Where: Atlas Theatre Apr 16

Opening: The Family Ruin and Doyle

The lights dim, as red, green, and purple colors shoot across the stage. The crowd draws closer, and the sound begins to build. Then, without warning…the amps explode with vibrations!  The music seems to just crash into your ears.  The sound is so intense that your chest feels like it’s going to explode. You struggle to breathe. The screams around you force you to panic, and then you realize you’re the one screaming!  Your nose fills with the smell of sweat and beer, but it doesn’t matter – everyone is there with you, hands in the air, having a good time! It’s Mushroomhead!

Walking down the streets of downtown Cheyenne on a cold rainy evening, one wouldn’t expect to find a hard rock concert about to erupt from the Atlas Theatre.

The first band up was The Family Ruin all the way from England.  They were more “screamo” music, and there wasn’t as much hype because it was early and not as many people were there yet.

The next group, Doyle, featuring and named after the guitarist from former punk rock band The Misfits was more intense and helped draw the crowd into the theater.  As the band began to play more and more of their classics, people sang along, and the serious moshing started.

Once the main event, Mushroomhead, appeared on stage, all control was gone.  The crowd went ballistic with the beer and adrenaline pumping in their veins.  The stage show featured ginormous bongo drums, terrifying masks, and light manipulation.  Each song performance had a different light show to go with the intense music.

While not widely known, the band quickly gained fans. Most people, if they haven’t heard of them, could easily compare them to the metal band Slipknot.  The Texas-based band is pretty proud of being hardcore rednecks as well as hardcore rockers.

The concert was more of an extreme experience for others.  Anthony Syracuse, Central sophomore, was a star in the mosh pits. This 5’3” sixteen-year old started most of the moshes, battling a crowd of people much bigger than him. Dozens of partiers piled in and were tackled to the ground and pushed around, but Anthony still walked away with a smile on his face. Anthony’s enthusiasm earned him a backstage pass for both Doyle and Mushroomhead, and they complimented him on his braveness and on his level of hardcore.

The Mushroomhead concert was worth seeing. Next time, don’t miss it.