The Hollow Bodies Tour arrived to a sold out Irving Plaza in New York City, Friday the 25th of April, bringing along headliner Blessthefall and supporting acts Silverstein, The Amity Affliction, Secrets, and Heartist. Walking into one of New York’s most prominent venues, the room was filled with a sea of bodies sporting a good mix of merchandise from all the bands on the ticket. As the venue quickly filled up, shortly thereafter, the lights began to dim and the night was ready to begin.
Up first, and bringing a good vibe and energy, California natives Heartist came out on stage looking to prove why they deserve to be a part of this tour. They kicked things off with their newest single “Pressure Point”. Throughout their quick five song set, the band also played a bunch of old fan favorites including “Where Did I Go Wrong” and “Disconnected”. It was clear New York loved Heartist, and at one point a fan threw a handmade shirt on stage prompting lead vocalist Bryce Beckley to wear it for the remainder of the set. Judging by the buzz around Heartist it will not be long until they are headlining themselves.
Following was fellow Californians Secrets, consisting of Aaron Melzer (vocals), Richard Rogers (vocals, guitar), Michael Sherman (guitar), Michael Owens (bass), and Joe English (drums). Secrets have been around since mid 2010 and have seen some member changes throughout the past few years which has not made the band loss any steam. In fact, Secrets has never been better then with their current lineup. Taking the stage, their performance began with fan favorite “ How We Survive” and steamrolled through a seven song set that blew everyone away. During the song “Ready for Repair” Melzer witnessed a crowd surfer videoing the show with his iPad as he made his way to the stage. In playful fashion Melzer snagged the iPad made some funny faces in the camera and returned it to its brave owner. The crowd interaction was plentiful and displayed in gracious fashion from start to finish. The set ended with powerhouse “Live Together, Die Alone” which pumped the crowd up and had them begging for more.
Next up, hailing from the far side of the pond in Brisbane, Australia was The Amity Affliction. The band has been a hot commodity of late with their single “Pittsburgh” getting heavy rotation on radio stations. Coming the distance they did, they brought a heartfelt aggression to keep the night moving. Setting the tone with “Chasing Ghosts”, vocalist Joel Birch was right in the face of everyone in the crowd screaming the words you can tell mean a great deal to him. At one point during the performance while band members Ahren Stringer (bass), Troy Brady (guitar), and Ryan Burt (drums) continued to play, Birch took a knee and had what looked like to be a personal reflection in the middle of the stage. The audience observed how heartfelt and honest the band’s lyrics really are and how much they hit home for Birch. The Amity Affliction is a fantastic band, writing music the right way, and their new album Let The Ocean Take Me will be released June 10th.
As direct support for Blessthefall, Canada’s veterans Silverstein dominated the stage as always. These boys are performers through and through, and few are so consistent and right on in a live setting. Watching them on stage is a spectacular event and they always seem to please fans by playing an assortment of tunes from all their albums. Since the band has such a large discography, six studio albums to be exact, they had a lot of ground to cover. Some of the favorites played were “Sacrifice”, “Vices”, “My Heroine”, “Smashed Into Pieces”, and “Smile In Your Sleep”. The noise level from the audience was so deafening at times you could barely hear the band with fans singing every word out-loud. Silverstein was grinning ear to ear and so was everyone on the floor as this was another grade A performance.
After a really strong support of opening bands that provided consistent adrenaline, it was finally time for Blessthefall. Coming from Phoenix, AZ, Blessthefall is riding on the success of their newest album Hollow Bodies. The album has been a massive success worldwide and just about every critic and fan has had nothing but good things to say about it. At an all-time high point in their career, this young and talented band is all about having a great time on stage while delivering a high-energy filled performance.
Coming out and feasting their eyes on a sold out Irving Plaza in the heart of New York City, the stakes were high, the blood was flowing, and Blessthefall was ready. As soon as the first song kicked in, Elliot Gruenberg (guitar) and Eric Lambert (guitar/vocals) jumped to opposite sides of the stage, mounting on top of light boxes, rocking away. With guitars flaring, out of nowhere, front man Beau Bokan flashed out like a bolt of lightning onto the stage. Bokan showed so much energy that it was impossible for him to stay still as he bounced around and nearly had his shirt ripped off by fans before the end of the first song. They rampaged through a set of newer and older songs including “See You On The Outside”, “Bottomfeeders”, and Youngbloods”. With force and precision, Blessthefall dominated every aspect of their performance. The audience was completely enthralled and there was not a dull moment. The set concluded with “You Wear A Crown But You’re No King” which ignited a thunderous roar from the crowd as the band departed from the stage. This was merely a tactic to arouse an already amp up audience into even more of a frenzy. The band bolted back out to play a three song encore including the interlude “Flatline”, going into “Meet Me At The Gates”, and finally concluding with “ Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted”. All and all, the Hollow Bodies Tour was a non-stop roller coaster ride of intensity. With only a few days left in the tour make sure you check it out before it is over.
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