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John Carpenter at Myth Live, Maplewood (07 Nov 2017)

John Carpenter Setlist Escape From New York: Main Title Assault on Precinct 13: Main Title Village of the Damned: March of the Children The Fog: Main Title Theme Vortex Mystery They Live: Coming to L.A. Starman: Starman Leaves (Jack Nitzsche cover) The Thing: Main Theme - Desolation (Ennio Morricone cover) Distant Dream Big Trouble in Little China: Pork Chop Express Wraith Halloween Theme / Main Title In the Mouth of Madness: In the Mouth of Madness -- Encore -- Body Bags Vampires: Santiago Prince of Darkness: Darkness Begins Christine: Christine Attacks (Plymouth Fury) Tour Dates 11/12/17 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall 11/13/17 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis 11/15/17 - Boston, MA @ Royale 11/16/17 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 11/18/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero 11/19/17 - Syracuse, NY @ The Palace Theatre Read More Read More John Carpenter The film also felt eerie similar to John Carpenter's The Thing, both in story and the monster. There's a reason for this, the team (ADI) behind the monster was originally .... DJ Jake Rudh This is billed as a Transmission (aka DJ Jake Rudh) / BNLX release show, but music fans may want to take note that at nearly midnight, The Ocean Blue is scheduled to appear. …

Legendary horror film director, John Carpenter just brought his John Carpenter Live tour to the Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota, last Tuesday, November 7th.

DJing music videos as doors opened was Transmission’s DJ Jake Rudh. He started off with some spooky, dark music videos from Siouxsie and the Banshee, Gary Numan, David Bowie (of course), before transitioning to his normal playlist during a frozen video for Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Closer’ (the video image still showed Trent Reznor as the music of Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ - featuring the great Lovefoxxx played).

John Carpenter and his full backing band, featuring Daniel Davies (son of Kinks’ Dave Davies) on lead guitar, Scott Seiver on drums, John Konesky on rhythm guitar, John Spiker on bass, and Cody Carpenter (John’s son) on synth, took the stage exactly on time at 8:30pm.

Fans of the director was out in force, showing up early and standing in line in the freezing cold to be the first ones in to get a good spot for the composer. It wasn’t really just in appreciation of his music, but for many of his great films.

Although Carpenter is known for horror films, such as the classic original Halloween, the 1982 The Thing (loosely based on 1951’s The Thing from Another World), and the highly underrated Prince of Darkness & In the Mouth of Madness, he’s actually dipped in other genres like the love story/Sci-Fi film, Starman, and a fantasy/comedy (and cult classic), Big Trouble in Little China.

I listened to his audio commentaries, and one of the main reasons why he decided to write and score his own soundtrack was for budgetary reasons. A lot of his films didn’t get a big budget, so they had to save where they can (the most famous budget decision for the Halloween mask was actually a painted white William Shatner mask they found at a Halloween store). Like the Shatner mask, some of his music theme songs have also became iconic… at least for the Snake Plissken theme (Escape from New York) and the main Halloween theme.

Part of this rare tour is to promote John Carpenter’s Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 ( Sacred Bones Records). The record was done in collaboration with Carpenter's son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies, to coincide with the recent remix of Halloween by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Although backed with a great band, you can tell that Carpenter wasn’t exactly used to playing live. His movements was robotic and always looking like he’s keeping time with his music sheets and keyboard. Sure, sometime he would point to an audience member, or announced the upcoming song… but it looked and sounded very rehearsed.

For those popular and cult-like movie themes, a video clip of those movies was shown on the background as the band play its theme (or selection from the soundtrack). All of these songs were written by Carpenter, with the exception of the Jack Nitzsche’s soundtrack for Starman and the amazing Italian composer Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack for The Thing (he’s known for scoring over 70 films, including all of Sergio Leone films).

My favorite part of the show was for They Live, a film about a space invasion starring wrestler Roddy “Rowdy” Piper, which John Carpenter, and the entire band, put on sun glasses as they play ‘Coming to L.A.’ In the film, Piper, as John Nada, could see aliens with these special sunglasses.

Rounding out the rest of John Carpenter’s live show were some original instrumentals, most of these were collected his first two albums Lost Themes and Lost Themes II (both available on Sacred Bones Records). While these songs, such as ‘Vortex’, were standalone original songs, you can see how someone could use the dynamic song in a future film.

If you love 70s/80s horror films, do yourself a favor and see John Carpenter on this tour. Like I said, this is a rare opportunity to see the director… and for many fans, it’s worth paying a little extra to get autographs and your pictures taken with Carpenter.

