After months of anticipation, it was finally time for me to see Breaking Benjamin and Korn. The concert took place on February 18th at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’ve seen many shows at this venue, but nothing like this one. 

My friend and I arrived in Lincoln around three and we were shocked to see people already lined up when the doors wouldn’t open until six. Standing in line for nearly two hours, like we did, gave me a pretty good idea of the type of crowd we were dealing with. There was a wide demographic, from little kids to the guy in his 50s saying “you should have seen these guys 20 years ago”. As soon as the doors opened, hundreds of fans stormed in to get up by the stage. We waited anxiously for the first band to come on as we stood and talked until the lights finally went down.

The opening band, Bones UK came on stage. They were wearing military-style jumpsuits. They played about five to six songs, but they never really caught my interest. Other than a few good instrumental parts, they didn’t really have a wild presence on stage which is important for an opening band to have. Bones UK isn’t popular and I think they would have benefitted from doing some outlandish antics to really grip the audience. After their set, my friend and I began meeting other people around us. These guys were from a very small town in Nebraska and I thought it was cool how music had the power to bring different backgrounds together for a night. 

Breaking Benjamin was the next band to perform. This was my seventh time seeing the band, but I still had a high level of excitement. Every time I attend their concerts, they get better. The arena turns into this giant sing along with about 15,000 fans joining in making for a cool experience. 

They performed about 12 songs that ranged from their first album all the way to their most recent, it gave their set a special mix of songs for old fans that know all the big hits and to the fanatics like myself, who wanted to hear songs that they rarely play. 

My favorite moment during the whole show happened during their last song, Ben, the lead singer, entered the crowd area where he continued singing and he spotted a little girl around 4 or 5 years old sitting on her dad’s shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and continued the song as the little girl grinned ear to ear. The song ended and Ben gave her a hug, which made for a very sweet and wholesome moment. Breaking Benjamin really nailed it, they were able to deliver a hard hitting performance that kept the crowd engaged. 

We had another short break for Korn to get set up. It was at this point the crowd started to become restless and many people I hadn’t seen all night found their way to the front. It’s usually this point during concerts where I take precaution of other people around me. I was shocked to see the crowd was very civil towards one another and everyone was having fun. 

Korn was incredible, from the opening song to the closing song, they kept the energy of the crowd very high as we entered late into the night. My biggest compliment for Korn was their conversations with the crowd. Laughing, smiling and joking around on stage made it feel more intimate for everyone. Korn played around 20 songs that went through their 25 years of existence, playing their classics while throwing in some new stuff as well. This was one of the craziest crowds i’ve ever been apart of. From the large mosh pits being opened up to the people in the front that were jumping up and down like maniacs, screaming every word to every song was definitely a highlight of the night. 

After seeing the show, all I can say after attending this show is “wow”. I anticipated a great showing from the bands but they completely blew me away. From the intensity on stage to the insane crowd participation, it made for the best concert I’ve ever been to. This concert gets 5/5 stars from me and I hope I get another chance to see these bands again.