Beartooth Takes Over The Main Street Armory in Rochester,NY On The Below Tour Part 2
The Below Tour was so good the first time that rockers Beartooth geared up for part 2. This time friends Silverstein, The Devil Wears Prada and Erra joined them for a night of epic crowd surfing, curtain reveals and of course, confetti blasting canons. The Main Street Armory in Rochester, NY was the perfect fit for this tour with its soaring towers and architectural greatness. The hollow high walls made for the perfect space for all things rock that night.
Erra was first for the night. Their prominent metalcore sound was a perfect kick-off to the show. J.T Cavey’s vocals were on track with the band’s hard-hitting creative chorus and melodies that you caught yourself singing over and over throughout the night. The place was packed with a majority of the crowd choosing to stay by the barricade for Erra’s whole set.
The Devil Wears Prada was up next. Immediately their stage presence was hard-hitting and captivating. The band’s setlist featured newer tracks from The Act and ZII as well as one of their older tracks “Dogs can grow Beards all Over.” Opening with “ WatchTower” and keeping the mood in the armory heavy and intense, the band encouraged the crowd to move hard. Mike Hranica’s vocals spelled the crowd into forming circle pits throughout. With a night this epic already could it get any better?
Enter Silverstein. The original emo’s since 2000 were next to take the stage. Silverstein and Beartooth aren’t shy about their friendship, constantly praising each other and even forming their only little rock and roll baby Silvertooth. With the band coming out with their 10th studio album Misery Made Me I knew that their newer material would be hard-hitting tonight. Clean vocals and fun stage presence have always been my favorite about Silverstein. “Massachusettes” and “Smile In Your Sleep” were among the crowd’s favorites. The band’s members compliment each other so well musically it’s no wonder they have been around as long as they have. The guitar riffs by Josh and Paul had the crowd going crazy. The catchy lyrics of “Ultraviolet” and “Bankrupt” had the entire Armory shaking and the fans that were there from the band started to explode when songs from Discovering the Waterfront and When Broken is Easily Fixed made their appearance. Shane’s proven time and time again that his screaming vocals go unmatched. The band had everyone singing and even announced the hint of a fall tour this year.
With the night already electric Beartooth was left to bring down the Armory. A huge white curtain was draped in front of the barricade, separating the crowd from the stage and their main act. As the lights went out a silhouette of Caleb Shomo could be seen. The crowd went absolutely nuts. As soon as the curtain dropped the cannons exploded with confetti and Beartooth wasted no time erupting into their hardcore rock sound. Shomo had the crowd hanging onto his every move and blessing our ears with some unmatched vocal tones as he moved from side to side on an elevated large platform. What I love about Beartooth is the uniqueness of Shomo’s voice, this makes for the band’s overall sound to be one that’s hard to come by. Their songs channel overall personal struggles of emotional darkness and isolation. These lyrics being so relatable to fans is huge in why Beartooth has such a large following. Songs such as “Below” the title track off the new album and “Devastation” made their appearance instantly forcing fans to sing along. The entire crowd was headbanging and crowd surfers started to make their way to the front in waves. Beartooth continued to power through favorites such as “In Between” from their album Disgusting and “Afterall” off of Disease.
After the show was done all that was left was ringing ears, sweaty fans, and huge smiles. With fans piling out of the Armory with armfuls of merch you could tell they wouldn’t forget this show. Even though Rochester, NY was the second to last date on the tour and it has since ended, make sure to head over to Beartooth’s site for up-to-date shows and tours!