My boys in
BlessTheFall recently wrapped up The Retrograde Tour with Crown The Empire, New
Year’s Day, Light Up The Sky, and Too Close To Touch. I had the pleasure of
attending their NC show, making this the second time that I’ve seen them live.
As for the others, I had not had the chance to see them live prior to my show
but holy shit, will I be attending more shows in the future – absolutely.
Light Up The Sky and
Too Close To Touch kicked things off right, completely setting the entire tone
of the show. Out of all of the acts, these were the two I knew the least about which
made their sets even more intriguing. Live shows are a great way to discover
new music and this was no exception. Washington natives, Light Up The Sky are a
hidden gem and put on a hell of a show. If you’re a fan of bands like My
Enemies and I, you’ll love them. They did a few songs from their debut album Nightlife,
released under Rise Records. My favorite track so far is “Bring It On”,
definitely give it a listen. Too Close To Touch are another severely underrated
band. During their set they got really personal, discussing their own personal
experiences and really connecting with the crowd. Vocalist, Keaton Pierce has
some serious chops, which came in handy when he joined New Year’s Day on stage
for “Angel Eyes” later in the show. Their newest album Haven't Been Myself is available now!
Speaking of New Year’s
Day, my soul damn near left my body as they took the stage. While this was my
first time seeing them live, I’ve been a fan for a while. Their presence on
stage was electric, front-woman Ash Costello is an actual angel. Her vocals are
even more insane in person and she’s just an all-around badass. The place went
crazy as they tore through fan favorites like “Kill or Be Killed”, Malevolence and more. The band also announced that they would be back in NC in March, which
you’ll definitely find me at the show, first in line. The highlight was
actually getting to meet the band at their merch table after their set. If you
ever get the chance to meet them, please do. They’re incredibly kind and genuine,
just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.
My boys were up next,
kicking things off with my favorite track “You Wear a Crown But You’re No King”.
So, as you can imagine I looked a little something like this in the crowd.
BTF always delivers a
hell of a performance. They command the stage and they have the crowd eating
out of the palm of their hands the minute they step in front of you. Beau Bokan’s
energy is infectious as he bounces across the stage, climbing into the crowd
(and onto sound equipment), so you can’t help but to feed off of it. I got to
hold hands with Beau during their set, he’s also a huge fan of spirit fingers. During
“Oathbreaker” they had the entire place moving as a massive number of crowd
surfers moved through to stage dive. I’ve never seen so many stage divers in my
life, shit was crazy. I was also incredibly pleased at “Dead Air” made it on
the set list because it’s one of my favorites from To Those Left Behind.
Crown The Empire closed
the show as they played through songs from the album that inspired this entire
tour. I just recently got into Crown The Empire so I was stoked to see what they
had in store for us. It was spectacular – everything from the lights, the
production, and the way they controlled the crowd was amazing. Since it was a
sold out show, as tradition they had someone crowd surf from the bar to the
stage to bring vocalist, Andy Velasquez a drink. A tradition I can get behind. It
was truly an unforgettable performance. I met Andy after the show, it was well
worth standing in the cold.
Even though The
Retrograde Tour has ended you can still grab a copy of the album in stores and
online now! The track "Are You Coming With Me" is a BOP.
Here’s a few pictures
from the show.
