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Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, Chevelle, Saturday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m., Mohegan Sun Arena (255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Twp.). Tickets: $35, Ticketmaster outlets. Info: 570.693.4100, www.flyleafmusic.com
by Michael LelloWeekender Editor
“Memento Mori” — which translates to “be mindful of death” or “remember you will die” — isn’t the most cheerful concept. But to Flyleaf, which selected the Latin phrase for its sophomore album, it’s an important and powerful message of good and evil, light and dark.
It’s a message that fans seem to be identifying with, as well; the record debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard charts when Flyfleaf released it last November.
“I feel great about them,” guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya said of the new tunes during a recent phone interview. “I like how the new songs are translating live. ‘Memento Mori’ is such a powerful album.”
On Saturday, Feb. 6, Flyleaf will bring the “Memento Mori” songs, as well as material from its platinum-selling self-titled debut, to Mohegan Sun Arena at Wilkes-Barre Twp. Along with Chevelle, Flyleaf — Bhattacharya, Lacey Mosley (vocals), Jared Hartman (guitar), Pat Seals (bass) and James Culpepper (drums) — will open the show headlined by Three Days Grace.
It might seem odd for bands such as Flyleaf and Chevelle, with millions of record sales and radio and TV exposure under their belts, to be on any show’s undercard, but Bhattacharya noted the increased importance of multi-show or co-headlining bills these days.
“I think it’s harder to bring in ticket sales these days,” said Bhattacharya, who added that Flyleaf will play a 12-song, 40-minute set Saturday. “I think it’s great that bands are co-headlining these days. To bring two bands that are at the same level. … I remember when I was younger, I would’ve loved to have seen that.”
Asked what would’ve been his dream two-band bill when he was a kid, Bhattacharya answered The Toadies and Jimmy Eat World. Not super-surprising, coming from the guitarist in a current hard-rock band, but the musical tastes and influences of the individuals in Flyleaf are all over the map. Bhattacharya said he also listens to a lot of noise music and Beck, while Culpepper favors classic rock, Hartman “is into Dredg and Deftones and that kind of sound,” and Seals “is really across the board, from Nick Cave to Ace of Base to Tom Waits.” Mosley, meanwhile, “listens to a lot of worship music and stuff like that,” he said.
The Texas-based quintet has placed importance on videos, seen by many as a lost art since MTV’s shift away from music. For the new record, the band has already released videos for “Beautiful Bride” and “Again,” recently shot a video for “Missing,” which Bhattacharya said the band will release this spring, and is about to shoot a video for “Chasm.”
“I think it’s important to be able to tell a story visually as well as sonically,” said the guitarist. “To have a music video that’s a narrative, that can really put images to the words.”
For the band, the rest of 2010 means “tour, tour tour,” Bhattacharya said, with a U.K. run in March and a stateside headlining tour and some festival dates later. For now, though, he and his bandmates are working hard to connect more and more listeners with the newest Flyleaf songs.
“I really hope ‘Memento Mori’ really speaks to the fans like it has to us,” he said.
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