The House of Blues was sold out. The crowd inside was surging
with barely an inch between any two people. It felt just like the old days
again. It's not surprising that this lineup would easily sell out. Each of the
three bands have been notably crossing over into the mainstream just enough to
bolster their fan bases without sacrificing the heaviness.
All Hail the Yeti wasn't just ready to rock. They were ready
for all-out war. It was evident because of the war paint they donned on their
faces and the ritual adornments lined across the stage. Their set kind of felt
like the bonding celebrations held the night before the big battle, washing
down the fear with loads of ale and dancing around the firelight. Vocalist Connor
Garritty invited the entire packed house to lift up their arms and sway them
under his direction. Connor's deep gutturals and bassist Nicholas Diltz's occasional
clean singing shook the walls during their set, which included songs "Bury Your
Memory" and "Funeral Heart" from their 2021 album Within The Hollow Earth.
As their set ended, the crowd sincerely did not want them to leave.
A rousing rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" played
just before the second band stormed upon the stage. There was nothing silent
about Suicide Silence. In fact, I would call them raucous and unpredictable.
Within moments of taking the stage, vocalist Eddie Hermida took one foot off
the stage and stood on the edge of the barricade, straddling the security pit
that was put there to protect the band from the crowd surfers and mosh pit. He
thrust his face into the faces of his fans and whipped his long, sweaty hair at
them. They could not get enough of it. In fact, Eddie performed this maneuver
several times throughout the set, even stepping completely off of the stage at
one point to stand nearly on top of the front row fans. He fell into the pit at
one point but was pulled out by the security team and heaved back on stage
without missing a note.
He didn't want to be the only one having fun and often
encouraged the horde to perform a Wall of Death and other extreme pit practices.
The whole band also regularly encouraged the crowd to join in singing parts of
the songs with them, splitting the audience in two and daring them to sing
louder than the other side. There was so much energy and life force spent by
the band that guitarist Mark Heylmun and bassist Dan Kenny had to put their
backs together and lean hard on each other for support. They just had barely
anything left to give after that.
Three floor-to-ceiling screens strobed and stunned the eyes
of the viewers as Jinjer bolted on stage. Three musicians took to their
perfectly-placed risers; Bassist Eugene Abdukhanov, guitarist Roman
Ibramkhalilov, and vocalist Tatiana Shmailyuk were silhouetted by the impossibly
bright screens. Drummer Vladi Ulasevich seated himself at the canary yellow,
Dr. Suessian drum kit in the middle of it all. All of these bright, happy
colors flooded the dark venue even as the performers themselves were difficult
to see. This is Jinjer's specialty: to bring the unexpected to whoever will
listen or watch. Tati stood center stage, swinging her long braid around her
head in between brutal, guttural growls and gorgeous clean vocals. She donned a
yellow jersey emblazoned with "Booyah" and "666," and her eyes glowed with neon
green eyeshadow. Song after song, inundating the room with a rainbow of color,
the quartet continued to impress and astound. "Pit of Consciousness," "Disclosure!,"
and "Retrospection" made those in the crowd not busy tossing themselves into
the pit raise their horns in appreciation.
This three-band show had an interesting progression: from
the ancient look of All Hail The Yeti to the attitude-era intensity of Suicide
Silence to the ultra-modern, genre-breaking poise of Jinjer. This show is an
exercising in appreciating the past and embracing the present.
