The night was cool and downtown was hectic. Downtown was buzzing with people everywhere trying to get to events for the final four. To top that off there were tons of shows all over the Phoenix, Tempe and Glendale area! At the Crescent Ballroom the night was going to be filled with metal. The doors opened at 7 and the line went down the street. The show was sold out!
The first band to hit the stage was The Acacia Strain! They came onto the stage and everyone cheered and swarmed their way through to the front. Tonight they were playing songs from STEP INTO THE LIGHT
& COMA WITCH. Everyone was ecstatic for this high energy night that was going to take place. The band instantly hit the audience with the high energy and fast paced songs.
The Acacia Strain is a deathcore band that formed in Chicopee, Massachusetts in 2001. The band is now based in Albany, New York. The bands line up is formed by Vincent Bennett – vocals, Devin Shidaker – lead guitar/backing vocals, Griffin Landa – bass, Mike Mulholland – rhythm guitar and Matt Guglielmo – drums.
They opened their set with their song “Flourishing” from their 2023 album Step Into the Light. Everyone cheered, clapped and sang along. The crowd started to move creating a small mosh pit that grew as the night went on. Bennett addressed the audience quite a few times, asking them to get moving and move closer. He also would open water bottles and spray the crowd-which they loved!
As the night went on The Acacia Strain began to play older music and before they got into that second half of their set Bennett told the audience “I was a different person when I wrote these songs”. He then performed “3750” off of their album 3750 from 2004.
At the end of the set Bennett thanked everyone for being there and showing support and having a good time. He also mentioned that they go there because this is where we all fit in, where we we all belong and that we all have something in common. There is something wrong with all of us. You don’t just get into hardcore, metal and punk when you’re normal. It’s ok to have something wrong. I’m glad you found this, I’m glad you found something to come to, to cling on to, to hang on to and something to be proud of cuz at the end of the day the only thing that matters is when you come here is you feel like you belong, you feel like you can be yourself, and you feel like you can have a good fucking time. That’s all that matters. Be yourself, have fun.
Everyone was having the time of their life, enjoying amazing music. The band ended their set with their song “Carbomb” off their album 3750. They would be performing again the next night at The Crescent Ballroom with a completely different set.
Finally it was time for the headlining band, Between the Buried And Me, to hit the stage. The light went dark and a single blue light went on when the singer appeared on stage behind the keyboard. Everyone clapped as the show got off to a slow start that would build up with intensity leading to the hard hitting sounds of metal.
The band formed in 2000 in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are a progressive metalcore band. The band is formed by Tommy Giles Rogers – lead vocals/keyboards, Paul Waggoner – guitar/backing vocals/rhythm guitar, Dan Briggs – bass/keyboards/backing vocals, Blake Richardson – drums/ backing vocals and Dustie Waring – guitar.
They opened their set with “Foam Born (A) The Backtrack”. Everyone clapped and cheered! Their music intensified and the band began to put all their heart and soul into the music. Their energy was intense. Rogers would leave the keyboard behind to get to the front of the stage to perform for his audience up close. He gave them an amazing performance that they soaked in.
The fans at the barricade had gotten so into the music that they sang every line, jumped up and down and flung themselves on top of the barricade to get closer. Many fans had their phones out recording their favorite songs so they could have those memories to look back on.
What made Between The Buried And Me’s performance so fun was their music was never one tempo or one sound. Their music flowed from slow to fast paced to hard hitting with vocals following the same progression. The first night of the two day back to back concerts was off their album Colors, that was released in 2007 while night two was their album Colors II, which was also released September 2007.
Overall the night was magical with two different style bands coming together and performing an amazing show. Showing their fans how much their support means while fans got to enjoy the music they loved, the music that guided them through life and hard times.
Between The Buried and Me
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