Sunday 25/02/07 The Used, 30 Seconds To Mars, Senses Fail, Saosin @ Taste Of Chaos Part II, Arizona

On a blackened stage the only thing that can be seen are the drums glowing orange. The crowd starts to cheer wildly as Saosin grabs hold, takes off and soars. Driven by Alex’s drums, ‘Follow The Feel’ never bogs down but continues on like a rollercoaster crowned by hair raising vocals and steely riffs. Cove Reber insistently electrifies us with ‘Seven Years’ as his high-pitched wandering vox overlays and blends with raw screamo grit, urgent licks and a chugging bass. During ‘Voices’ Cove holds the mic out to the crowd who sings the chorus “We speak in different voices” then puts it to his lips and hits a long, incredible high note finishing the piece.

People are crushed against the rail as Senses Fail takes to the stage. They put on a hard, head spinning fast performance. The surfers start from halfway back on an arena floor of thousands and spill over the rail like a title wave. Buddy Nielsen roars on in front of the swaying horde as ‘Still Searching’ burns into our brains. He jumps and spins, strobes flash and coloured lights whirl whilst ‘Waiting In Vain’ reigns. Buddy gets on the rail and ferociously screams in their faces putting on one of the most venomous sets we’ve seen from them to date.

An exotic red and black oriental set is assembled for 30 Seconds To Mars. There is a commotion at the back of the arena. Holding banner flags high, the band suddenly breaks through the mob, jumps up on stage and launches into ‘A Beautiful Lie.’ Cove Reber from Saosin joins them for the potent ‘Battle Of One.’ Jared throws long stemmed red roses out into the crowd then ‘Revolve’ begins whilst surfing reaches a shocking level.