It’s been a hot minute, but I knew that when Underoath put tickets on sale for a tour I was getting a ticket. Pleasantly, the band’s stop in my city came in plenty of time for me to love their latest album, Voyeurist. This show though, was filled with songs from all over their career which made it a really fun show to be at.
This was my sister’s first concert back in quite some time, so it was fitting that it was Underoath. It probably also helped that one of her favorite bands, Bad Omens, was one of three openers for the evening. We ended up missing most of the first opening band, Stray From the Path, but the two songs we did mange to catch were all energy (just like their front-man). Bad Omens was next in line and according to my sister, “they killed it.” Truly, I’ve been forced to listen to this band om more occasions than I’d care to, and they sounded note for note (and vocals) just like the album. Finally, was Spiritbox. As a female led band, that means I’ve probably never given them a fair shake, but let me tell you what…they were kind of hilarious…and they definitely weren’t trying to be. The vocals were nice enough, but when lead singer, Courtney launched into the screaming parts of their songs I was totally laughing. Clearly, my sister and I were alone on that judgement, because a very large portion of the crowd went bananas for them. Our loss, I guess.
Finally, after much too long, Underoath took the stage to a fairly brief set. Only an hour for a headliner seems too short, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy every second of it. They opened with the first single off their newest release, “Damn Excuses” and it was glorious. They slid right into a mix of old and new hits from their extensive catalog, and the crowd was eating it up. This also seemed like a much heavier set than I’ve seen from them the last several times. Fan favorites definitely included “In Regards to Myself” and “A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White.” Personal favorites for me were “No Frame” and “Hallelujah.” Before the encore, they ended their set with the epic and sprawling “Pneumonia,” but then came back and cleaned up with voted on “Thorn” and of course, “Writing on the Walls.”
The band absolutely crushed their set and kept the energy high from start to finish. I swear, I’ll never get tired of watching keyboardist, Christopher Dudley, losing his shit for the entirety of their set. I wish it would have been longer, but that just means I’ll have to go see them again. My emo heart soars!