Pop Break Live: Disturbed ‘The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour’ with special guest Daughtry at The Well Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday April 2, 2025
Multi-platinum metal band Disturbed stopped in at the Wells Fargo Center on April 2nd. This is just one of the 25 plus dates on their Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour. Their debut album The Sickness was released 25 years ago and and is still considered one of the most influential metal albums of all time, selling over 5 million records. The show consisted of two sets — the first saw the album being played in it’s entirety front to back. The second set featured the band’s catalog of hits, fan favorites and a few covers.
Rock band Daughtry, fronted by Chris Daughtry, played prior to Disturbed’s set. Known for his powerful vocals and the band’s high energy performances, Daughtry did not disappoint. The visuals were impressive. Highlights included 2023’s song “Artificial”, a song that landed the number one spot on the Mainstream Rock charts. On “It’s Not Over” it really highlighted Chris’s powerful vocal range. One of the moments during the set that stood out was the the goose bump worthy solo acoustic version of “Home.” The crowd showed Chris some appreciation when they held up their lit phones. Their 11- song set was impressive and they got a great response from the audience.
Prior to Disturbed’s set they played a 25 year video montage intro. The band’s lineup has remained the same for over a decade. It features frontman David Draiman who is dripping with charisma, Dan Donegan on guitar, John Moyer on bass and drummer Mike Wengren.
The set started with Draiman being wheeled out on stage(Hannibal Lecter style) wearing a face restraint. The frontman was placed in a faux electric chair, where he was going to be electrocuted but he escaped. He was met with loud cheers from the crowd when he pulled his face restraint off and dangled it above his head. It was a truly dramatic start to an incredibly nostalgic night of music for these fans and this was just the start!
Disturbed then broke into the first track ‘Voices” as the crowd rapped along. Draiman howled his way through “The Game” and the fans ate it up. The fans got vocal while joining the band on “Stupify” as they happily screamed the “f-k part. There were more theatrics to come on “Meaning of Life.” All the band members were dressed in orange prison jumpsuits. Draiman again was strapped to an electric chair and shocked but not only did he survive he seemed more energized and so did the audience.
On a lighter note there was really sweet moment between Draiman and a girl in the audience that was holding up a blown up picture of a man and a young girl. In Loving Memory was written on it. The emotional girl (Bailey) told Draiman the man in the picture was her father and that the night of the show was the 11th year anniversary of his passing. He brought her on stage and comforted her. He told the audience that music is a powerful force and that music saves lives. Draiman told her she’d be okay. The audience even joined in by chanting her name. It was a very touching moment. His chemistry with the crowd was incredible during the night. One of the largest ovations of the night came on the cover of Simon & Garfunkel‘s song “The Sound of Silence” which was played on a fire-breathing piano.
The production on this show was exceptional as was the lighting and visuals throughout the night. Disturbed ended the night with “Inside the Fire” in bombastic fashion with a blitz of pyrotechnics. The band was in fine form during the entire set. There were riffs galore, badass bass lines and thunderous pounding on the drums. Philly fans were treated to a very special show that celebrated the songs of the band’s 25 year old debut album. What a special memorial night!
