Unconditional Tour
March 26, 2014
House of Blues- Los Angeles, CA
After their album release on March 25, 2014, entitled Unconditional, Memphis May Fire brought the Unconditional tour to Hollywood, CA on it’s second to last show of the 2 month long tour. The fans packed into the House of Blues in Los Angeles, CA, early on March 26, 2014 to witness the 5 band show.
First to take the stage was a new band, Beartooth, who formed only in 2012. Celebrating their new 4 song EP, Sick, the band came on stage to an applause from the crowd. Although they are a new band only who released 4 songs, fans were singing along to them like they had been around for years. Their high energy on stage transferred to the fans, and everyone was moving and moshing.
After their short but entertaining, sweaty set, the band from down under (Australia) came onto the stage. Hands Like Houses put on an interesting set and was the most out of place band on the lineup. They weren’t as screamo as the other bands but it was good to have their diversity. Just because they weren’t as ‘heavy’ as the other band’s on the line up didn’t mean that there was no moshing. There was plenty of that as well as plenty crowd surfers, giving security a tiring job to do.
With the crowd warmed up and getting larger with each new band performing, CA, natives, A Skylit Drive were up next to keep the momentum alive. Touring for their newest album, Rise, a Skylit drive gave fans everything they wanted, performing both old hits and new songs. Like the bands who performed earlier, A Skylit Drive were moving around on stage, headbanding and interacting with the crowd, making the crowd go crazy. Nearing the end of
their set, singer, Michael Jagmin told the crowd that there was a dark time in his life where no one was there for him and that the fans would go through that as well; but he reassured them that when they do go through a time like that, he and the rest of A Skylit Drive will be there to support them. The band ended their set on a high note, with Jagmin going onto the barricade and high-fiving the fans.
Up next was a band many of the concert-goers were there to see- The Word Alive. Their all star members, with Youtube drumming sensation, Luke Holland; singer/screamer, Telle Smith; guitarists, Tony Pizzuti and Zack Hansen and their bassist, Daniel Shapiro, this was bound to be an amazing performance. Throughout the set, crowd surfing was encouraged and praised.
Telle Smith was constantly asking for movement and mid-set had the floor create a wall of death. When the song 2012 began, Smith said “Go!” and both sides of the wall collided. Those who weren’t part of the wall jumped up and down and sang at the top of their lungs. As their set neared an end, Smith asked for one more thing from the crowd. “If you know this next song, I’m going to ask you to sing it like it’s the last song you will ever sing; because that’s exactly how I am going to sing it to you” and with that, Life Cycles was performed. During the last song, Smith did what he was known for doing, a Backflip on the stage and then a front flip into the crowd, giving an unexpected and fun way to end their set.
After an exciting set by The Word Alive, much of the crowd dispersed which is strange. If they paid money to see a show, why not just watch the headliner. That being said, there was still a pretty full floor area by the time Memphis May Fire hit the stage. Touring for their new album, Unconditional, it was strange that so few songs were played off of that album. The majority of songs performed were off of their 2012 album, Challenger, probably because more fans knew those songs. As like the other band’s they put on a high energy hour long set, leaving fans wanting more. 
All in all, it was a great line-up and kind of like a mini Warped Tour, with many of the bands from this tour actually playing this year’s Warped Tour. Because of the Self Help fest (where many of these bands performed at) that took place the Saturday before, the venue was not as packed as it should have been. But those fans who went to Self-Help, got their second serving in a more intimate environment and everyone who was there left with good memories and hopefully, no broken bones.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
Memphis May Fire
The Word Alive
A Skylit Drive
Hands like Houses
Beartooth
