Its election night in Hollywood, and the young crowd came out to let their anger out because they aren’t able to vote. Okay, that’s not the case, but this concert did have a lot of underage unregistered voters in attendance for some odd reason. The night rolled on with no announcement of President Obama winning the election, and that’s because each band was too busy melting faces with some hardcore metal music.
First up was the Australian Hardcore band, The Amity Affliction. The “TAA” chants fade as the band hit the stage and open up with the titled track off their latest album, “Chasing Ghost.” Collectively, as a band, they played well. There’s no riff or double kick that didn’t leave a head un-banged, or a body not moving. As soon as the band played “I Hate Hartley,” the crowd went nuts, and soon opened up a hardcore mosh pit that would set the mood for the rest of the night. Joel Birch and Ahren Stringer both compliment each others vocal abilities that would appeal to both men and woman. The hard growl-like screams from Joel gave that brutality the guys crave, and the more subtle singing from Athren is what the girls like to let them sing along to the songs. The short set came to an end a few songs later as the band played their final song, “Open Letter.”
Next up on the AP tour lineup is the Columbus, Ohio metalcore band, Like Moth to Flames. At this point, there’s more people inside the venue and that means the momentum is high for the band to hit the stage. Once on the stage, Chris Roetter, the vocalist, demands Hollywood to “Wake the f**k up!” As if the crowd weren’t anxious enough, they were even more hyped up as the band opened up with the song “The Worst in Me.” The band only played a seven song set and kept the intensity from the moment the go on the stage, to the moment they played their last guitar riff. The pit saw a lot of action as the band put on a tremendously heavy set of brutal music. The best thing about Like Moths to Flames, besides their music, has to be the amount of energy each band member puts into their live show. Aaron Evans and Chris Rotter both fill the stage with high impact by running around the sides of the stage and getting people hyped up. And just like that, seven songs are played and the band ironically gets off stage after playing “You Won’t Be Missed.”
Next up is arguably the highlight of the night for most in attendance. The Ghost Inside were in their hometown tonight to put on a very memorable, and very enjoyable set. It had seemed like most who came to see this tourlineup were here for TGI, because no other band tonight had as much people singing along as they did. The pit was also the most brutal of the night, seeing half of the floor split from a active mosh pit and crowd surfers, no one was safe while the band played. Both Jonathan Vigil, vocals, and Jim Riley, bass, riled up the crowd even more by going up to the barricade and hanging on to it while they sing and played bass. The band paused the insanity for quick minute while vocalist Jonathan Vigil told a short story about how his father, who had recently passed, was proud of him because of the amount of love his fans would show the band. Jonathan then dedicated the song “Thirty Three” to his father. A few songs later and the band ends with the fan favorite, “Engine 45.” The band figuratively destroyed the venue, and set the bar very high for Miss May I to match.
Surprisingly enough, a good amount of the crowd had disappeared after The Ghost Inside finished their set. This could be either because of the young kids needing to leave early since it was a school night, or because most came for The Ghost Inside. Either way, those who had left early missed out on a great set by Miss May I. Opening up their set was the song “Hey Mister.” The song was great, but it wasn’t until their third and fourth song, “Our Kings” and “Leech,” where they really started to grow on the crowd. Halfway into the set and those still in attendance were treated to a rocking drum solo by Jerod Boyd, and it honestly puts older experienced drummers drum solos to shame. The guitar work is nicely done well and it would convert a traditional metalhead into a fan of metalcore. With the band putting on a great love show, its confusing as to why they aren’t more popular. If the rumor about them playing the Rockstar Energy 2013 Tour are true, then expect Miss May I to fit perfectly on one of the side stages and gain popularity.
The AP tour didn’t have much of a variety when it came to different sub generas of metal, but that’s not a problem. Yes, it may all sound the same at some point, but if you listen carefully, you can spot then little things that make them different. Either way, metalcore and hardcore bands are some of the hardest working bands in the touring world, and that’s something we can all respect and this night was a fine example of that.
Review by Alex Lucero
Miss May I
The Ghost Inside
Like Moths to Flames
Amity Affliction
Posing Bands
