BREAKING BENJAMIN
Breaking Benjamin, Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA. 3/21/24.
I had this show highlighted on my calendar for a long time as Breaking Benjamin is one of the great rock bands of the 2000’s. The first opener of the show was Catch Your Breath a metalcore band from Austin Texas that brought some serious energy. They were definitely the heaviest band of the night and were easily able to engage with the crowd. The highlight of their set was when they played “21 Gun Salute” a song most of the crowd knew and sang along to. After Catch Your Breath was former American Idol legend Chris Daughtry. He mixed in some newer songs like “World On Fire” as well as classics such as “It’s Not Over”. Daughtry mixed in some cool covers with “Separate Ways” by Journey and snuck in a little guitar riff from Led Zepplin’s “Kashmir” the very next song. The crowd loved his set and was beyond excited for Breaking Benjamin. The security guards handed out Breaking Benjamin towels so by the time the band came out the front row was spinning them around like it was a sporting event. With a fully sold out crowd when the show started it was a sea of fans jumping up and down. The band led off with “Failure”, “Until the End”, as well as “Red Cold River”. A cool thing that happened at the Bethlehem show is that they played multiple songs they haven’t played since 2010 for the first time which made the crowd really feel it to be a special show. By the time the band got to their all time hits of “I Will Not Bow” and “Diary of Jane” the crowd was fully immersed in the show singing along as well as crowdsurfing their way through the audience. It was an amazing night in Bethlehem.
Shot and Written by Jonah van Bemmelen.
