Disturbed bring ‘The Sickness’ tour to NYC (photos)

Manhattan is officially a quarantine zone after Disturbed brought The Sickness to a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Not even towering 20-foot pyrotechnics could cleanse the stadium of the band’s infectious, hypnotic set, as they performed their debut album in its entirety. And to ensure there wasn’t a single attendee left uninfected, the band performed an entire second set composed of greatest hits from their 30-year career.

Disturbed hold a distinguished place in American nü metal history. Releasing The Sickness in 2000, it is a definitive example of what the genre would become known for: an unapologetic and acerbic mix of rapping, metal, and industrial, coalescence through the mix of the next 10 years: an octave divider and vinyl scratching. If you lived in LA you couldn’t tune in to legendary radio station KROQ for more than an hour without hearing the now-ultra-memeified “Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah” from lead singer David Draiman. It was a sign of the millennium, a new era when genres previously thought of as oil and water were being emulsified into something entirely nü. The Sickness, and by extension the close-to-eponymous single “Down With the Sickness,” are paragons of nü metal and the discomfiting innocence of early aughts Hard Rock.

And what would nü metal be if not for the theatrics and imagery that accompanied these great cultural artifacts? To kick off the show, David Draiman was wheeled out on a coffin-shaped hand truck, his face muzzled by a Hannibal Lecter-style mask, and his arms bound by a stark white straight jacket. A medical staffer loosened the knots of his restraints, freeing Draiman to unleash his unbridled mental anguish upon the crowd. With eyes rolled into the back of his head and mic stand held high, the band dropped directly into the first track, “Voices.”

It’s worth noting just how jam-packed this album is with hits, it’s no wonder it achieved five times platinum, selling over 5 million copies in the US. The first half alone has unforgettable singles that slingshotted me directly back to middle school upon hearing them live. Between “Stupefy,” “The Game,” and “Down With the Sickness” the setlist at MSG was an absolute blast. And the band had plenty in store for the 20,000 fans in attendance, including a duet with Draiman and his young son, Samuel, who joined in on vocal duty for “Want” off the latter half of the album. Pyrotechnics abound, the first set ended with Draiman’s “death” via electrocution as the band played “Meaning of Life” to close out set number one.

With a brief intermission, the crowd eagerly awaited the second set, dubbed “Best Of.” This allowed the band to show off just how much they’ve evolved over the years, playing their immensely popular cover of “The Sound of Silence” on a burning grand piano, followed by a trio performance of “Land of Confusion” with Adam Gontier and Matt Walst of Three Days Grace. The pyrotechnics were unfettered in this second set, highlighting the final 15 minutes of the show with flames that luckily didn’t leave as lasting a mark as they did in Chicago.

Disturbed weren’t alone in making this a true 2000s nostalgia-fest. Fans who spent their entire Friday at MSG were treated to Three Days Grace “X2,” in which both historic singers, the aforementioned Gontier and Walst, performed hits from both eras of their catalog in perfect lockstep. If you thought that was enough to make your heart stop, then it might read as a medical hazard to announce that hard rock legends Sevendust got the crowd’s blood pumping to kick off the night. “Denial” and “Black” shake my bedroom walls just as much as they did in the 1990s and to hear Lajon Witherspoon ask himself “Are we really playing MSG right now?” was a wonderful glimpse of candor.

With all that said, please keep in mind—if you know someone who attended The Sickness tour at Madison Square Garden, they are highly infectious, and you should approach at your own risk!

Check out Adam Schwartz’s photos of Disturbed, Three Days Grace, and Sevendust live at Madison Square Garden in the gallery below.

Sevendust:

Three Days Grace:

Disturbed:

Disturbed setlist:
Voices
The Game
Stupify
Down With the Sickness
Violence Fetish
Fear
Numb
Want
Conflict
Shout (Tears for Fears cover)
Droppin’ Plates
Meaning of Life
Ten Thousand Fists
I Will Not Break
Bad Man
Land of Confusion (Genesis cover)
Indestructible
The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
The Light
Inside the Fire