John Carpenter at Myth Live, Maplewood (07 November 2017)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Bastille, Banks, Judah and the Lion, COIN at GO96.3 Snow Show, Myth, Maplewood (15 Dec 2016)

Bastille Setlist Send Them Off! Laura Palmer Warmth Snakes Flaws Two Evils Lethargy Things We Lost in the Fire The Draw The Currents Bad Blood Blame Good Grief Fake It Icarus Pompeii Banks Setlist Poltergeist F**k With Myself Gemini Feed Mind Games Weaker Girl Trainwreck This Is Not About Us Drowning Beggin’ for Thread Waiting Game Judah & the Lion Setlist Kickin' da Leaves Hold On Booty Wurk (One Cheek At a Time) (T-Pain cover) Reputation Mr. Brightside (The Killers cover) Insane Rich Kids Take It All Back Coin Setlist Atlas Speaking Voice Time Machine I Don't Wanna Dance It’s a Trap Run Boyfriend Talk Too Much Read More Go 96.3 We were really impressed with Go 96.3 FM's first Go Show #1 (featuring New Politics and Banks at Aria on Mar 2015). We were wondering how they can top that debut show … Bastille Bastille's debut album, Bad Blood, is coming out in the U.S. on September 3rd from Virgin Records. Bastille also be promoting the U.S. release with a tour - making his television debut on "Conan" last week (July 24th). … BANKS Immediately after New Politics left the stage, the legion of late teenagers left the front of the stage... to make way for BANKS fans to slowly inch their way to the front. We've seen Banks before at First Avenue last year … Judah & the Lion Nashville’s Judah & The Lion is back in town, supporting their sophomore album Folk Hop N Roll. The record entered the Billboard’s Heatseekers Album Chart at an impressive #2 and #1 on the Heatseekers South Central! … COIN Nashville's COIN is set to release their self-titled debut album in June 2015 via StarTime International. The record was recorded in Nashville with producer Jay Joyce (Cage the Elephant, Sleeper …

While the Snow thankfully held off until after the show and into the next day, there was plenty of Show to take in at local station GO 96.3’s second annual Snow Show held at Myth in suburban Maplewood and headlined by Bastille.

Opening up the multi-band evening was a local group that literally battled their way into their appearance, winning out over a handful of local bands, for the honor of opening the show.  John Chuck & the Class are an alternative pop/indie hip-hop duo (JC "John Chuck" Stroebel and Henry "The Class" Donato) that took advantage of their twenty-minute slot to introduce themselves to their biggest audience to date, play songs from their self-released EP Grow Up, and more than ably stir up the crowd, for what was several more hours of music ahead.

Next up was Nashville formed band COIN, who paid dividends in providing a good spark of youthful energy and fun, in their brief thirty-three minute set.  The synth-embellished indie pop quartet (Chase Lawrence-vocals/synths; Joe Memmel- guitar; Zachary Dyke- bass; Ryan Winnen- drums) started as students at Belmont University in 2012 signing with Columbia soon , and is still touring on 2015’s self-titled debut, though a new album is imminent in the new year.

The all-ages crowd screamed in approval as singer Lawrence noted, before they launched into ‘Time Machine’ and then the new ‘I Don’t Want to Dance’. ‘Run’ was irresistible with its jangly guitar intro and Lawrence’s rhythmic near-falsetto vocals and its road testing of the new ‘Boyfriend’ was a success judging from the crowd’s reaction. Closing with the kissing anthem ‘Talk Too Much’, the song has received heavy airplay and obviously the crowd’s ear, as they sang along with the band at each chorus.

Another Nashville-based group was next, the hippie folk-hop/pop ensemble Judah & the Lion, who has continued growing to next level heights, every time we see them live. The core trio (Singer/guitarist Judah Akers; mandolinist Brian Macdonald; banjo player Nate Zuercher) joined together in 2011 with their newest full-length, Folk Hop n’ Roll, taking their traditional folk/bluegrass sound and mixing it up with hip-hop and dance grooves for a interesting and unique combination.

“We’re gonna give you guys everything we have” singer Akers said, starting their thirty-five minute set with the harmonizing intro of ‘Kickin’ da Leaves’, which had the crowd clapping in unison immediately. Hippie dancing was encouraged during the mandolin-fueled ‘Hold On’ and things got a little crazy on stage as the band twerked in line to an auto-tuned T-Pain cover before Akers jumped into the crowd to lead everyone in jumping to ‘Reputation’ from the middle of the floor.

