Vamp’d continues to deliver the best rock and roll in Las Vegas from local, national and international talent alike. This is typically on Friday and Saturday nights in Sin City, but modern rock fans got a pleasant surprise of the best kind with the announcement that supergroup Saint Asonia would be rocking the venue on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, with support from Velvet Chains and There Is No Us. Despite my relative lack of familiarity with most of these acts and this being outside the genre of rock I normally listen to (generally I’m a regular at Vamp’d for the 80s rock/metal acts), I was curious for what the evening would hold.
Make no mistake, this being a Tuesday night (and one with bad weather, no less) didn’t keep the fans from coming out to see Saint Asonia and company. Most of the tables and chairs the venue usually has set up were nowhere to be found; this is typical of the shows the venue expects to be more crowded, and it definitely pleased me to see this kind of a crowd going out to enjoy a rock show on a Tuesday night. Also much appreciated and welcomed were the earlier doors open and starting times.
Again, I stress that this evening was certainly, for the most part, this is a genre and era of music I don’t follow too closely, but I’m always looking to expand my horizons musically. Starting the evening out was There Is No Us from Arizona. The band’s social media defines them as a “social movement to expose the failure of the human race.” That’s quite the proclamation, but I’m happy to announce these guys did a pretty solid job from the time they got up on stage. As the Saint Asonia crew brought their own drum kit, the support acts were using the house kit. This meant considerably less room on stage for the band to maneuver, but they made the most of the limited space, with powerful and aggressive music and being right in the face of the crowd. In the case of their lead vocalist, that last statement was quite literal, with him jumping into the crowd, surrounded by the masses of fans, and even jumping on top of one of the booths to perform from a rather unconventional location near the end of the set! This was a great way to start the night, even if the heavy emphasis on red light and backlighting wasn’t too easy on the eyes or my camera. I can’t say whether or not they truly exposed the failure of the human race, but they certainly rocked the house regardless!
The second act of the evening was Velvet Chains, who hold he distinction of being the one act of the evening I had prior familiarity with, not to mention the one based in Vegas. With a lineup that includes members hailing from Brazil, the group has been rocking venues around town and beyond for quite some time now, always satisfying. Over the course of 2022, I saw them supporting acts like Todd Kerns and LA Guns, always doing a superb job. The group continues to make fantastic original music, drawing their influences from all over. Being a larger band than the previous one to take the stage, the small stage was yet again an obstacle, but they didn’t let this deter them from rocking the house and doing what they’ve done best for the past several years in Sin City. There are many bands in town to keep your eyes on, and these guys are certainly near the top of that list!
Headlining for the evening, of course, was Saint Asonia. The group was originally supposed to be playing a larger show at the Brooklyn Bowl as a support act on a larger tour, but the cancellation of that gig resulted in them getting to play Vamp’d instead. This ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it let the group be the headliner and play a much longer set! This is something I’m sure satisfied the fans in attendance. Being relatively unfamiliar with the group, I had to do some research before the concert to get an idea of who I was going to see, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the band’s lineup included former members of bands like Three Days Grace and Staind. To date, Saint Asonia has released two albums.
I’m happy to announce that these guys rocked hard from the moment that they took the stage and never stopped. Most of the set consisted of Saint Asonia originals, but the group also branched out somewhat. My personal favorite part of the gig was the band leaving vocalist/guitarist Adam Gontier alone on stage with just his guitar, as he played some classic Three Days Grace tunes he’d performed on as a member of that band. A few other covers were thrown in for good measure, including Gontier paying tribute to the late Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington. The band packed the house, and I’m happy to say their level of energy and musical aggression didn’t disappoint, but they weren’t afraid to slow it down for certain songs when necessary.
I’m definitely glad I took a chance on these bands, because it was a fantastic show for all the right reasons, with three great bands rocking Vegas on a Tuesday night! All of these groups are worth checking out, so be sure to consider them if they hit up your town.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
All photos other than event ad by the author.