On the 6th of october, venue 013 in Tilburg, three bands from Roadrunner Records made their appearance on the stage for what would be the fourth show on their tour in Europe. This year, instead of last year Roadrunner got three bands with bigger fan crowds, Chimaira, Spineshank and Ill Nino. My arrival was at 18:30, so I was right on time for the first performance of the evening: Chimaira. Just a few minutes before I entered the Pepsi Stage, a guy told me that Roadrunner was about to make a DVD from the evening, so I wasn�t surprised to see a few camera�s on stage. So let�s go to our first act: Chimaira. I�m a little bit confused about Roadrunner�s behavior towards this band. It�s clear (to me) that these guys produce the highest level of decibels compared to no one, nor this evening, nor on the label. So why are these guys touring with Spineshank and Ill Nino, they�re from another caliber, more brutal and heavier. Opening for these acts would make the crowd exhausted before the other bands even got started. The only way to make sure that that�s n�t what�s going to happen, the band has to play less than half an hour. But would that satisfy the band itself?? I don�t think so. Anyway, it�s exactly what happened. Despite the brutality, anger and energy, ow I forget to mention the �Metal Moses� thingy; where the crowd is supposed to split up in two parts and slam each other on the singer�s count, my belief is that the band gave something extra this evening. Very few times I have seen a crowd with such a great enthusiasm as tonight. Maybe it�s the DVD that�s been mentioned before, but middle fingers went up, pits went crazier and fucks has been said more than before. So the crowd loved the show, but what about the guys themselves? I admit, they gave everything they had, from every inch of their bodies, BUT, again, I believe they did that because they thought they had to, for the DVD. Whether they played the way they played because they felt like having a good time with the fans�.. I doubt it. Anyway, there�s just no way that anyone is able to convince me that Chimaira had done a bad job. Like I said, they gave everything, the crowd loved it and so did I. The show was heavy, I couldn�t notice any mistake and the last song: �Pure Hatred� sounded like a tornado. Mission completed, look for yourself. A few things a hate about (metal) concerts: - the hour you have to wait because of the sound check, rebuilding the stage etc. - the (ab)use of the word �fuck�. In my opinion, fucking cannot be expressed in the 013. And I wouldn�t like to stick my dick in president�s Bush�s or Sadam Hussein�s butt. So cut it please!! - the sweaty, fat bodies of some (ugly) guys in the pit. My god, have you experienced deodorant once in your life. Believe me, you�ll be a lot popular with it. - the devil horns and middle finger behavior of bands �nd crowds. Man, do you now the words love and peace?? It�s mentioned in a DICTIONARY!! Why I mention these things?? Because bands are able to change them. And one of them is Spineshank. If there is a band how is close to these selections, I thinks it�s Spineshank. What I often see is a certain disrespect for the fans. I cannot explain this, but I get the feeling that certain bands don�t need any connection beyond �I can�t hear you�, or �lets go fucking (off course) crazy�. Just the attitude of �see me on stage, see what I can do with a guitar, drums or even you� with that expression of anger on their faces. Spineshank, just after Chimaira went on stage to have a good time. At least, that�s what I saw. The singer was very enthusiastic, the guitar player ran on stage to see and smile to as many people as he could, the guy on bass even laughed and the one on drums had a warm, friendly expression. It was as if they would say �I feel home up here�, and that�s what the singer said (whether he�s telling the truth or not). The songs were played very well, and again I didn�t mention any mistake. The singer went very close to, I mean �n the crowd and the fans were singing along very loud. A huge circle pit was build up, so a nice shot for the DVD has been given. I don�t know what to say about it more, because the show was just perfect. New songs, old songs, everything came out of the guys., including last song among woth the singer of Chimaira. (how predictable, but I forgive them) During the show I said to myself : �this is absolutely the best show for Spineshank in Holland ever.� And I still think I was right. What about the tour so far? It was nice though, despite the little thingies like the F-word. (I forgive them) Stages were build up pretty fast, the crowd was great, bands gave everything and I maybe get on television someday. Unfortunately, after Spineshank I remembered my selections again. It took a while (too long) to build up the stage for Ill Nino and when they finally came up on stage, this is what happened. First time in Holland with a new album, a new guitar player and a new percussionist. I�ve seen the band before on Ozzfest and in the Milkyway venue and what I like about them those times was what most of the �little� and �new� bands have, a feeling of proud to be on stage. I hoped it would be the same tonight. But it was not exactly how I expected. Don�t get me wrong, I realize that the band went through a hard time, and the members (who remained) grew up. But man Christian, what the hell are you doing?? You�re doing everything I hate about bad bands. I think you are the best man to pronounce the word �fuck� and don�t seem to like the crowd now. And you were such a nice guy. I liked you man!! A singer is the face of the band. When the singer is bad, the band is bad. When the band is bad, the singer can make look a lot better when he�s well. The show started pretty well with some percussion, and songs like �Unreal� and �What comes around� sounded very nice. But the attitude of the former Machine Head member for instance; I know that he�s got to get used to the band, but man have you considered smiling once?? It�ll make you feel better, I promise. Between some of the songs, a radio was playing. (can�t they play something their self or say anything to the crowd?) The bass player was cool though, he tried to create a good sphere, but he couldn�t convince the fans to go crazy. And that�s why there were a few moments of silence!! during the show. The show was nice, Ill Nino (again) made very few mistakes, played loud and the band was able to make sure that the people were going home with a good feeling, because the songs sounded great, with �Liar� as a perfect last song. So, that�s about everything I can say about Roadrage 2003. I really was proud and happy to be among the rest of the people that evening and I suggest that anyone who�s interested in rock/metal should buy the DVD, just to convince yourself of everything I�ve just said. [b] Credits: [url=http://www.metalrage.com/contact/?mail=10]Siem[/url][/b]