Concerts Attended in 2022:
3/23 Touche Amore/Vein.fm/Militarie Gun/Scowl, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
4/9 Converge: Bloodmoon/Caspian/Walter Schreifels, Roadrunner, Brighton, MA
5/29 Boston Calling Day 3 (Metallica/Weezer/Glass Animals/Japanese Breakfast), Harvard Athletic Complex, Allston, MA
9/21 Lamb of God/Killswitch Engage/Baroness/Suicide Silence, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA
11/19 Turnstile/Snail Mail/Fiddlehead, Roadrunner, Brighton, MA
12/15 Counterparts/SeeYouSpaceCowboy.../Dying Wish/Foreign Hands, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
12/30 Killswitch Engage/Unearth/Rivers of Nihil/Lybica, The Palladium, Worcester, MA
10.Counterparts:
Counterparts was seemingly the only -core band that rose to prominence between 2008 and 2013 that I'd never seen live before. That drought finally came to an end last month and they certainly didn't disappoint. The melodies, emotions and breakdowns that drive their music are just as powerful live as they are on record and vocalist Brendan Murphy is a warm, hilarious presence that seemed beyond grateful for the support of their fans that have allowed them to enjoy sustained success in a genre where staying power is getting harder and harder to maintain.
9.Unearth:
You wouldn't know that Unearth hasn't been actively touring since early 2019 by seeing them live. The Massachusetts metalcore icons fill the stage with the same fire and precision they had 10-15 years ago, which is probably why they continue to wipe the floor with 99% of their peers in a live setting.
8.Converge: Bloodmoon:
While not without its technical issues (largely surrounding the volume of Chelsea Wolfe's microphone), it was really cool to get the chance to see the Bloodmoon lineup of Converge play and bask in the sludgy, gothic glory that makes this supergroup such a compelling departure from the math/metalcore legends traditional sound in person.
7.Glass Animals:
Deciding to camp out in a front of a stage to get the possible spot for Metallica led to a shockingly pleasant surprise. In fact, I was actively lamenting the fact that I had to sit through a Glass Animals set right up until the moment they actually stepped on stage. Their hooky songs and the endearingly goofy energy their frontman Dave Bayley possessed made their set a total blast and even got me to check out their 2016 record How to Be a Human Being-which is a pure psychedelic pop delight. I still do however think that their biggest hit song "Heat Waves" and the bulk of the other songs from their most recent LP Dreamland are songs that were made to be heard at a low volume at a grocery store or retail establishment.
6.Dying Wish:
On a bill fill of extremely talented bands who deliver in a big way live, Portland-bred metalcore upstarts Dying Wish were able to steal the spotlight with their sheer ferocity, mammoth breakdowns and an energy level that was so relentless that the venue had to send in extra security to try and limit the amount of people that were getting on stage/stagediving.
5.Killswitch Engage (12/30):
Closing out the year with what effectively was a hometown show for Killswitch Engage (Jesse Leach indicated that they've always felt like Worcester was home for the Western Massachusetts natives since they've played The Palladium so many times over the years) was amazing. While they were great when I saw them open for Lamb of God in September, the lack of wear and tear that inevitably comes from being on the road for a prolonged period of time made this a tighter, more energetic performance-especially from Leach whose vocals sounded immaculate here.
4.Vein.fm:
Vocalist Anthony DiDio may've been visibly aggravated and eager to leave the stage at the Paradise as quickly as possible, but that didn't stop Vein.fm from being their usual destructive selves. Their 25-minute set felt like it was about 5 minutes on account of how hard they went and the tracks from their new record This World is Going to Ruin You sounded absolutely monstrous live.
3.Baroness:
What a treat it was to finally be able to see Baroness live. Sure, they were painfully out of place on a bill with Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and Suicide Silence and seeing them play from the top level of a brand new, upscale 5,000+ person venue felt kind of odd considering how low-key their band is. That being said, those unusual circumstances didn't prevent them from flat-out killing. Everything from John Baizley's vocals to the guitar tone to the fucking floor tom sounded heaven-sent and their setlist served as a brief yet enthralling tour through their entire discography. The chance to finally see them headline can't come soon enough.
2.Metallica:
After the auditory black hole otherwise known as Gillette Stadium derailed the magic of my 1st time seeing them back in 2017, this was the opportunity to see a proper Metallica set that I've been waiting about half my life to see. Being able to actually see and hear these legends rip through a 2-hour set that leaned shockingly heavy on Ride the Lightning cuts ("Creeping Death", "Fade to Black", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", the title track) was such a surreal, incredible experience that I'm still in disbelief that it actually happened.
1.Turnstile:
Being at this show felt like winning the lottery. The band was on fire, the crowd was raucous, and the atmosphere was just electric because of it. On top of all that, Turnstile re-shuffled and changed the setlist since this was their 2nd show in Boston on back-to-back nights-which led to them coming out of the gates with the 1-2 punch of "Mystery" and "Blackout", switching out "No Surprise" for "Wild WRLD" and moving "Holiday" into the final song before the encore slot. This was easily the most fun I've had a show in quite some time and shoutout to Turnstile on getting to spend their 2023 cashing big checks and committing elder abuse on a nightly basis as the openers on cash grab-182's latest reunion tour with Tom DeLonge.
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