Emmure
December 21, 2014
Gramercy Theatre-New York, NY
To kick off the night in NYC, Sylar took the stage for a hometown show. The band reigns from Queens and was excited to be playing to a crowd of fellow New Yorkers. Vocalist Jayden Panesso encouraged crowd members to get closer to the stage throughout the set, and fans complied in the form of crowd surfing and collectively pushing toward the front of the room. It was the beginning of a long night for security and venue personnel, as they would need to hold the temporary barricades in place for most of the night to keep the crowd from damaging band equipment on the side of the room. Needless to say, it was chaotic in the center of the room for the majority of the night.
Kublai Khan stormed the stage next with a mission in mind. Vocalist Matt Honeycutt let his frustrations with the state of our country known when he told the New York audience they were lucky to live in a place that is the melting pot of this country. He prefaced his statement by saying that where he’s from in Texas, it just isn’t like that and people are not judged by their character, but by other physical traits. It was a powerful message and the crowd could see that he was grateful to be on that stage and delivering positive messages through Kublai Khan’s music. Honeycutt then dedicated a song to anyone in the audience who had ever felt singled out based on their physical appearance. This DIY band self released their EP, Youth War, which is available now.
Christian metalcore band, Fit For a King, based out of Dallas, Texas was the third band to take the stage. Their new album, Slave to Nothing, was released on October 14th and produced by Will Putney who also produced albums for Miss May I and Suicide Silence. Hollow King was one song FFAK played that fans seemed to have been especially anticipating. The band’s long breakdowns in their songs are full of guitar riffs and energetic moves from the band members.
The Acacia Strain kept the energy high and started off their set by blasting the audience with bubbles coming out of two bubble machines on both sides of the stage. The bubbles were a telltale sign of the fun that was about to take place on stage. The Acacia Strain’s lead singer took the time to talk to the audience and connect with them before bringing out a slew of singers from other bands, each running onto the stage after the other creating a tag-team effect. One of the guest vocalists was Finnbogi Orn Einarsson of the band Icarus.
Emmure finally took the stage after about twenty minutes of waiting. The crowd pushed forward toward the stage as security tried to hold in place the barricades on each side of the floor. Lead singer Frankie Palmeri, guitarists Jesse Ketive and Mike Mulholland, bassist Mark Davis, and drummer Adam Pierce played to a passionate crowd in their home state. Like the first band of the night, Sylar, Emmure also originated in Queens, NY. Sunday night’s show was the last of the tour, making it a special night for all of the bands. The vocalists of all five bands made sure to thank all the fans for their support and mention the last show of the tour as being bittersweet. Emmure opened with Gun followed by Nemesis and NIA or News In Arizona. The action in the mosh pit turned up a few notches when Emmure hit the stage, and with the exception of a couple bloody noses, fans thoroughly enjoyed an end of the year show with some of their musical heroes.
Review by: Ashley Rodriguez
Emmure
Fit For a King
The Acacia Strain
Kublai Khan
Sylar
