The Devil Wears Prada in Raleigh, NC
Greyhaven opened up for the night and left such an impact. The Kentucky based progressive post hardcore band gave such an authentic performance I felt like I was in a much more intimate venue than I was. While it seemed like most knew of them, their performance had so many visiting the merch booth throughout the night and many leaving with vinyls cradled as they left the venue. Their performance and authenticity has genuinely stuck with me.
From the second that Like Moths to Flames’s vocalist, Chris Roetter, stepped on stage with a “Guess what, motherfuckers? For the next 30 minutes, you’re mine.” I had a smile on my face knowing it was going to be a great performance. And that’s exactly what happened. The first three songs were light almost exclusively by blue strobe lights lending to an eerie impression as it was almost impossible to keep track of any member. The second your eyes adjusted, the lights would go out, when they flashed again, the members would all be in different places- repeat for 10 minutes straight. While the lighting was disorienting, accompanied by a brilliant performance, it became utterly preternatural.
With the bar high from the previous two bands, SeeYouSpaceCowboy bound on stage and wasted no time getting into their heavy discography. With Connie Sgarbossa covering every inch of the front of the stage with nothing but talent and charisma, you were either drawn in by sheer performance value or absolute talent from every member on stage. With Ethan Sgarbossa and Taylor Allen, guitar and bass respectively, both providing vocals throughout the show, Timmy Moreno on guitar, and AJ Tartol on drums, every single member on stage had you drawn in visually while putting on such an amazing show that didn’t stop for one instance.
The penultimate band, Silent Planet, were one of the main draws for me. With their first studio album, ’The Night God Slept,’ celebrating 10 years out in the ether and their most recent album, ‘Superbloom,’ celebrating 1 year, it’s not surprising the crowd went absolutely feral for them. And when I say feral, I mean that after about 4 minutes, security kicked all photographers out of area in front of the stage due to the amount of crowd surfers that popped up the second they started playing. And honestly it was a joy to get to watch most of the show from the crowd. Their vocalist, Garrett Russell, brought such a great energy to his performance and connected with the crowd effortlessly- even ending their performance crowd surfing while still ripping vocals. After more than 10 years performing, it’s not surprising that Silent Planet puts on a good show but the energy they bring to stage seemed similar to bands with far more years behind them. From start to finish they had almost everyone in the venue entranced, myself included. After seeing them there, I can’t imagine missing one of their shows anytime they play remotely close.
The Devil Wears Prada took over the stage with all the energy and expertise of the preceding bands combined. With 6 members on stage, you’d expect it to be cramped but they moved across, around, and between each other with absolute expertise. From start to finish, they had the crowd involved, jumping, crowd surfing, and loosing their mind. Although, they did devastate at least half the crowd, myself included, when they paused and reminded people that their debut studio album, ‘Formation and Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord’ will hit its 20 year anniversary next year. They made it up by providing a lot of crowd participation throughout but also providing the choice between songs “html rules d00d” or “Reptar, King of the Ozone” to which Raleigh was treated to “Reptar, King of the Ozone.” After seeing them on their Metalcore Dropouts tour here in February I was absolutely ecstatic that they played fair heavier songs than they did previously, or at least the presence they brought to the stage was far heavier, and made such a great show. Throughout their entire show I was just floored by the amount of energy they brought to the stage, kept up throughout the entire show, and dedicated to not only playing but also engaging fans, making faces, strutting, screaming, and just putting on such an iconic metal performance. After over two decades, it’s almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t have at least one of their songs as an involuntary nostalgia trigger. Regardless of how The Devil Wears Prada is woven into your personal metal history, being able to see the absolutely legends put on such a brilliant show should be a must see for everyone. Featuring their entire discography, there won’t be a crowd member leaving disappointed.
