Breaking Benjamin is a band that I’ve been into for a very long time and one that I’ve had the privilege of seeing no less than three times live. The first time I saw them was in Corpus Christi, Texas. As my first time actually seeing Ben and his band In the Flesh it, was an absolutely amazing experience. The night popped off to a bang with them starting their set with Blow Me Away (the “Halo Song” lol) and they didn’t slow down from there. While they were preparing to release their upcoming album Dark Before Dawn, their set consisted of many songs from their past. I Will Not Bow from Dear Agony was played along with other songs off of Saturate, We Are Not Alone, and Phobia. One of the standout parts of that night was when they covered the fuckin’ Metallica song Through the Never. The mosh pit erupted and everyone started moving. Directly after that they went straight into polyamorous (my favorite song from them) and the energy didn’t let up. Overall it was an amazing show. I was able to see them while they were on that same tour when they came to my hometown, San Antonio Texas, a month or so later. They’re set list was very similar but they played a couple different songs compared to what they played prior and it made it all worth it. I also feel really lucky to be able to have observed two shows so close together and see the subtle differences. Such as what they say between songs, the set list, and the general attitude of the band from show to show. Their presence was on point just like when I saw them the first time and, if I recall correctly, the second time they played Phase off of saturate which was always one of my favorite songs from that album. Breaking Benjamin was amazing the third time I saw them as well, but unfortunately the venue I saw them at was very restrictive when it came to crowd movement. Movement was more or less not allowed and people expected you to be ejected from the show even if you push towards the front in the tiniest manner. Despite that the band was great, and during the end of their set list their basest performed all of the vocals for their live rendition of Believe from the album We Are Not Alone. Despite the undesirable venue, it made the entire event worth it as it’s not every day you get to see a memorable song performed in such a divergent manner from how it’s presented in the album. Needless to say if they ever come back through where I live I’ll be seeing them again
