Attending the second annual Lazerfest in Milwaukee, WI on May 31st, 2003 brought about several shocking revelations. Lazerfest was approached with closed minds and preconceived impressions of what to expect whence entering the the Marcus Amphitheatre in Milwaukee, WI. Expected was the comfort in knowing what to expect. Every one of the groups presented a certain amount of intuition, which was expected to be transparent and with no surprises. Little known was that each band also brought their own twist to the predetermined level of superiority at the show. The show itself did prove to bring about a group of surprising twists.

Breaking Benjamin opened the festivities with tunes off their debut album 'Saturate' which hit the stores in the early fall of last year. They have dramatically improved their live musicianship since their semi-serious role as opener for the Jagermeister Music Tour. This came as a shock after such a let down from only over a month before. Why were they opening for Revis?! Stage presence application for such a talented group of musicians should be higher on the importance list now that they have the show put together. They opened once again with 'Home', their very own Wizard of Oz-esque song and ended with the ever familiar 'Polyamorous,' both of which take the cake for best crowd appreciation. Ben Burnley (lead singer/guitarist) seemed bored with the idea of playing the set once again, something the audience doubtfully approves of or admires. Smacking gum is a rockstar trait that Dave Grohl can pull off, but that does not allow all to follow. As opener band, have courtesy.

Revis played a very dry set causing much confusion due to the title of their single 'Caught in the Rain.' A little "wetness" may have helped these Illinois boys perk the show up a bit. Not knowing the songs other than the lead single make all songs but their single drift together and form one giant boring song with basic rock layers quite like a layer cake that seems to have been sitting out for a little too long. Lead singer Justin Holman pranced around stage with the mic stand like Elvis. Elvis/Revis...coincidence? Their name actually came from their friend and guitar-tech Jason Revis. You are not the Re-Elvis yet. Get some reputation built up along with a wider fan base before your act begins to seem dry to both non-fans and fans alike.

The set performed by Cold was the highlight of the opening acts. Without the support of their bassist, who sat on the side of the stage and entered for back-up vocals alone, they still performed one of the best shows of the night, surprisingly enough. The guitar tech guy Larry filled in for bassist Jeremy Marshall as he had broken his arm only a short while before attending Lazerfest. Singer Scooter Ward kept the audience at his fingertips with his all at once rough and tender lyrics off their latest album 'Year of the Spider.' They also played songs from '13 Ways to Bleed Onstage' and their self-titled. Thinking they would be a secondary band drastically changed and good opinions towards them rose several notches as they progressed through their set releasing unbelievable amounts of energy. Every emotion and strain presented brought us all closer to their inner beings and showed us what it was like to be 'Cold.' They were by far the most real band who performed.

Meeting Ra beforehand set up the predetermination that on stage they were most likely going to be quite dorky guys trapped in rockstar bodies. Wrong. The members of Ra have to be some of the coolest guys in the modern rock world. They entertained with such an air of persona, it was staggering to those who assumed otherwise. Sahaj's Egyptian-styled vocals and music that seems to follow no rules but its own reached high and dipped low. SkootaWarner, Ra's drummer, ritualistically sacrificed the drums into something terribly simple-sounding. At times, he moved so fast it looked as though he was not moving at all. Sahaj held the vocals back in such a way that while listening, they seemed they were also inside the listeners like they were producing the music in some magical way as well.

Several rock bands have distinct messages they depict through their lyrics and one-sided conversations they have with the audience at a live show. A majority of these bands portray messages of pain and hatred of others. Trapt is not one of these bands. During their set of songs off their first major-label album, Trapt provided the crowd with a simple message of endurance and being yourself in a tough world. "People should just follow their dreams and don’t let anyone comprimise that dream by telling you which way they want you to go in your life..." were lead singer Chris Brown's last words during an interview with us last November. Little did we know that he seriously lived by, and preached this final statement. After his proclamations the songs they performed took on new meaning and the way the band members treated their music was more like they were teaching the fans a lesson. Such passion and such connections were made between the performers and the audience. It is no doubt that either Trapt has discovered the way to get into people's hearts through false-friendship, or they are just regular guys from the California suburbs who made it big by following their dreams just like they say we all should.

The final set of the evening was headliner Godsmack, the most surprising set of the show. Leading up to their performance, they were expected to be a little above the weak calibur of Saliva on the Jagermeister Tour, but they blew the place up. Not only did their music explode with force and determination, their pyrotechnics exploded as well. The set contained metal platforms and the face from their newest album cover 'Faceless' covering a screen in which the artists and crowds were shown close-up. Lead singer Sully Erna kept everyone intrigued from the first note in opener 'Straight Out of Line' to the last chord on their encore of 'Awake' and 'I Stand Alone.' Meanwhile, things were spontaneously combusting and sparking. Along with the breathtaking sets, fireworks, dancers, and glitter, the band lived up to their expences and put on a show equal to the design behind it. The most interesting event of the set was the drum solo turned competition between Erna and the bands real drummer Shannon Larkin. The ballad in their pounding set was 'Voodoo' off their self-titled album in which dancers performed inches away from the flames shooting from Godsmack's set. Not only were they by far the most entertaining act on the bill, they had the fire and half-naked chicks to prove it.

Review by: Gabby