ON THE FRONT LINES with Freak

ON THE FRONT LINES with…FREAK

by FREAK – 94.7/The Zone

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Dimebag Darrell Benefit Concert”

Aragon Ballroom

Chicago, Illinois - 2/23/05

Tuesday started rough, as the night before unexpectedly blew up into a full-blown alcoholic extravaganza.

That night, I had gone to see Danzig, Kataklism, and Trivium at the House Of Blues and anticipated a quiet evening since I was rolling alone and didn’t expect to see anyone there.

As I was walking in, however, I ran into Dave Draiman from Disturbed so we grabbed an opera box and started drinking. (Side note: Trivium was awesome. I can’t tell you how blown away I was by them and I look forward to seeing them again at this years Ozzfest.) Back to the story…

By the time Danzig took the stage, our box was a no-holds-barred madhouse. Members of Soulfly and Morbid Angel had shown up along with some of the B.L.S. crew, Trivium and Kataklism had wandered up there, and Dimebag’s widow, Rita, came with her friends from Texas. It was a full-on bash with two waitresses hauling in trays of booze as fast as they could carry them.

By the time “Mother” was filling the room, they had given up with the single orders and were bringing in bottles of liquor so they could just make the drinks right there in the box. It had gotten to the point that it took over a bottle of Crown to serve up a single round of double-shot Black Tooths to the drunken mob. I was in heaven.

The show finally ended and the crew rolled on to Draiman’s new joint called, “Roc Bar”, on North Avenue to finish off the evening while I crawled into work.

Tuesday night went down even worse. Rita and her friends, along with some of the B.L.S. crew and the guys from Dean Guitars met me at the Soulfly/Morbid Angel show at the H.O.B. After priming the pump there, we cabbed over to the Hard Rock Café for a party.

We walked in to find the unofficial guest of honor, Vinnie Paul, hanging out with people from Disturbed, Anthrax, Damage Plan, Machine Head, Morbid Angel, Soulfly, Drowning Pool, and Soil. A true Hollywood-style happening and they were emptying the kegs as fast as the barbacks could replace them.

The Hard Rock Café finally got sick of our antics and threw the lights on to clear the room and once again they all headed over to Draiman’s “Roc Bar” while I crawled into work.

Wednesday was downright brutal and by the time I got to the Aragon, I was running on 88 hours with roughly 7 hours of sleep and a liver that was ready to go on strike.

Soil got things started with a driving set featuring “Halo” and “Redefine” with Phil Demmel (ex-Violence, Machine Head) joining them on guitar for a heavy version of Damage Plan’s “Save Me”.

Drowning Pool was up next and came through like they always do getting the kids rolling with “Step Up” and “Bodies” and their attempt at Pantera’s “Message in Blood,” which was requested by Rita. A bitch of a song to learn on the spot, it was a bit rough around the edges but the crowd didn’t seem to care.

Anthrax took the crowd by surprise hitting the stage with Pantera’s “Hostile” and things went from zero to mayhem within seconds. Anthrax were relentless tearing through their own “Anti-Social”, “Caught in a Mosh” and “Indians” in rapid succession, leaving little time for rest and driving the temperature up a good twenty degrees.

Just when you thought they were finished, Vinnie Paul emerged from behind the drums, picking up the sticks for the first time since that horrible night last December, and the roar literally blew me back a step. (Vinnie Paul on drums that night is shown here, captured by Midwest BEAT photog – Dan Locke).

“Dime-Bag! Dime-Bag! Dime-Bag!...” the crowd chanted as debris fell from the ceiling and Vinnie slammed the drums, launching the band into “A New Level” with Pat Lachman (of Damage Plan) joining Anthrax’s John Bush on the vocals. I swear I thought the walls were coming down.

Disturbed closed things out and Vinnie Paul took to the drums one final time as Paul Grey (of Slipknot) handled the bass for a psychotic rendition of “Walk”.

Everyone backstage was now on stage singing and hugging bringing the night to a thunderous close.

I imagine it’s the way Dimebag would have wanted it, good friends singing and drinking together in an air of celebration and friendship instead of wallowing in the darkness of sorrow. The night would continue once again as everyone headed over to “Roc Bar”, while I would once again stagger into work.

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