Disturbed-Take Back Your Life Tour Concert Review-Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater 03-02-24

March 11, 2024 LA Metal Media

Concert Review and Photos By Roc Boyum

Disturbed brought the full force of their Take Back Your Life Tour on 03-02-24 to a sold out audience at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater in Phoenix, Arizona with two special guests, Falling In Reverse and Plush. This show was a bit special for Phoenix, AZ since this was a “make-up” show for the show that was originally to have taken place on July 22, 2023 and was canceled due to equipment failure as a result of the searing, brutal and excessive Arizona summer heat – which on that day reached 115-120 degrees. For this show, Disturbed gave the Phoenix audience a special treat by removing the photo pit so the fans could get closer to the stage. This also meant, that us photographers had to shoot from behind the first section – back at the sound board which isn’t optimal for photography but then again, the show is really for the fans; so, hats off to Disturbed for taking care of the peeps who paid good money for this concert.

Towards the end of their show, Draiman touched on the subject of the original show cancellation by stating; “We’ll play when it’s 200 degrees, it doesn’t matter to us“. “Our equipment is a little more temperamental than our human bodies, and so we will have learned from that experience, thank you Arizona.” Considering the intense level of pyrotechnics that the band brought to this show, it’s quite obvious that this show was as hot as you would ever want it to be – with the flames and heat being generated from the stage – it was perfect on a cool night such as the night of this show, but would not have worked during record Arizona heat, and certainly no wonder why they needed to reschedule this show.

Disturbed gave the Phoenix audience a fiery display with their multi tiered fire pits that would move up and down and split into different levels throughout the course of their show which spanned over two plus hours of incredible music. The music the band offered up this evening included some great new material such as “Hey You, Bad Man and Unstoppable” as well as some great Disturbed classics and a couple of brilliant covers. All of this is no surprise coming from a band with a career that spans more than a quarter century and who have won seven music awards from outlets such as iHeart Radio, Loudwire Music Awards and Octane’s Year-End Awards not to mention several Grammy Award Nominations. Something that many of the Disturbed fans may have not anticipated, however, was David Draiman’s willingness to share his life experiences and perspectives, as a way to connect with the audience and hopefully a way to help us all.

To say that a Disturbed show is merely a great hard rock concert could be considered to be a bit shortsighted or a grand understatement; depending on your point of view. If your agenda was to simply enjoy music and party, they filled that cup up quite nicely with an unprecedented night of hard rock music. On the other hand, if one were to open themselves up to the band’s philosophy and perspectives that singer Draiman shared with the audience throughout the night, you could appreciate how much deeper your experience would be as a Disturbed concert attendee.

For example; Draiman imparted various speeches throughout the night that were presented as empowering messages, observations and insights, rather than just sermons. The band’s topics included, the pitfalls of depression, suicide, and drug addiction, the merits of a live hard rock music show, the values of bringing live music to new generations, the insidious nature of politics and how people in power use their cause to divide us – Draiman also commented that a Disturbed concert might just be the largest therapy session any of us will ever attend. There was a substantial amount of information to take in, take home, and ponder on, as we all try to carve a better path for future generations to come.

Draiman’s words were intended to help us conquer the difficulties of depression, the dangers of drug addiction and the tragedy of suicides which he characterized as“demons.” He reminded us that we have all been touched by one of these “demons” in one form or another, whether it’s from a personal experience or if it has touched someone we have known or met in our lives. For his words on live music, he deliberated on the merits of attending a live hard rock show; especially for the upcoming generations. He stated that live music can’t be replaced by someone with a computer and a flash drive, who simply presses a space bar to play pre-recorded material and call that a live show….no, no, no!!! He also warned us about the evils of politicians and people of power who want to divide us with their agendas, which he said, is really how they hold their power over us.

Disturbed gave Phoenix a set of seventeen songs in their regular set that included two cover songs; the Genesis song “Land of Confusion” and the incredible Simon and Garfunkel classic, “The Sound of Silence“. For their song “The Light”, Draiman asked for a little audience participation. His request was, for everyone to hold up their lighters, cell phones or whatever they had with them – and when he sang the two words; “The Light”, the audience participated in a beautiful sea of lights being held high into the night sky.

The band also included “Unstoppable, Down With The Sickness and Inside the Fire” for their three song encore. The Disturbed LP’s represented on this night included their latest LP, Divisive, with the songs “Hey You, Bad Man, Don’t Tell Me and Unstoppable” respectively. The other LPs represented were The Sickness, Indestructible and Ten Thousand Hands.

While there were many observations on the state of people and the world, ultimately, the night was all about the band’s great music, Draiman’s stellar vocals and some entertaining solos by bassist John Moyer, drummer Mike Wengren and guitarist Don Donegan.

With all the craziness that seams to get crazier by the day, it was great to escape into a night of amazing music, talented musicians and the atmosphere of a collective body of people joined together in a single focused unity for the music.

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