“This was our favorite song in the 4^th grade” Akers said, keeping energy high with their cover of The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ (and making some of us feel really old) grabbing sunglasses and running along the high bar counters to sing the song amongst outstretched hands and cell phones in the air.

Zuercher’s banjo was fuzzed and pedaled to sound like a lead guitar on ‘Insane’ and they thanked the station for their support before ‘Rich Kids’, a song about pursuing your dreams, which seemed to a strike a chord with a younger audience.

A brief wail from the Lion King introduced ‘Take It All Back’, a massive hit as anthemic as anything Mumford and Sons has ever done, and a serious contender for best song of late summer/early fall.  With a memorable live performance and catchy songs, Judah & the Lion very nearly stole the entire show.

The mood shifted to hazy, experimental, and more theatric as Orange County electro-pop singer-songwriter Banks was next, playing many songs from her newest, The Altar (Harvest Records) for the very first time before a live audience.  She and the station have been friends for some time, as she played the very first GO Show in March 2015, which we also covered, and played a forty-minute set, though she is not currently on tour.

Joined by two veiled interpretive dancers, a keyboardist and live drummer, the singer, dressed in wispy black cloak and boots began with ‘Poltergeist’ (co-written/produced by Grammy nominee John Hill), amidst minimal red and blue lighting and rolling fog.  ‘F**k with Myself’ throbbed with its hip-hop beat and Kate Bush-esque vocal effects sung into a second mic and the “passive aggressive” chorus ‘Gemini Feed’ seemed to describe a lot of Minnesotans by nature.

She’s not afraid to curse to make her point, as on the new ‘Weaker Girl’ but speaking between songs, she seemed quite shy, “this is the first time I’m playing any of this stuff”, she said demurely.  Tempo downshifted further for a spare ‘Drowning’, her voice framed mostly by a hypnotic drum beat before elevating back for ‘Beggin’ for Thread’, her breakout hit from first album, Goddess.  Ending with ‘Waiting Game’ (which may ring familiar from a Victoria’s Secret commercial), the show transcended into the ethereal.

Not a French band, rather a London alt/indie pop group named after the French holiday celebrated on singer Dan Smith’s birthday, Bastille introduced us to a sixty-seven minute glimpse into their Wild World with the opening ‘Send Them Off!’.

Joined by keyboardist Kyle Simmons, guitarist/bassist Will Farquarson, drummer Chris “Woody” Wood and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Barnes, next was the Twin Peaks-inspired ‘Laura Palmer’ with Smith jumping about and standing on monitor speakers to help incite the crowd.

Understanding the crowd was there to have fun and unwind, Smith introduced ‘Snakes’, a song peppered with soundbites as being for “anyone who feels like jumping up and down like a maniac”. For ‘Flaws’, Smith left the stage to serenade everyone on the floor as he made his way through the crowd, with security in tow.

Making his way to the upper deck, he hung over the railing for ‘Two Evils’, from the new Wild World album (Virgin/EMI Universal Records), the audience craning their necks in rapt attention to see him, and Smith slapping high held hands on his way back down.

Digging deep, the band unearthed ‘The Draw’ from their extended first album and the crowd roared and clapped along for early hit, ‘Bad Blood’.  With the Kelly Le Brock sound clip introducing lead single from the new album, ‘Good Grief’, Smith said this was the song “for anyone feeling like jumping up and down to a song about death”(which didn’t deter anyone).

Bastille’s abbreviated set wound up with the mythology-inspired ‘Icarus’ and Smith saying to the receptive audience,  “We’re far away from home, but we feel very welcome, so thank you” before starting biggest hit ‘Pompeii’ slow and solo on the piano, with the song quickly rising aided by a thumping drum and chorus of harmony voices.

As the house lights went up and crowd filed out, snow had started to fall outside (continuing into the next day, and measuring six to eight inches) giving everyone the Snow part of Snow Show, but the Show portion of five bands over almost five hours, was by far the most memorable part.

