Live Review: DISTURBED - The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour with Three Days Grace & Sevendust

3/12/2025

Writing and Photography by Bobby Talamine
Edited by Fiza Javid

United Center Chicago
Saturday - March 8, 2025

Disturbed, fully intact.
Fronted by charismatic lead singer David Draiman, and with guitar shrapnel volleys from Dan Donegan, and underlying (yet heavy) bass from John Moyer, and punishing drums from Mike Wengren.

They came to play folks, especially it being a hometown show of sorts.
They sold out the United Center- and the faithful got there early, to see openers Three Days Grace and Sevendust.
Also helps that the show falls on a Saturday night, enhancing the celebratory party feel between all three bands.
And of special note, a week before the show, checking David's Instagram feed, and a cool post with Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer of Sevendust.
The caption read- " To say I respect this man is an understatement. Lajon Witherspoon has been a dear friend, a colleague and a teacher to me since before Disturbed was signed. So happy to have Sevendust out with us again!"
That has "Feel Goods" written all over it.
Much needed in this day and age, in my opinion.

The whole band shares the same sentiment, having done a meet and greet at J.J. Kelley's Restaurant and Pub in Lansing, a south suburb of Chicago the day before, one of their original stomping grounds doing their best to make a name for themselves back before they even had a recording contract.
They love their fans, truly appreciate how they've come this far, 25 years since the release of their debut- "The Sickness".
The album still holds up, especially when performed live.
And the other treat is that there were no deviations in the way it was presented- the whole album in the first set in its entirety, not emphasizing the hits and singles.

So yeah, as cool as that sounds, song number three for the evening fired up the venue tenfold- that being "Stupefy", with lots of fire engine red lighting, along with washes of vertical pyro coming form the gigantic stage production, looking like a gigantic scaffolding, with plenty of options interspersed throughout to enlighten the senses.
Have to give them credit and staying true to the album for set number one- bulldozing through the album in what seemed like a flash, before descending into set number two which for all intent and purposes, is the "Greatest Hits" part of the show.
The cool thing about staying true to the album "The Sickness"- some of these songs you probably haven't heard in ages, since they wouldn't be in a regular live production rotation, igniting the band even more in my opinion, clearly by the looks of things they're having fun, playing songs they haven't played in quite some time.
Lots and lots of fun thoughout.

The show, front to back- high energy, and not just with Disturbed (which is obviously a given).
All three bands came to play caffeinated.
High energy alerts throughout.
So Disturbed's setlist- some twenty songs in total, again divided between all things "The Sickness" to start, followed by a brief break, then into another eight songs of "The Hits", with everything under the sun, including some trailblazing covers, such as "Land of Confusion", and of course "The Sound of Silence".

Both sets, polished and full on, collective intensity intact.
So happy for these guys, succeeding the way have, from the ground up, working hard from the start in making a name for themselves.
That kind of trajectory, that kind of fight, to selling out arenas, that never leaves you, especially for a band like Disturbed.
Brute force honesty in staying true to themselves, made even more so with word of mouth success, followed by constant (I mean constant touring).
Such was the show on a Saturday night in Chicago, a celebratory feel, everyone in on the action, from crowd to band, band to crowd.

Three Days Grace.
They came to play, and also delivered.
12 songs in their setlist, almost like a full set.
How cool is that?
And with both original singer, Adam Gontier and current vocalist Matt Walst.
Dual vocalists can be troublesome with tradeoffs and such, but not these guys.
Like everything this evening, their having damn fun.
Opening with four on the floor kinda song in "Animal I Have Become", followed by "So Called Life", and of course "Break".
A one/ two/ three punch delivered to knockout, with plenty more to go.
And the stage, the props, the overall mood and lighting- delivered like they were co- headliners.
Such a great band, with hard rock songs played gritty, played aggressive.
They certainly know how to please a crowd, any crowd, keep them amped and entertained, whether headlining, or opening for a band like Disturbed.
A remarkable set, full on adrenaline.

Sevendust.
Fronted by another charismatic vocalist in Lajon Witherspoon.
Only a six song set, but still... delivered, and delivered then some.
And like I said at the beginning- the crowd, they showed up early.
Main floor looked packed, and most of the mezzanine level seats as well.
The band- an approach to heaviness embraced with killer chords, killer rhythm section and solid guitar interludes, fronted by heavy hitter Lajon Witherspoon.
Opening with "Face to Face", which with Lajon, is "Face to Face" with the audience, utilizing the extended runway from the mainstage to interact with the audience, like literally throughout their set.
A riveting set, punctuated by a band also having damn fun, and damn fun throughout.

What a night of power metal and brazen entertainment, with three bands unified to the core to deliver to the masses.

Bobby Talamine - JBTV Music Television Chicago

Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Sevendust, United Center, Live Music, JBTV Music Television, Chicago, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, Jerry Bryant, Matt Walst, Adam Gontier, David Draiman, Lajon Witherspoon

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Live Review: DISTURBED - The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour with Three Days Grace & Sevendust

Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Sevendust, United Center, Live Music, JBTV Music Television, Chicago, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, Jerry Bryant, Matt Walst, Adam Gontier, David Draiman, Lajon Witherspoon

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