20 Years Ago: The Taste of Chaos Tour Came to Portland, Maine
On March 2, 2005, the Cumberland County Civic Center (now Cross Insurance Arena) in Portland, Maine, hosted the Taste of Chaos Tour, a groundbreaking event that brought together some of the biggest names in post-hardcore, emo, and metalcore genres.
Put together by Kevin Lyman, the creator of The Warped Tour, and his business partner John Reese, according to Wikipedia, the idea for Taste of Chaos Tour was to provide fans with an affordable, indoor festival-style experience during the winter months. Mainers who love to rock out year round so this was a welcomed treat.
If you were there, you might remember that the Portland show featured a solid lineup: The Used, My Chemical Romance, Killswitch Engage, Senses Fail, Underoath, and A Static Lullaby all hitting the stage. The setup had two stages—one for the heavy hitters and another smaller acoustic stage where up-and-coming artists got a chance to shine with more stripped-down performances.
A big highlight of the evening was the collaboration between The Used and My Chemical Romance on a powerful rendition of Queen and David Bowie's classic "Under Pressure." This was certainly a unique and memorable experience from that night – one that people still talk about. The energy in the venue was insane, with mosh pits reaching some high levels of intensity, many of which were likely sore for days afterward.
The Taste of Chaos Tour was designed to emulate the success of the Warped Tour, but winter style. I’m a big fan of these tours, ones that gave a platform for both well known artists and a chance for people to discover up-and-coming bands. Hard to believe that epic night in Portland was 20 years ago.
For a visual glimpse into the 2005 Taste of Chaos experience, you can watch this compilation:
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