Breaking Benjamin at The Honda Center – Live Review
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
BREAKING BENJAMIN AT THE HONDA CENTER: NOSTALGIA AT ITS BEST – October 3, 2026
On what was an oppressively hot Fall Day in Southern California, thousands of live music fans packed the chilly, indoor Honda Center on October 3rd in Anaheim for 2000s alternative metal band, Breaking Benjamin. They are currently on their Fall tour with support from Chevelle, Starset, and Kami Kehoe. Merch lines were endless with fans of all ages excited to add Breaking Benjamin to their concert shirt collection.
After great opening sets from Kami Kehoe, Starset and Chevelle which we will get to later, Breaking Benjamin hit the stage at 9:30 pm to raucous cheers from the crowd, thanks in part to their nostalgia-filled opening. The front screens displayed the old Microsoft XP loading and welcome page. You know the one. You know the sound. The mouse then proceeded to click on an icon once very near and dear to the hearts of music fans everywhere – Limewire. This earned yet more cheers from the crowd. After the seeding of I Will Not Bow was complete and connected to Halo 2, it abruptly stopped playing due to error dialog boxes suddenly spamming the screen and going black. The nostalgia of it all. From there, frontman Benjamin Burnley, flanked by bandmates Aaron Bruch, Jasen Rauch, Keith Wallen and Brian Medeiros hit the stage for a live, 2026 rendition of I Will Not Bow to start the show. The fans were immediately locked in and singing every word, happy to duet with Ben when he would point his mic to the audience. This was no surprise, as I Will Not Bow was the band’s lead single for their fourth studio album, Dear Agony, released in 2009.
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
The band followed it up with two big time favorites from Phobia (their third studio album released in 2006) – Until the End and Evil Angel. For me personally, these are undoubtedly two of my favorites. There were points I closed my eyes during these songs, feeling these songs enter the airways of my ears, and I was transported back in time. Ben sounded just like he did on the album, and every note hit by the band was in tandem with the record. It was like what I would hear on my iPod nano, but the volume turned up past 100. I’m sure this was a universal experience for all of us in that venue.
They continued on with other favorites from Dear Agony, Phobia, and We Are Not Alone, like So Cold, Breath, and Crawl. The crowd was very receptive to them all. They also played songs from their Dark Before Dawn album, released in 2015 and Ember, released in 2018. These didn’t quite have the same response from the audience as the aforementioned songs, but personally I am a big proponent of a band playing “newer” material, even if I don’t have the same connection to that material as the older stuff.
Speaking of new material, they released a new single called “Something Wicked” back in May. A new album is supposedly coming soon, but we await an official announcement from the band for that. As Ben introduced the song as something new, there was a positive reception from the crowd. He made a comment that he found it very cool how even after all these years, fans still want and care about new music from Breaking Benjamin, when that isn’t always the case for other bands. He doesn’t take any of it for granted. Throughout the night, he also expressed his sentiments of how appreciative he is of fans still coming out in droves to see the band and listening to these songs that are twenty years old. One of the many times this happened was after the band played Dear Agony, in which the entire area shone bright with the light of their phones. It was a beautiful sight to see.
Chevelle
Chevelle
After hits, deep cuts and a new track, the band closed out the night with The Diary of Jane, arguably their most popular song in their catalog. As the lights dimmed and the sound of their final notes faded, this show was another example of how Breaking Benjamin have stood the test of time. Production-wise, there weren’t too many bells and whistles beyond a few different lights and visuals on the front screens (big shoutout to the Halo 2 gameplay during Blow Me Away), but it was clear that wasn’t really needed. It was a great night of rocking out.
Before Breaking Benjamin hit the stage, it was up to the opening acts to get the crowd amped up for the main show, and Chevelle certainly did that. The crowd was arguably just as loud for them as their successor. That’s a grand statement to make, but in this case as someone who was there, it’s what I heard. It actually surprised me a bit, but I suppose that’s on me for not realizing how big Chevelle is. It was cool to experience the Chevelle love in this arena. There was an intense energy with the trio, especially from lead singer and guitarist, Pete Loeffler. You couldn’t help but to feel it and match that energy for every single song. The pit was opened up on more than one occasion during their set, much to the delight of the band. They opened with narration over the speakers, “Reality doesn’t need your control – it needs your presence” and it’s safe to say the crowd took that literally and lived in the moment, one with Chevelle.
Starset
Kami Kehoe
Lastly, we must give flowers to the first two opening bands – Starset and to Kami Kehoe for kicking things off the right way. Starset, a 7-piece from Columbus, OH came in and delivered a show that was out of this world, very akin to the band name. This band coins six faceless identities that were glowed up in red against the dark backdrop of the stage, standing atop large platforms and playing instruments that included guitar, orchestral, and keys, led by lead singer Dustin Bates. The sound was that of symphonies mixed with electronics and hard rock. Very different, but very unique.
And Kami Kehoe? She and her band entered the arena with a spunky attitude you couldn’t help but to like. At first, the crowd wasn’t too familiar with who she was and what she had to offer, but by the end of her set, she won the people over. Not only can she sing and has a great stage presence, but during a couple songs, she found herself behind the drum kit and totally ripped. I don’t think anyone was expecting that. To end her set, her parting goodbye was flinging water from her water bottle into the crowd, getting them amped up and ready for the night to come. We certainly hope to see her again in the SoCal area.
(Review by Jennifer Garcia – Photos by Jack Lue)
Breaking Benjamin Photo Gallery by Jack Lue
Breaking Benjamin on Instagram
Chevelle on Instagram
Starset on Instagram
Kami Kehoe on Instagram
