Disturbed, Falling in Reverse, Plush

Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

January 27, 2024

Review and Gallery By: Ally Arens

Hard rockers Disturbed are currently in the midst of the second North American leg of their Take Back Your Life tour, supported by Falling in Reverse and Plush. Though the tour has not been without its hiccups, with David Draiman and crew postponing their previous show in Des Moines, Iowa due to illness. This left fans, including myself, wondering if Oklahoma City’s show on Saturday night would meet the same fate; these fears were quelled before noon when Draiman posted that his voice was back and they were ready to rock. All three bands rocked the house to a packed Paycom Center full of devoted fans of all ages.

First to take the stage were Plush, a group of badass women led by Moriah Formica who are, in my opinion, an important vessel of carrying on the rock and roll legacy to the next generation. Their lyrics are deep and relatable, while Formica’s vocals are nothing short of an absolute powerhouse. The band, rounded out by Ashley Suppa on bass, Bella Perron on guitar, and Faith Powell on drums, looked like they were having a blast on stage. They were both fun to watch and captivating to listen to as they played songs such as “Athena” and their hit single “Hate” from their 2021 debut album, as well as multiple songs from their just-released EP Find The Beautiful, including a badass cover of Heart’s “Barracuda”. Plush are definitely ones to watch as they continue to establish themselves in the rock world, and I am excited to see what’s to come.

Next up were perhaps one of the most polarizing groups in modern rock music, Falling In Reverse. FIR is a band that those who love do so with a passion, and those who hate do so with an equal, and sometimes even stronger, level of passion. Not many would argue that FIR are incapable of making good music, especially those of us (myself included) who were alternative music fans in the late 2000s/early 2010s and jammed out to their 2011 debut The Drug in Me is You; most controversy surrounding the band stems from frontman Ronnie Radke’s outspokenness, often to his (and the band’s) detriment.  I am one of those that has distanced myself from the band in recent times, especially since I identify as nonbinary and gender identity has been the target of some of his comments, but I wanted to honor my teenage self by going ahead and including them in this coverage. 

Despite their various controversies, the crowd in attendance was largely excited for their set; chants of “Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie” could be heard as they were taking the stage, and the crowd got amped up as they started with “Zombified” before throwing it back to 2011 with “I’m Not a Vampire.” Most of their brief 9-song setlist was made up of more recent hits like “Popular Monster,”“Voices in My Head,” and “Watch the World Burn,” and from what I could tell, the audience was into it.

Finally, just after 9 P.M., Disturbed hit the stage, and it was as if Draiman had not ever been sick as they launched into “Hey You” and “Stupify,” with his vocals as strong and booming as ever. Though the setlist was still shorter than the first show of tour, with the band playing 14 tracks plus solos from all three instrumentalists (Dan Donegan on guitar, John Moyer on bass, and Mike Wengren on drums), it was a strong exploration of the band’s extensive discography. 

The night had plenty of fist-pumping moments, such as the aforementioned “Stupify,” their cover of “Land of Confusion,” “Indestructible,” and their most notorious hit “Down With the Sickness,” while also showing the groups more melodic side on tracks such as “A Reason to Fight,” their viral cover of “The Sound of Silence,” and main set closer “The Light.” During the latter, they brought up a young girl and her father who were in attendance, as the girl had a sign reading that this was her first-ever concert. They signed her poster and let her watch the song from the stage in a very heartwarming display.

The most exciting part of the set, other than finally getting to see some of the songs that I grew up listening to (for context, I was about 1 year old when The Sickness was released) was when they brought Plush frontwoman Moriah Formica  back out to sing Ann Wilson’s verses of recent single “Don’t Tell Me.” While Wilson’s shoes are extremely difficult to fill, Formica did it with ease, and her vocals paired with Draiman’s were absolutely chilling. After the show, Plush uploaded footage of the performance to their YouTube channel, which can be seen here. 

If you have an opportunity to catch Disturbed on this tour, or another one in the future, I highly recommend it. The band sounds just as solid as ever, and anyone who’s ever been a fan of Disturbed is sure to be entertained.
The Take Back Your Life Tour continues through March 3, concluding in Paradise, NV, before the band heads over to New Zealand and Australia. They are also set to perform at Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple in May. Dates and tickets for all upcoming shows can be found on the band’s website.