Show Reviews

PANTERA KICKS OFF TOUR IN SOUTH FLORIDA

February 8, 2024

Review by Michael Weezus Dawald Photos & Videos by Joel Shover Photography

Nearly twenty thousand pumped-up Pantera and Lamb of God fans rolled into Amerant Bank Arena in beautiful Sunrise, Florida on Saturday February 3^rd, 2024, for the bands’ first show back since November. You could not tell who was more excited to be there, the bands or the fans.

First off, this was by far the LOUDEST concert I have ever attended and in a good way. I found myself gripping the rails, both figuratively and literally, multiple times so as not to be thrown back into my chair from the kick drum blasts.

NEST, a trio from St Louis, Missouri, kicked off the evening promoting their new album “Endeavors” with a short set to get the crowd fired up. They did that and then some with their distinct heavy sounds and an energy that flowed beyond the stage. Do not miss these guys when they roll into a town near you!

A gallery of photos of NEST by Joel Shover from that night is here.

Lamb of God came out as if they were a Nordic Viking battleship in the middle of a war with hell and singer Randy Blythe was the fiery shot out of a cannon that hit every fan in the arena! He was excited to be there and everyone there could feel it. If that did not get you, it was the barrage of quadrupole kick drum blasts from Art Cruz that left no mortal soul untouched.

I thought at any time the ceiling was going to either cave in or get blasted into space! There were not any special additions to their set which was fine, but they set the bar and tone for Pantera to come on next.

Gallery of photos of Lamb of God from that night by Joel Shover is here.

Fans could not contain themselves as the lights went out for a good few minutes before the band came on stage. We all knew it was time when a marijuana leaf filled Pantera banner showed up on stage and they continued with a sentimental tribute to Dimebag and Vinnie. Then it was time for war!

Pantera came out firing per usual with ‘A New Level’ and what was a 10/10 on loudness with Lamb of God, was now one louder: 11/10. They proceeded to play a similar set to last year which was full crowd favorites ‘Strength Beyond Strength,’ ‘Becoming,’ ‘Suicide Notes Pt. 2’, ‘5 Minutes Alone’, and everyone was screaming the words, air drumming, or air guitar playing every minute of the show.

All the fellas were having the time of their lives as it was their first show back in months and was to be expected. Nobody could see Zakks face per usual… but he did Dime justice on most of the tunes. Rex was marching all over the stage smiling big. Charlie Benante gave me the feeling of “I cannot believe I get to play these drum parts” as he was 10/10 on all the drums from start to finish. And Phil Anselmo was almost over-the-top with his gratitude to all the fans young and old who were there. He would say his words then follow it with, “NOW DIM THE LIGHTS!” And proceed to belt out everything with a mouth of fire. There certainly was fire! The pyrotechnics came out blasting as you could feel the heat from the stage one hundred yards all the way in the back! And what better way to put out the fire than with water?

The pivotal and highlight moment of the show was when the sound of rain started. I knew immediately they might be playing ‘Floods’ which was a seven-minute tribute to Dime and Vinnie full of classic photos and videos of the brothers. There were not many dry eyes with all the true die-hard fans surrounding me. Come to find out, the band had not performed that song live since 2001!

Pantera closed out the night with ‘Fucking Hostile’ for the encore. Everybody in the Amerant Arena sure got to be part of an epic show that will be forever remembered by fans young and old. Until next time!

Check out the full gallery of photos of Pantera from that night by Joel Shover here.