By Laura Spalding

The weekend following Thanksgiving in Louisville was a loud one! 100. 5 The Fox brought Gobblestock 1999 and an array of bands to the Louisville Gardens. Great music by several different bands - all in one place - now that's something to be thankful for! The six featured bands were dope, Chevelle, Loudmouth, 8 stop 7, Sevendust and Days of the New.

While I did catch a little of all the bands' sets, my main focus was on the heavier two: dope and Sevendust.

Dope opened the show at around 5:15-5:30, a little earlier than scheduled. Considering the fact that they only got to play a twenty-minute set, they did a fine job of getting the crowd warmed up.

Opening with "S**t Life" from their debut CD felons and revolutionaries, dope got the pit started right! Again, this short set only left room for a few more songs, which included "Pig Society," "Everything Sucks," "Sick" and dope's version of N.W.A. 's "F**k Tha Police."

It was a good set-but I wish they would have been allowed more time. Did I mention that already?

Sevendust played second to last and got about an hour set. It was obvious when they hit the stage that the crowd had been waiting for their arrival.

With two albums out, they had lots of material to choose from. Songs performed included "Terminator," "Black," "Bit*h" and "Too Close To Hate," from their debut self-titled CD, and "Denial," "Home," and "Headtrip" from their recent release Home.

Sevendust has a definite following in Louisville!

I had such a great time at the Gobblestock show that I decided to head to Cincy a week-and-a-half later to catch Sevendust and dope again, this time at Annie's in Cincy. It was very much worth the two hour drive. This show was at a smaller venue-which always makes everything a little more intimate.

Chevelle opened this show, but I arrived just as they were finishing their set. Next up was dope, who, I'm glad to say, got a 45-minute set this time around. This gave them much more time to show their stuff. Playing a similar set to the Louisville show, they also included the tunes "Kimberly's Ghost" and "Wake Up." The kids hangin' in the front were very familiar with dope. The tune "Sick" definitely caused an upheaval in the pit

Sevendust also played longer at this show. Everyone was in good form, including bassist Vince Hornsby, who had been a little under the weather at the Louisville show.

Sevendust played much the same set, but included a little more new material from Home, including "Rumble Fish" and "Crumbled." Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon has one of the best voices in heavy music today. He can growl with the best of ‘em one minute and sing in a soulful melodic tone the next.

The show in Cincy seemed more relaxed and unhurried for both Sevendust and dope, but both shows were amazing!

If you haven't had the pleasure of checking out these two bands, I highly recommend doing so.