Zombie 5 Tour Wakes the Dead At Irving Plaza

The Devil Wears Prada, Born of Osiris, The Word Alive, and Secrets
April 9, 2015
Irving Plaza-New York, NY

If anyone near Irving Plaza in New York City wasn’t awake on Thursday night, they were once the Zombie 5 Tour began. Loud, fast, and heavy were three words that summed up the night.
Secrets opened the show and gave fans a taste of what they would get from the rest of the bands. The San Diego band has been up and coming recently and has played New York “countless times” according to touring bassist Connor Branigan. Their second full-length album on Rise Records, Fragile Figures, sold over 10,000 albums in its first month and charted at 59 on the Billboard 200 chart. Secrets gave a fast-paced, fun and powerful performance opening with The Oath, playing Dance of the Dead and a few others, and closing with Live Together, Die Alone. Despite being the opening band, a good solid crowd was singing along and going wild.
Vibrations and reverberation from the floor of the venue shaking must have been heard blocks away. The sound was loud and the fans rocked up and down enough to make some worry that the floor might actually give way. It wasn’t a worry for Telle Smith, vocalist of the second band of the night, The Word Alive. He encouraged the crowd by saying he wanted to “feel this fucking floor shake” mid way through TWA’s set. The floor definitely shook harder than it had before and the action didn’t stop there. Smith then introduced the sound technician at the back of the room and asked him whether or not he had a barricade surrounding him. When he got his answer, which was no, he asked that the fans create a circle pit around him. In moments, fans ran full speed, not sparing any room between them and the sound equipment positioned on both sides of the sound guy. Life Cycles, Glass Castle, and Entirety were played. Smith spoke to the audience and encouraged everyone to have a good time and enjoy the music and the night even if they had never heard of The Word Alive before. Who could have disagreed with that?
Born of Osiris came on next to a flurry of flashing white and green lights alternating with a black and white strobe effect. Seeing Osiris live was almost like getting hit with a huge, unexpected gust of wind. Eyes opened wider and it felt like being picked up and carried away inside the middle of a tornado. Every band played hard Thursday night, but the booming sound of BOO coupled with the constant movement and incessantly flashing lights created a feeling that was different from the other bands. BOO opened with Divergency and closed with Machine. Bassist David DaRocha whipped his dreadlocks in a circular motion from time to time, the tips actually hitting some of the photographers below. The energy became instantly heavier as soon as BOO took the stage, and lightened up once again after it left. It may have been a bit too much for some to handle, but the crowd welcomed the slight shift of tone in the atmosphere with open arms. Born of Osiris had the ability to heighten senses for about forty minutes straight, taking fans on a crazy ride with them.
Finally The Devil Wears Prada was ready to step out from behind the stage. There’s often a climactic moment before and while a headlining band takes the stage. This was different. The crowd was certainly thrilled for The Devil Wears Prada, but had thoroughly enjoyed the opening bands as well. It seemed that there were loyal fans of each band on the tour present in the audience. Though fans may have been there for different bands, all were excited to hear TDWP live. Frontman Mike Hranica could not stand in one place for more than ten seconds. Assistant was the opening song followed by Sailor’s Prayer and Reptar. Supernova, and Dead Throne were also on the setlist. Being the Zombie 5 Tour in celebration of the five-year anniversary of the Zombie EP, the five-track album was played in its entirety. The constant movement around the stage was typical for every individual who performed Thursday night, besides the drummers. Hranica, however, ended up climbing the amps and other equipment that was stacked up on the side of the stage. He also took a few moments to crouch down pensively on the drum setup and sing vocals from that position. His energy, like that of the other bands, kept fans engaged and reciprocating the same vigor. There were quite a few injuries out on the floor and security was needed more than once to calm things down. Fans who got extra excited ended up propped against a wall near the merch tables tending to their wounds instead of inside watching the band. It was likely all worth it for them in the end.
After a lengthy set, TDWP thanked everyone for a great night, played one last song, and left fans to disperse. Once most of the crowd had made its way outside, band members could be found all around the venue. Secrets and The Word Alive hung near the merch tables to talk and take photos with fans. Members of The Devil Wears Prada made their way outside to a sidewalk next to the venue to do the same. It was calm as fans hung around just long enough to say a few words to their favorite musicians before leaving for the night. Regardless of how small or big the bands of the night were, each was sure to make time for fans. Humility and positivity were common sentiments of all four bands on the Zombie 5 Tour. Beginning April 27^th, TWA and BOO leave the tour, with Secrets remaining on and Sleepwave being added to the lineup. You can catch the Zombie 5 Tour until May 14^th.