Multi-platinum award-winning THEORY, also known as Theory of a Deadman, made a recent stop in Charlotte as part of their Winter Tour 2022. If you so happen to be a ‘Lowlife’ or a ‘Bad Girlfriend,’ then the Fillmore was the place to be for a hit-filled evening of hard rocking tunes.
The evening kicked off with alt-metal band Shaman’s Harvest led by frontman Nathan Hunt. The band has been around since 1999 but really began to make a splash in 2009 with the release of the song ‘Dragonfly.’ Later, they would sign to the Mascot label and things really began heating up. Making their way onto the stage to the sounds of ‘Join Together’ by The Who, the band quickly dove into ‘Bird Dog’ from their latest release ‘Rebelator’ to start off their set. Dim red lights washed over the band as Nathan took full control of the crowd with his powerful and emotive vocals.
Lit up by a single spot, Hunt was a powerful figure, as he switched from one microphone to another, throwing his head back as the feathers in his hair swayed back and forth in a rhythmic whirlwind. Drummer Adam Zemanek was barely visible to the eye but certainly made an auditory impact with his thundering beats being the driving force behind the songs. Shaman’s Harvest’s music is intense and gave off a hauntingly beautiful almost spiritual vibe which would sharply contrast the high energy set from THEORY that was still to come. With an intro of The Who’s ‘Behind Blue Eyes,’ audience favorite ‘Dragonfly’ finished things off in a height of musical passion: all this and the night was just getting started.
After the requisite break between bands, it was finally time for THEORY to ramp things up. Enormous strobe lights were situated at the rear of the stage surrounding Joe Dandeneau’s drum set. The lights were flickering in different colors and to a distinctive beat, getting everyone hyped up for THEORY ‘s appearance. Suddenly, the stage went dark, followed by a blinding flash and the opening strains of ‘Lowlife’ as THEORY took off like a rocket. The energy coming from the stage was palpable and the crowd was feeding it right back to the band as the launched into ‘Bitch Came Back.’
Lead vocalist and guitarist Tyler Connolly is a master showman, working the crowd into a frenzy. He chatted about the band for a bit, saying that it was hard to believe that Theory of a Deadman had been doing this for 20 years. As the evening went on, the hit machine kept churning as we went back in time for ‘Santa Monica’ and ‘So Happy’ as guitarist Dave Brenner kept the licks hot and bassist Dean Back put on a show, slinging his bass around and kicking his feet into the air. Dandeneau was an absolute wildman behind the kit, his sticks flying in a frenzy amidst the flashing strobes.
About midway through, the band exited briefly while Tyler took a seat at an exquisite white baby grand piano for a heartrending version of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game.’ A hush fell across the venue and I swear you could hear a pin drop, or perhaps a beer spill, while all eyes focused on the majesty of the moment. The rest of the band returned, and Tyler lightened the mood with some snippets of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin” and Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ before reaching into the back of the piano, grabbing a few beers, and passing them out to the fans up front.
Some more songs followed including the powerful ‘History of Violence’ from the ‘Say Nothing’ album, their latest release. Of course, it just wouldn’t be a THEORY show without the band paying homage to everything in life that basically pisses them off as they launched into an audience sing-along of ‘Hate My Life.’ We’ve all had a bad day and turned to music to help lighten the load, so this was indeed a perfect way to end the evening with everyone’s middle fingers up in the air and screaming out a big ‘F you!’
After screams of “Theory! Theory!” rang out over the Fillmore, the band returned to the stage for a rousing two-song encore which included ‘Rx (Medicate)’ and the banging ‘Bad Girlfriend.’ The lights came on and as the sweaty crowd exited the venue, the theme from the Golden Girls and Andrew Gold classic began to play out across the loudspeakers, ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’, and that pretty much summed up the evening. A THEORY show was like being surrounded by a bunch of friends, sharing those moments that made the evening special and anticipating those yet to come.
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