All My Friends Tour pt 2

Having gone to the first leg of the All My Friends Tour (featuring Asking Alexandria, Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive, and Nerv), I was interested to see how the second portion of the tour would compare. With already high expectations, I went to the October 15th show in Greensboro at the Piedmont Hall more than excited to see the new line up featuring Archers in place of Nerv. 

With Archers opening, you might assume many of the guests wouldn’t know them but you’d be pleasantly surprised by the four piece band from the midwest. With fans everywhere from the barricade to standing by the merch tables, it was clear that many were already familiar with Archers and even knew most, if not all the words to their set. Even missing a bass player, the band put on their usual high energy show. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them in a multitude of venues; from an AC-lacking, sticker covered venue, a midsized venue, and now a venue associated with a coliseum, their energy really doesn’t change- in the best way possible. With one of the most energetic drummers I’ve seen- even standing and singing along with the vocalist when he can, to their guitarist owning the full stage, engaging the fans consistently all while head banging, to their vocalist, who is one of the most stage confident openers I’ve ever seen, you wouldn’t have known there are normally four members on stage. Having seen them previously, I can attest that it’s not a slight at all, it’s how much each of them share the weight of the band and work together to put on a good show. With backings of his bass and some of his back up vocals, the bassist was still heavily featured during the Greensboro show. I have to give credit to their vocalist for covering two parts and not missing a single beat and even giving some of the songs a new life with his own unclean vocals. I’ve seen them multiple times and have yet to be unengaged or distracted during their sets- with songs ranging from the softer side of metalcore to songs littered with uncleaned vocals, they really do have something for everyone to enjoy- and enjoy the crowd did. 

Following was The Word Alive. I’ve seen them a handful of times in the last year and they’re another band that can hold their own in terms of keeping fans engaged. I was genuinely curious how I would feel seeing them again in a fairly short period of time; but every single time I leave awed, impressed, and laughing at myself because if anyone puts on a good show, it’s The Word Alive- and honestly, I should know this by now. Even with a new guitarist sharing the stage, the band showed the same amount of cohesion that I’m familiar with from their previous shows. What I wasn’t prepared for, however, was the heavier tone that all bands carried throughout the night. While I’m aware of the range of their vocalist, their previous shows tend to stay in the mid of metalcore, with a few unclean vocals throughout, this show was different. While they played their must haves- “Hard Reset,” “Life Cycles,” and “One of Us,” they also added in a few of their heavier songs like “Nocturnal Future.” As a fan of harsher vocals, I was pleasantly surprised see the change in tone for them. I was even more happy when I got to see a few new fans enjoying the show and chatting with the band members after their set. I really can’t understate how much of a show they put on. From their guitarists roaming the stage, engaging with one another mid set, longer-hair-emphasized-head-banging, and backup vocals from both, you could just watch the guitarists and get a full show. With the addition of their vocalist, it’s truly a performance. With enviable energy, their vocalist is everywhere. Engaging the fans, on the riser, off the riser, by their drummer- wherever he is, it’s obvious he’s putting his all into the show. 

Memphis May Fire was up next and I think I might have been most excited to see them again. The last time I saw them, one of the speakers blew mid set and their vocalist floored me by attempting to continue the song A cappella. I know full well that you’re not likely to make it as a vocalist without the ability to sing well, but seeing one man sing loud enough to fill a two story venue and do it well enough to continue part of the song will continue to go down as a shock and awe moment for me. With that in mind, they didn’t disappoint. With more stationary members, what they might have lacked in movement, they made up for in passion. Throughout their set you could see each of them looking at each other, the crowd, or their instruments with either looks of joy or the wildly known ‘stank face’ of a good riff. Considering they were no exception to the harder tone the bands set, this was absolutely understandable. While I note the lack of movement, comparatively, their vocalist refused to stand still. He brought enough energy for the whole venue. I do want to be clear- the whole band put on an amazing show and in no way did I feel like them staying in their relative places made me feel like I lost out on something from their performance. That’s just simply not what you get when you see them live. They put on one hell of a show. With cryo smoke throughout the show, a killer lighting set up, amazing expressions, and another shock and awe moment from the vocalist, I will continue to see them every chance I get. This time, thankfully no speaker blew, but in one of their heavier songs, their vocalist yet again blew me away. I was in the middle of a conversation with another crowd member and he went into a guttural that quite literally stopped me in the middle of a word, made me look back at the stage with a ‘well damn’ face, right before more cryo erupted, killer riffs took over, and went right back to putting on one hell of a show. Don’t let those smiling faces deceive you, Memphis May Fire throws down hard. 

Closing out the night was Asking Alexandria. I know for so many this band goes way back. I listened to them so much in high school, when they were newer in the scene, and it’s still an awe to me to be able to say that I was able to cover their show. Whether you’ve followed the career of their vocalist or came to the show because of nostalgia, they had something for everyone. Continuing the heavier tone for the night, their setlist had a lot of unclean vocals throughout often carried by their backup vocalist. But their main vocalist, that most are familiar with, wasn’t slacking throughout the night. While he’s maintained is iconic voice, his independent career in country music has given him just the hint of an unmistakable twang that I heard throughout the night. If my role wasn’t to review or to listen to songs intently, I might not have noticed it at all. In the shows, it adds a lot of authenticity; it goes to show how long this band has been around. And they show it. Every single member of this band came on stage with seemingly one goal- to kill it. With guitarists swapping spots to play to the crowd, to their vocalist engaging with fans, and even their drummer putting a show on in his own right, they independently and collectively put on such a great show. Combine that with the production of cryo and another amazing lighting set up, this was such a great performance from such an experienced band.