Grammy nominated band August Burns Red headlined a phenomenal show at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, this past Thursday night. Supporting the band were bands Born of Osiris, Erra, and Ocean Grove on the Phantom Anthem Tour.
Opening the night was Australian band Ocean Grove. This show marked the first time they ventured into Los Angeles and we showed them a good time. The whole crowd was clapping and jumping in unison, creating an amazing experience from the beginning. Their bassist Dale displayed an immense amount of energy, running around, jumping, and thrashing on stage. While his movements made photographing him more difficult, he added a new intensity to the atmosphere. Ending the night with their heaviest song "Stratosphere Love," Ocean Grove really set the stage (pun intended) for the rest of the night.
Following Ocean Grove was Erra from Birmingham, Alabama. Their set really was unbelievable from start to finish. They opened with "Irreversible" and "Drift" which was a excellent beginning to their set. Their 2016 album Drift has been a recent favorite of mine and their live show added a new element to the music in addition to sounding exactly like their record. I was secretly hoping they would play "Hourglass" and "Dreamcatcher" but I guess I'll just have to keep seeing them as they Drift around on tour! Instead they played two songs off of previous records. They ended their set with "Skyline" which was a spectacular surprise and a more melodic ending than I was expecting. Keep an eye out for Erra in the future because there have been whispers of a cool new record coming out soon.
Born of Osiris came next and performed one of the heaviest and also loudest shows I have ever been to. At times the wall of drum triggers and synth bass drops made the other parts of the music harder to hear. That being said, the light show was spectacular and the energy in the room was insane from start to finish. Their light show incorporated a lot of strobe lights which synched along well with their sound. When they played the song "Machine," the doors I was standing next to began shaking on their hinges. It was pretty awesome.
As the lights were down and August Burns Red still backstage, an anxious crowd awaited. "Chop Suey" played over the loudspeakers cueing the crowd to sing along. Jake and one of the backstage crew members were joking around backstage as the occasional pops of their photographer Ray Duker's camera went off. The lights dimmed even further as a giant U was illuminated sitting above and behind their drummer Matt. This would change colors and flash throughout the rest of the set which was a really unique set piece for their show. The crowd roared as he and the rest of the band took to the stage playing hits off of their newest record Phantom Anthem. Throughout the rest of the set, August Burns Red would also play a diverse amount of songs from their previous records making the show very exciting. During their last song "White Washed," JT Cavey of Erra joined Jake screaming on stage. Jake had the crowd split and crash back together in the famous "Wall of Death" which was incredibly entertaining to witness from the outside. ABR then said their goodbyes, the lights dimmed, and for a moment I thought it was over until I realized "they're headlining so of course they're going to do an encore." So they came back as Matt opened with a crazy drum solo that had the whole crowd cheering followed by their song "Dangerous" off of Phantom Anthem. Their final song of the night was "Composure" off of Messengers which was just remixed for its 10th anniversary. They wished the fans goodbye, threw guitar picks and drum sticks into the crowd, and exited as the house lights slowly rose.
August Burns Red
Born Of Osiris
ERRA
Ocean Grove
