Babymetal, Black Veil Brides & Bloodywood @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater

What have I just seen? This is my 2nd night working at the Amp and things couldn't be any different from Sturgill Simpson's show last month.

First up was Bloodywood.  An Indian metal band.  I liked this sound.  The metal with the south-east Asian twang is really unique.  Throw in the fact they are a bunch of boy-band-good-looking blokes dressed in different colored dhotis (? - I could be wrong about the name, but it looked like traditional Indian clothing).  It still makes me turned around when I hear metal during daylight.  And in this heat....  Interesting sound that I would like to see in a smaller club (in the dark).

Bloodywood Setlist

Babymetal did the right thing picking Black Veil Brides as an opener.  These heavy goth rockers (Does that sound Gen X enough) have a good following in, and are keen to get the energy levels up.  I admit, I only heard the show, I didn't see much as I was ushering people into seats.  When the sound went 2 or 3 songs in, I thought there might be a riot, but all was fixed by song's end, and Black Veil Brides powered through the rest of the set, with fans a blazing.

Black Veil Brides Setlist

And then there was Babymetal.  They've played the Underground (800 people) and the Fillmore (1800) and now selling out Skyla (5000 people) in the 3 years I've worked this venue.  And these fans are die hard.  They band come out, in the background, dressed as Japanese warriors and started a heavy riff.  Then appeared the 3 Babymetal singers, dressed in a kimono-styled dress, who proceeded to deliver a Japanese language metal scream while performing choreographed pop dance moves.  I've never seen anything like it.  Old man here had no idea what was going on, but there was no one in the crowd that wasn't top of their lungs singing.  It was wild!  I didn't understand a word sung, but I was oddly drawn into this spectacle.  The Japanese-metal-pop-imagery-choreography scene is definitely not my thing, but good on Babymetal for finding an audience and growing it rapidly.  Maybe next time they'll be at the PNC Pavilion.

Babymetal Setlist

The Crap Facts

This is my 522nd concert.
This is my 15th concert at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater.
This is my 119th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 143rd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 322nd concert in the USA.
Bloodywood are the 606th band I've seen.
Black Veil Brides are the 607th band I've seen.

Black Veil Brides are the 250th time I've seen a band in North Carolina.

Babymetal are the 608th band I've seen.

Babymetal are the 200th different band I've seen in North Carolina.