With the war overseas in its final patriotic throws, the Jagermeister tour’s coming to the heartland could not have been accepted with more pride or embraced with more raw emotion. The Jagermeister tour bus pulled into Milwaukee on April 12, 2003 bringing along with it a few of the most powerful nationalistic names in the modern rock world. The midwestern crowd came for the chance to release the passionate feelings they harbored relating to the war in Iraq and the small wars it was causing in the homeland, which we all face. They also attended to be a part of rock history: a night of heavy metal, Jagermeister induced music and entertainment. God bless America.

The half man, half reptile creature known as ‘The Lizardman’ a.k.a. Erik Sprague hosted the night of American metal partisanship with his gory antics, comedy and displays of grotesqueness. Not only was it just what the doctor ordered to boost the violence-driven spirits of the audience, it was disgustingly entertaining, too. His vile talents included many stunts in which a prop of some sort was inserted into his nose and then pulled out his mouth, or vice versa, a talent the industry calls ‘mental flossing.’ Included in this category are items such as condoms and snakes. He also presented feats of endurance and pain by becoming a human/lizard dartboard and pierced weightlifting by lifting two speakers up through the pierced holes in his ears. The finale to his show was a bit in which unmentionable fluids were pumped into his stomach and then pumped back out. He then drank the brownish-tinted, chunky concoction and also served it to Tim Narducci, the lead singer and guitarist for Systematic, one of the bands on the tour. "You taste good." were the only three words he said in reply. Now that’s entertainment.

Saliva was the obvious headliner of the night. They showed up in the biggest bus and had the biggest crowd. The tiny venue remained semi-spacious up until their set when the crowds compacted and it seemed as though we must have been breaking some fire safety law. Other than severe technical problems with Josey Scott’s mic early in the set, they did quite well. They almost did too great. They went without having major pitch, instrumental, or lyrical problems while performing. Take it as you like, but what is the point of watching a concert when one could hear the same thing on a CD at home? They complimented their new album ‘Back Into Your System’ by performing some of their earlier work off their debut ‘Every Six Seconds.’ They also included a moment of silence for the troops and honored ‘those who could not be there’ with ‘Click Click Boom’ bringing the pit to the most life during their set permitting us to let go of the angry emotions we had dealing with the war. The pit had nowhere near the energy level it contained when (hed) P.E. put on their show. The Saliva fans seemed older and more matured concertgoers as, let’s say, (hed) P.E. This is why this tour kicked it in so well. It united young and old fans of the genre to appreciate the freedoms we have in being able to enjoy an evening with American rock gods. Josey had a very righteous demeanor causing the crowds to feel a lot like they were watching some sacred ritual instead of rock concert. He held a certain amount of power over the audience, which scared some into awe and confused most.

(hed) P.E. shocked the entire swarm of Jagermeister fans during their all-too-short set of melodies from their 1997 debut 'Broke' and songs from their current album 'Blackout' by putting forth exceptional musical energy and by turning the political statements of the likes of Saliva into understatements. The group's frontman Jahred held a mystical most-likely marijuana-influenced presence among the fiery vigor of his bandmates. Sonny Mayo, the group's newest member, brought to the band his immense skill and stamina that flavored well the lengthy relationships of the others. DJ Product was scary-cool like an evil clown on stage dressed as a hobo on crack scratching the hip-hop genre into (hed) P.E.'s adrenaline-pumping music. They opened with their to-be-jock-classic 'Suck It Up' and closed with their first popular single 'Bartender.' Enthusiasm was passed from the performers to the watchers through the jumpy, half Marley-inspired half heavy metal musical tonation of (hed) P.E. They also performed covers of Tool, Bob Marley and "their brothers" Sevendust. Ben Burnley, lead singer for Breaking Benjamin, came out to perform on backup vocals with Jahred. Their set of jolting rhythems and abrupt yet predictable melodies contained a certain rawness that none of the other bands possesed causing the crowd to devour the static emotions and show their appreciation through mosh to the bands cryptic pro-war messags. "Would the ladies please step aside? I want my soldiers in the middle." were Jahred's commands to the pit. The obeyed.

Breaking Benjamin was a surprising dissapointment. There were no displays, no unexpected outbursts, nor any exceptional connections with the audience. The members of the band were all relatively normal and if one sets aside Ben's northeastern quality in his singing, their sound was nothing more enticing than any other new rock group's. Music was the only thing present, which is not always bad, but in this case was. They opened with my personal favorite 'Home' and ended with the ever-popular 'Polyamorous.' The crowd perked up for that one possibly excited for the end, but most often stood confused and bored like they were watching the local news. The highlight of the set was when Jahred came from backstage and supported Ben's vocals with his. It always seems more exceptional to hear the music live and be one with the band, but maybe not in this case. One has to experience the dryness of the live performance to appreciate the studio version on the album. When other groups explode on stage like the fourth of July, Breaking Benjamin is one of those snakes that is started on fire and slowly expands as ash on the sidewalk or driveway.

Systematic and Stereomud set off each other well due to their similarities in music and character. One preceded the other bringing a double dose of the heavy hitting music both bands set forth to do so well. The pit was entranced by both acts, but it was irrelevant. The force between the two was miniscule compared to the main acts. However, if they went on their own headlining tours it would be much more intense to watch them and the crowds would have accepted them easier instead of waiting for bigger and better things. They made up for this by performing like their exceptional selves and by making pleased those that went to the tour to see them alone. They are and will be two of the most potent bands in the rock world at this time for a long time.

Midline was the perfect opener band for two reasons. One: they spent the majority of their energy trying to perfect faking the charismas of the big-boy bands. Two: they ended up looking like imitations because of their efforts or lack there of. Midline had no memorable melodies nor had they any recognizable stage presence traits all their own. Overly exaggerated rockstar dispositions and subordinate musical style develop quickly when bands spend more time concerned with being famous than sharing with the world something from their souls.

This is what the Jagermeister Music Tour was all about: Music and our love for it, imported alcoholic bevarages, and the pride of both that we Americans hold.

Review by: Gabby