For any band that can say it has been around for two, three, four decades or even longer, the usual reasons include timeless music, loyal fans and the ability within the group for members to continuously enjoy being around one another for years on end.
When it comes to Skillet, however, an additional criteria comes to the forefront: the ability to joke 30 years in about how “dumb” the band’s name may be.
For original vocalist / bassist John Cooper, that capability to laugh at oneself over a word with which thousands have identified him since 1996 not only helps him get through “mental health issues, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, loneliness.”
It helps he and wife / rhythm guitarist / keyboardist Korey Cooper, lead guitarist Seth Morrison and drummer Jen Ledger continue to make records for their loyal Panheads and bring their show on the road. That included Friday night’s visit to the Aztec Theatre, which filled the balcony to the tune of a sold-out throng of approximately 1,400 in celebration of 30 years as a band and the 20th anniversary of the Comatose album.
Starting the show with virtually every song from that 2006 record (see setlist in 68-photo gallery) before adding a few other hits, Skillet’s 95-minute performance was part sense of humor, part serious, part giving grace to God — and 100 percent rockin’.
Skillet has run the gamut of San Antonio venues and occasions, ranging from the inaugural River City Rockfest outside the AT&T Center in 2013 to headlining the Fiesta Oyster Bake at St. Mary’s University in 2017 to supporting Theory Of A Deadman in 2023 at the Boeing Center at Tech Port just to name a few.
And as with each of those prior visits, John Cooper relayed to the audience, “This is my favorite state.” This time, however, he did not go into his obscure but funny imitation of former Britny Fox vocalist “Dizzy” Dean Davidson on that band’s 1988 song “Fun in Texas.”
No, Cooper saved his voice for the performance and engaging the crowd in various ways, not the least of which was poking fun at his band’s name (watch ATM footage of that below during “Whispers in the Dark,” “Yours to Hold” and “Looking for Angels”).
But Skillet also unveiled a taste of new music, and it was one of the highlights of the entire night. “Scream” opens the six-song EP After the Storm that dropped Oct. 9, and it’s a killer track and video that features intense drumming from uber-talented Jen Ledger.
Although Ledger has been in the group half her young life, Comatose was the final album released by Skillet prior to her joining. Nevertheless, she has made her mark for 18 years not only as the backstopper on the kit but an incredible vocalist full of harmony that contrasts with John Cooper’s raspy manly delivery. Ledger also has released eponymous solo material and has an Etsy store of canvas sketches that she autographs.
The “20 Years of Comatose” tour was embroiled in some controversy before it even began. Escape The Fate and Bad Wolves were revealed to be the opening acts, with the latter band set to debut new vocalist Sara Skinner.
However, backlash on the Internet toward Skinner — allegedly for having an OnlyFans account — led to Bad Wolves’ dismissal in favor of Detroit band Autumn Kings.
John Cooper was asked about the decision at the Louder Than Life festival by the Deanna on the Air podcast, and he said in part, “It was just too dumb. It was too dumb to get involved in. . . . I’ve got love for everybody. We can throw mud at it, but I don’t really want to.”
Skillet also left at home the cellists that have accompanied them on stage in the past. But that didn’t take away from Friday’s stellar and uplifting — in more ways than one — performance, as Korey Cooper and Morrison occasionally played on risers that flanked Ledger’s drum kit.
So while John Cooper was joking at one moment about forgetting to take his Ritalin (see aforementioned ATM footage) and, in another, assuring the audience that — “Music helps people through those things: depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, loneliness, mental health issues. You’re not weird. We’re going through it together” — he was living proof one could persevere through personal struggles that had him recounting, “There was a time in my life where I thought I would never be happy again.”
As Skillet subsequently gave thanks to their religious “Hero,” they then turned up the intensity on most popular track “Monster” before ending with lone encore “The Resistance” (ATM footage of both below).
Skillet’s frontman may have no trouble acknowledging how “dumb” some may find his band name to be. But make no mistake, Skillet’s live shows are nothing to be messed with.
They’re an opportunity to let loose, have fun and forget about your troubles — without the band having to spell out its objective for its fans.
Even when those fans are Panheads.