Disturbed at Mohegan Sun Arena – February 10, 2024

For the first time in nearly 5 years, Disturbed return to Connecticut for a sold out show at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Out on the Take Back Your Life tour, in support of their eighth album, Divisive, the band was joined by Falling in Reverse and Plush. 

Plush

Plush kicked off the night, and if you’ve never seen this New England based all-girl rock band, you are missing out. The energy from frontwoman Moriah Formica and the rest of the band is undeniable. In the middle of their set, they played a cover of the iconic Heart song, “Barracuda,” ensuring that, even if you didn’t know any of Plush’s material, you’d be singing along to at least one song.

Falling in Reverse

Next up was Falling in Reverse, the band fronted by divisive frontman Ronnie Radke. Opening up with the show with the song “Zombified,” their fans were energetic from the start. Featuring songs like “The Drug in Me Is You” and “Popular Monster,” the band held back nothing during their set, putting on a powerful 45 minute show. Finishing up with “Watch the World Burn,” Falling in Reverse definitely found some new fans tonight in the sold out arena.

Disturbed

While an intro tape played, Disturbed made their way to the stage, behind a giant white curtain. Spotlights behind them cast larger than life shadows, getting the crowd hyped up for their arrival. The curtain fell as the band kicked into “Hey You.” A constant wall of flames lit behind the band during the song, which was the start of a night that was heavily filled with pyro.

The band next kicked into their debut single, “Stupify,” delighting old-time fans. The band showcase their entire catalog tonight, featuring older tracks like “The Game,” and recent hits like “Bad Man.” Their most recent single, “Don’t Tell Me,” is a duet featuring Ann Wilson. While the Heart frontwoman didn’t make an appearance, Plush’s Moriah Formica joined the band for the song tonight. Over the years, Disturbed has recorded many great cover songs, and tonight both “Land of Confusion” and “The Sound of Silence” were played.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a lot of pyro tonight. This show is certainly a contender for the most fire that I have ever seen at an arena show. Of the 17 songs in their set, I’d estimate 14 or 15 of them featured pyrotechnics of one form or another. We are not just talking a couple of blasts, but constant flames or explosions throughout the songs. During the aformentioned “Sound of Silence”, the band was joined by a string section, while guitarist Dan Donigan sat behind a grand piano. As the emotion and energy of the song begins to build up, flames erupted from the top of the piano. Perhaps I should have brought s’mores!

Frontman, David Draiman spoke often about the challenges facing the world with addiction and depression. Before the song “The Lights,” he went down into the crowd and spoke with a fan who had been holding up a picture of a friend she recently lost to addiction. Draiman then brought the fan up on stage to sit next to the drum kit for the performance of the song. Rather than simply asking fans to hold up lights on their phones, he trained the crowd to raise them during the chorus on the words “the light.”

The main set ended with “Stricken,” a song that introduced many to Disturbed through the Guitar Hero 3 video game. The crowd got loud while the lights stayed dark, and Disturbed returned performing the recent single “Unstoppable.” The audience erupted for the band’s anthem, “Down With the Sickness,” before finishing off the night with “Inside the Fire.” While the whole show had been full of flames, it was no holds barred during that final song. I’d love to know just how much propane this show uses!

After more than two decades, Disturbed proved they can still command a crowd, and put on a show that can rival anyone.