Pop Break Live: Bush, Breaking Benjamin and Alice in Chains at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey — Thursday August 11, 2022
One of the hottest alternative rock tours of the summer landed at The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey on Thursday night August 11. The tour brought three of rock’s best alternative and grunge acts Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin and Bush to the Camden waterfront.
It was a good week for Alice in Chains and their fans. Their landmark album Dirt was certified 5x platinum (5 million albums sold). The band also just released details on a massive Dirt box set to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the legendary album which was originally released on September 29,1992. The box set includes a variety of vinyl and collectibles and things like replica posters and setlists. The band is also working with Funko Pop, a company that makes mini vinyl figurines, to commemorate the album with a set that includes of all four Dirt-era members of the band (Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell, Mike Starr and Sean Kinney). You can see what a big deal that album is to many people. It influenced many younger bands and its regarded as one of the best rock grunge albums ever.
The band’s set on the evening included Angry Chair, Rooster, and Would? from Dirt as well as classics like “Man in the Box” and more.
Setlist:
Again
Check My Brain
Grind
Them Bones
Dam That River
Hollow
Angry Chair
Man in the Box
Rainier Fog
No Excuses
The One You Know
Down in a Hole
Your Decision
Would?
Rooster
Co-headliner Breaking Benjamin is a staple of the hard rock scene of the Tri-State area since their inception — whether it be as a full band or their various acoustic tours. The band has an undeniably dedicated fan base in this region, which makes sense since the band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Philly radio stations have supported them over their career It’s not too shabby to have had ten #1 hits on Rock and Mainstream charts resulting in selling millions of records worldwide. Their set on this evening — which included Keith Wallen and Aaron Bruch taking turns as lead vocalist — included their smash hit “Diary of Jane” and a cover of Queen’s “Who Wants To Live Forever?”
Setlist:
Blow Me Away
Sooner or Later (Keith Wallen on vocals)
Firefly (Aaron Bruch on vocals )
Tourniquet
So Cold
Give Me a Sign
Polyamorous
Angels Fall
Who Wants to Live Forever (Queen cover)
Red Cold River
Failure
Until the End
Breath
Torn in Two
I Will Not Bow
The Diary of Jane
Bush, the British band that were the darlings of MTV in the 90’s are hugely popular in this area. Like Breaking Benjamin, legendary radio station WMMR has supported them from their inception. Their performance at WMMR’s annual all day event (MMRBBQ) in 2017, hands down stole the show. Their seminal debut album produced two of the most popular songs of the ;90s with “Machinehead” and “Comedown”. The band has had a string of 23 top 40 hits on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. It doesn’t hurt that Bush is fronted by one of the most charismatic frontman in rock, Gavin Rossdale.
If he isn’t wowing the audience from all over the stage, he is in the crowd, giving fans a lasting memory they won’t forget. There is no doubt Bush fans are excited about the recent news that the band is releasing their new album, The Art of Survival, on October 7th. Their single, More Than Machines, released on 7/23, is an absolute scorcher!
Setlist:
The Kingdom
Machinehead
Quicksand
Bullet Holes
Everything Zen
Blood River
Flowers on a Grave
More Than Machines
Glycerine
Comedown