John Chuck and the Class

Coin

Judah and the Lion

Judah and the Lion

Judah and the Lion

Banks at GO96.3 Snow Show, Myth, Maplewood (15 Dec 2016)

Banks

Banks

Bastille

Bastille

Bastille

Bastille at GO96.3 Snow Show, Myth, Maplewood (15 Dec 2016)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Glass Animals w/ Pumarosa at Myth, Maplewood MN (07 Oct 2016)

Glass Animals Setlist intro instrum. [Premade Sandwiches / Walk On] Life Itself Youth Black Mambo Hazey Season 2 Episode 3 Poplar Street The Other Side of Paradise Gooey Take a Slice Toes Cocoa Hooves Cane Shuga Pools -- Encore -- Love Lockdown (Kanye West cover) Pork Soda Tour Dates 10/15/16 Treasure Island Music Festival 10/16/16 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre 10/25/16 London Roundhouse 10/26/16 Manchester, Academy 2 10/28/16 Liverpool, O2 Academy Liverpool 10/29/16 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre 12/03/16 Riptide Music Festival 12/10/16 91X Wrex The Halls 12/14/16 Portland, OR McMenamins 01/21/17 St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 01/26/17 Brisbane, Australia Showgrounds 01/28/17 Footscray, Australia Community Arts 01/30/17 Auckland, New Zealand Albert Park 02/03/17 Adelaide, Australia Harts Mill 02/04/17 Sydney College Of The Arts 02/05/17 Fremantle, Australia Esplanade Read More Glass Animals The latest UK buzz band, Glass Animals, recently just sold out their show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, last night, September 9th. … Pumarosa London’s five-piece Pumarosa to open. The band is described as sounding like PJ Harvey with electronics of The Knife. …

Oxford, UK buzz band Glass Animals not only showed everyone how to be a human being, but also let everyone know those peanut butter vibes with a recent sold out all-ages appearance at Myth nightclub in suburban Maplewood.

London five-piece Pumarosa opened the show with a forty minute set of beat-laden moody but danceable sounds.  Described as like PJ Harvey with electronics of The Knife (but with a twist compliments of Tomoya Suzuki who plays sax and keys) the band played in mostly dimmed blue lighting and led by singer/guitarist Isabel Munoz-Newsome.

With a handful of singles out including the newest, ‘Cecile’, expect a full album in the new year as they’ve been in and out of the studio working with producer Dan Carey (Bat For Lashes, Bloc Party).  Despite their unknown status, the band connected with the crowd who danced and swayed along, and proved an ideal opener for the headliner.

The stage was set for Glass Animals on this, their How to be a Human Being Tour- inflatable cactus on both sides of the stage, a lone pineapple perched on a ledge behind the band, with the stage framed by upside-down L-shaped lighted panels along with a pastel backdrop as the quartet bravely opened up with ‘Life Itself’, a current radio hit and lead single from the recently released sophomore album How to Be a Human Being (Wolf Tone / Harvest Records / Caroline International).

Singer Dan Bayley (an American who grew up in Boston and Texas before transplanting to the UK at age 13) moved about constantly, shaking and bobbing with infectious energy, enough that the tiny Campbells soup cans on his shirt, were barely noticed.

Bayley and the rest of the band (Drew MacFarlane; Edmund Irwin-Singer; Joe Seaward) are riding high on the critical and popular success of the album, which seems more palatable and focused than its predecessor, but holds a similar degree of quirkiness and trip-hopped indietronica.  Since the styles of two albums are markedly different, it initially seemed odd to hear songs from both meshed together as one set, but it worked in the end and the sold-out crowd which seemed to know most of words, needed no convincing.

The jangling ‘Hazey’ had people grooving in place and a cheer rose as the 8-bit sound effects began the mid-tempo ‘Season 2 Episode 3’. Bayley mostly let the music do the talking for most of the show, moving effortlessly between new album songs and those of Zaba, its 2014 predecessor.

“This song’s called ‘Gooey’’, Bayley nonchalantly said, introducing their biggest hit to date mid-set, and its bewildering yet mesmerizing lyric, “ you just wanna know those peanut butter vibes” as everyone sang along.  Bayley jumped into the photo pit, to stand on the barriers and sing a more intimate performance as cell phones darted into the air, to capture the moment.

“Shall we do some dancing?” Bayley implored before the throbbing ‘Cane Shuga’ and the vibe continued with rapid-fire vocals over the trip hopped set closing ‘Pools’.  The two-song encore (“Couple more?” Bayley asked) began with their version of Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’ and found Bayley jumping into the crowd and running along the edges of the floor before climbing onto a side bar ledge to sing the song overlooking the stretched crowd that was trying to get closer.

The seventy-seven minute set ended with the new album’s ‘Pork Soda’, inspired by a comment Bayley overheard from a homeless man talking with its lyric, “Pineapples are in my head, got nobody 'cause I'm brain-dead” and sure enough the pineapple from the back of the stage was handed out to the most outreached hand from the front of the crowd.

