Papa Roach tour benefits World Hunger Year

Papa Roach recently embarked on a co-headlining tour with alternative rock band Jet that stopped at Time Square's Nokia Theatre.

Supporting their latest release, Metamorphosis, Papa Roach played to a modest crowd, putting on an amazing rock show that highly impressed many fans in attendance.

The show at Nokia Theatre was only a small part of a massive touring schedule for Papa Roach. Touring with the likes of Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, Sick Puppies and others, Papa Roach has brought a great variety of bands with them.

"Having Jet, and bands like Kill Hannah and Morningwood [have] kind of a different crowd, different sound from what Papa Roach would normally do, so it's different; it kind of brings another element to it, that's pretty cool," said Papa Roach bassist Tobin Esperance.

What makes this tour unique is that it is benefiting the non-profit organization World Hunger Year (WHY).

WHY hopes to end hunger and poverty through community-based solutions and has worked with other musicians, such as O.A.R., Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald and Earth Wind & Fire, amongst others in order to fight for their cause.

"We're always looking for organizations and charities to be apart of and this was just one that a lot of people that we respected like Bruce Springsteen and whatnot were doing things to help, and we're always looking for new ways to reach out and be a part of something like that," Esperance said.

For this tour, Papa Roach is offering their fans the chance to purchase and bid on exclusive opportunities such as sound check access, side stage tickets and meet and greets through their Web site. All proceeds from these special opportunities are going to WHY.

Pop-rock band Morningwood opened up the night with a set that was energetic and purely fun. The band is known for their crowd pleasing songs such as "Take Off Your Clothes" and "New York Girl,", however they do not fit the same genre as co-headliners Jet and Papa Roach. Despite their differences, they were able to get the crowd moving and laughing all the same.

Vocalist Chantal Claret constantly moved all over the stage, throwing herself on the floor several times — even throwing herself into the crowd and singing the final song from the middle of a pit of fans.

Before the set was over, Claret gave recognition to Kill Hannah, the openers of this leg of the tour, who cancelled their last two performances due to their trailer and van holding all of their equipment being stolen out of a hotel parking lot.

Melbourne, Australia's Jet took the stage after Morningwood, giving a large majority of those in attendance exactly what they wanted. The band played a great and energetic set which included hits "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" and "Cold-Hard Bitch," which did not disappoint.

Lastly taking the stage was headliner Papa Roach, who played the best set of the night. Coming on stage with the mentality of unabashed rock stars, the band completely owned the stage and the audience, never pausing the action for even a second.

Lead singer Jacoby Shaddix ran back and forth on stage and even stood on a rather tall pedestal at the front of the stage.

Guitarist Jerry Horton and bassist Esperance played at opposite sides of him while drummer Tony Palermo was situated at the back of the stage on top of tall base, overlooking the rest of the stage.

Playing a few songs off of Metamorphosis as well as fan favorites like "Last Resort" and "Scars," Papa Roach put on a great show.