The following takes place on May 16th between the hours of 7pm and 11pm. Events occur in real time. Photos by Joe Banker LIVE.
Limbs, the post hardcore outfit from Tampa, FL kicked off the show. The band opened with the third track, “Abba” from their critically acclaimed debut album, Father’s Son. Midway through the set, the guitarist and bassist got in the mosh pit (instruments and all) to get the crowd moving. This band is the future of post hardcore if they continue the path they’re on.
Veil of Maya (Chicago, IL) seemed outta place on this lineup but the crowd was receptive. What hardcore bro is gonna turn down a chance to mosh? Vocalist Lukas appeared a bit tired maybe even sick but powered through the set.
Dance Gavin Dance (Sacramento, CA) are surprisingly direct support for this tour. That's not a knock on them at all. It's just they wouldn't be my first pick if I was Underoath. Talented band for sure though. Be on the look out for their fall tour.
This writer was happy cause his favorite band, Underoath was up next. I wiped my brow; it was hot and miserable inside this venue. $2 for water and no reentry (“...there’s too many people going in and out”) was the excuse from the security guard. I decided not to press my luck. Maneuvering my way past the sweaty concert goers, I managed to finally find my friend and go to catch up him. We discuss what shows we’re going to next and other small talk. Of course, once the house lights went down, everyone stopped talking cause the main event of the evening was upon us.
An ominous video wall lights up. The intro to "On My Teeth" kicks in and then Aaron Gillespie comes in banging the snare drum like a rabbit in heat. The new songs sounded GREAT when played live. Chris Dudley (aka the Sid Wilson of the band) really stepped it up with the samples and such. After the first song, a familiar sound of a projector can be heard. Tim McTague starts playing the intro to "In Regards to Myself" and the room starts to move again. Spencer Chamberlain's vocals were on point as always throughout the night. Some of the metal "vocalists" in the scene should be humbled watching him perform.
After they played "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door," the song that made me a fan of the band, they played my favorite song from the new record, "Rapture." The hits kept coming all night and didn't stop coming either. Towards the end of the setlist, the band played a mixture of old and newer songs. "Paper Lung" being the highlight of the night since it's my favorite Underoath song; very much inspired by Deftones. During the encore right before they played "Bloodlust", Spencer gave a heartfelt speech about his twelve-year addiction to hard drugs and how the new album helped him get sober along with asking for help when he was suicidal at one point. The night concluded with "Writing On The Walls" and a promise to come back and play soon.