And with that and to rave applause, the evening was done—some lucky fan in the crowd got a free pineapple, and the rest of us got hazey and gooey with Glass Animals and their peanut butter vibes.

Pumarosa

Glass Animals Setlist

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals

Glass Animals at Myth, Maplewood MN (07 Oct 2016)

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Pierce the Veil at Myth, Maplewood (13 September 2016)

Pierce the Veil Setlist Dive In Caraphernelia Texas is Forever The Divine Zero Bulletproof Love Floral & Fading Kissing in Cars May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight Hell Above Bulls in the Bronx Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears Hold On Till May Encore Circles King For a Day Tour Dates 9/14 - Des Monies, IA @ 7 Flags Event Center 9/16 - Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest 9/17 - Rochester, NY @ Main Street Armory 9/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Rock Allegiance* 9/20 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall 9/21 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant 9/23 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues 9/24 - Dallas, TX @ Texas Mutiny* 9/25 - Houston, TX @ Houston Open Air Festival* 9/27 - Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre 9/28 - Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium 9/30 - Detroit, MI @ Chill On The Hill** 10/1 - Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life** 10/2 - Madison, WI @ Sonic Boom** 10/4 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom 10/5 - Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore Charlotte 10/7 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle 10/8 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues 10/9 - Tampa, FL @ Jannus Live 10/11 - San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live 10/12 - Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Amphitheater 10/14 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee 10/15 - Fresno, CA @ Rainbow Ballroom 10/16 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium Read More Pierce the Veil Misadventures Pierce the Veil I have never bought a Pierce the Veil album and I don't normally leave reviews on products, but after streaming the entire album from Amazon Prime …

California rockers Pierce the Veil released their newest album Misadventures on May 13th of this year so what better way to celebrate the release than going on a tour across the country with your friends.

I Prevail

Opening up the show on Tuesday night was Michigan's post-hardcore group, I Prevail. Having formed in 2013, these guys are just now getting the recognition they deserve. They gained their popularity by covering Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" (which they did play during their set) but last night they showed the crowd that they are so much more than that cover song. They whipped through their quick thirty-minute set playing songs from their debut album Lifelines which came out earlier this year.

The crowd seemed to be enamored by I Prevail and after their set, their merch table was swarmed with young kids trying to get pictures and signatures from this band that's sure to be a household name sooner than later.

Neck Deep

Next was Neck Deep from the U.K. These guys stood out on the bill because they were, by far, the least heavy band on the bill. They are considered to be one of the best new pop-punk bands in the scene and, seeing them live, proved why. Even though the crowd seemed to be at the concert more for the heavy music, the energy didn't falter when Neck Deep took the stage.

Neck Deep played through their quick forty-minute set focusing on their newest release, Life's Not Out To Get You (2015). Singer Ben Barlow gave up the microphone during "A Part of Me" and let the crowd take over. Barlow seemed truly overwhelmed when it seemed like every single voice in the venue was singing his song. It seemed to catch his stagehand off guard when he dropped from the stage to the ground in order to get closer to his fans. He seemed truly humbled by the respect that the crowd in Maplewood gave his band even though they stuck out like a sore thumb on such a heavy line-up.

Pierce the Veil was formed by brothers Mike (drums) and Vic Fuentes (vocals/ guitar) back in 2006. Joined by Tony Perry (guitar) and Jaime Preciado (bass), these guys have released four full length albums including Misadventures, their newest release. It seems like these guys have not really change over the past nine years but that's a good thing because it keeps their fans coming back from me.

The young crowd was anxious for the band to take the stage and with each test of the smoke machines that blasted smoke high into the air, the crowd would scream with excitement. There was a giant black curtain that made it impossible to see what was going on as far as stage set up was concerned but as soon as that curtain dropped, the secrecy made sense.

Towards the back of the stage were giant props that resembled a broken down space ship with the drum riser rising from between the two halves. At first glance, this prop looked strictly 2-D but within seconds, the members of the band emerged from the lit up windows that were on the wreckage. They came out one by one dressed in white spacesuits to the screeching crowd. As they entered the stage, they stripped down to their normal black t-shirts and jeans and started the show.

PTV kept the energy up throughout their set. They played a couple songs from each of their releases except for their debut release A Flair for the Dramatic (2007). This album is by far their least known and the crowd didn't seem to mind them skipping out on it. There were points during the show when V. Fuentes would lower the microphone from his mouth but the sound wouldn't change that much. The crowd was screaming back every single word to him and it was quite a sound to hear.

