Vampires Everywhere! brings their tour to the music venue Taffeta Music Hall in Lowell, MA with support from bands Dreamwake and Cultus Black, joined by local support Dead Fiction for the night also.
The first band of the evening, Dead Fiction was opening for the night as local support, hailing from the nearby Worcester, MA. Many of the fans in the crowd probably had not heard of them unless they came to support their friends, so they were up for a challenge as the first band of the evening. They did not back down from this challenge and took it head on, the vocalist urging the crowd to move closer to the stage and even hopping down to the floor to join the crowd. Their music style is similar to Cultus Black in a way so they fit in with the touring lineup of mixed styles. Playing mostly originals and one Nirvana cover that was truly made their own, the band did a wonderful job of warming up the crowd and making their mark.
Next was the first band from the touring lineup, Cultus Black. If you hadn’t heard of them before seeing them live, they make quite the impression when stepping onto the stage, wearing face coverings and black bodypaint. As if the stage attire wasn’t enough of an impact, they also had two drum sets that filled half of the stage, and six members total. The band members were right up front and in the crowd’s face, maybe due to limited space for some of them but their stage presence was dynamic and electric, keeping the crowd entertained even with covered faces. It isn’t always easy to capture the crowd’s attention, so them having their own unique energy without even seeing most of their faces was quite impressive. They moved in a way that made it look like they were looking at various parts of the crowd, urging the crowd to join in and give them some energy back. Their sound was just as great as the energy, never missing a note between multiple vocals and drummers, the instrumentals working perfectly together.
Next up was the self-proclaimed ‘wavecore’ band Dreamwake. Dreamwake is originally from Connecticut and just recently started to gain some traction with national tours. With this show being only one state away from their home and New England being a smaller area in general, with people often crossing state lines for shows, there was definitely a handful of old fans from the beginning in the crowd. The band has a mix of smooth instrumentals and hooks with breakdowns that make for a dynamic and unique sound. It was clear to see that the crowd was loving the performance with singing along, dancing, and the biggest and only real mosh pit of the evening. The band did give a shout-out to their saxophonist who had to fly home due to a family emergency, but thankfully due to backtracks the live performance was not missing the sax solos in any of their songs. The band’s sound is catchy and makes you want to dance and move, their live performance was not lacking either.
Last but certainly not least, was the headliners of the night Vampires Everywhere!. With the sound of the opening bands, the sound of this goth styled band may be a slight surprise. Their style while still alternative and rock, is a bit more mild than the openers. The band originally started as a solo act of the vocalist, Michael Orlando, now known as his stage-name Michael Vampire. It is clear to see their inspiration of things like The Lost Boys and horror genre in general with their look and sound. The act was started in Hollywood, CA and primarily on the west coast so they were a long way from home with this show. The band even stated it was their first time headlining on the east coast in over a decade, so clearly a long overdue performance.
The band’s style and sound has a somewhat nostalgic quality to it, giving off the vibe of a genre that was popular in the 2010’s, the hey-day of metal bands coming to the height of popularity with tours like Warped Tour and stores like Hot Topic. Michael Vampire’s vocals are soft but yet commanding, the backing instrumentals have some of the same qualities, some songs almost having a haunting quality to them. Their music might not have had as many breakdowns or been as rowdy as some of the others but the performance spoke for itself, it is clear to see the band is talented and comfortable on-stage.
VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!
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DREAMWAKE
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CULTUS BLACK
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