when that happens, the band doesn’t live up to them and I’m disappointed. Not this time, though. They destroyed the stage with frontman Elias Soriano coming to front stage and getting it started with “Lights, Camera, Action” from their latest release, Nonpoint and going into a full-blown stage assault, taking no prisoners. The only downside to the set was the woman next to me in the crowd yelling that she was “going to have [Soriano’s] baby” and that he was gonna be her “baby daddy…” it got old fast; for any of you who haven’t gone to a concert before- don’t do that. After two insane sets the crowd size had grown considerably and it was hard to walk around Piere’s. Hinder took the stage and immediately had the crowd singing, moving, jumping and going absolutely insane- then again, Hinder fans tend to be diehards. They zoomed through a set that included hits from all four records, which I really liked- most bands will play songs just from the two newer albums-not Hinder, though. Since their latest album, Welcome to the Freakshow, had released just a few days prior, Hinder played a number of tunes from the new record. “Save Me,” “See You In Hell,” “Shoulda Known Better” and “Talk to Me” were among the new songs featured on the night. Judging from the crowd response you would have thought the songs had been out for years rather than days- that’s one measurement of a great band. The concert atmosphere was nothing but a huge party- one that simply can’t be put into words- Hinder killed it, the fans ate it up, the night was a success. Before the show I had a chance to sit down with Hinder to talk about a few things including the tour, the new album and some tour stories. To hear the interview in its entirety, click below. Hinder Interview: Hinder