After twelve songs and a two song encore, it seemed like the crowd still had not had enough of PTV and they pleaded for more.

Pierce the Veil at Myth, Maplewood (13 September 2016)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ‚ô• facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Ghost w/ Macabre at Myth, Maplewood, MN (28 July 2016)

Ghost Setlist     intro music I: Miserere Mei, Deus (Gregorio Allegri song)     intro music II: Masked Ball (Jocelyn Pook song) Spirit From the Pinnacle to the Pit Ritual Con Clavi Con Dio Per Aspera ad Inferi Body and Blood Devil Church Cirice Year Zero Spöksonat He Is Absolution Mummy Dust Ghuleh/Zombie Queen If You Have Ghosts (Roky Erickson cover) -- Encore -- Monstrance Clock outro music: Host of the Seraphim (Dead Can Dance song) Macabre Setlist Intro The Trial Nero's Inferno The Iceman Night Stalker Albert Was Worse Than Any Fish in the Sea Scrub a Dub Dub Hitchhiker Vampire of Düsseldorf Ed Gein Tour Dates 09/16/16 Rochester, NY Main Street Armory 09/17/16 Revolution Rock Festival 09/18/16 Rock Allegiance Festival 09/19/16 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 09/21/16 Cleveland, OH Masonic Auditorium 09/23/16 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall 09/24/16 Texas Mutiny 09/25/16 Houston Open Air 09/27/16 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater 09/28/16 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 09/30/16 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre 10/01/16 JJO Sonic Boom 10/02/16 Louder Than Life Festival 10/03/16 Detroit, MI Fillmore Detroit 10/04/16 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo Theatre 10/05/16 Cedar Rapids, IA Paramount Theatre 10/07/16 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre 10/08/16 Salt Lake City, UT Rockwell 10/09/16 Missoula, MT The Wilma 10/11/16 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall 10/13/16 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre 10/14/16 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre 10/15/16 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre 10/16/16 Portland, OR Roseland Theater 10/18/16 Riverside, CA Riverside Municipal Aud 10/20/16 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern 10/21/16 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern 10/22/16 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl 10/23/16 Aftershock Festival 10/25/16 Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre 10/27/16 Lubbock, TX City Bank Auditorium 10/28/16 San Antonio, TX The Aztec Theatre 10/31/16 Little Rock, AR Metroplex Live 11/02/16 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Cafe 11/03/16 Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach 11/04/16 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theatre 11/05/16 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte 11/07/16 Raleigh, NC The Ritz 11/09/16 Toronto, ON Queen Elizabeth Theatre 11/11/16 Montreal, QC Metropolis 11/12/16 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre Read More Ghost Sweden’s Ghost (also known as Ghost BC) will be headlining the Myth in Maplewood (St Paul area), this July 28th, touring in support of their new album Meliora (which came .…

To random passerbys, it must have seemed that Halloween came early—

The early evening line outside the Myth nightclub in suburban Maplewood stretched and twisted like a snake, with many people in masks and makeup.  Not to celebrate any calendar holiday; rather, the coming of Swedish doom metal band, Ghost for a theatrical and melodic appearance, as part of their Black to the Future Tour.

Macabre

The all-ages show began with a memorable forty-minute set from Chicago’s Macabre, an extreme metal three-piece that has been together making music since 1985.  Their self-branded murder metal  (also the name of a 2003 album) often centered around particular serial killers, with singer/guitarist Corporate Death (Lance Lencioni)prefacing  each song with the gory and sometimes humorous details of what made that killer, so infamous.

Stories of dismemberment, sleeze gore, and habits of the deranged may not have been the most ideal topic for the youngest in the audience, but most was done with at least a partial tongue in cheek and enhanced on a few occasions with dressed up crew members briefly shambling on the stage, to better bring the subject matters, to life.

Musically, the riffs were fast and hard, getting the moshing started in the middle of the floor, with dark lyrics and barking vocals.

Ghost

After a brief set change and prolonged intro music, a gothic stained glass backdrop, stage platforms, and mysterious lighting brought on the Swedish band, Ghost, for a charging and theatrical ninety-minute set.  Singer Papa Emeritus III and his Nameless Ghouls took the stage with absolution, though seemed to be missing (Water) the band’s bassist, on stage this night (though it was hard to notice sonically).

“Minnesota…are you with us?!” Papa asked in a deep Scandinavian accent during the opening ‘Spirit’, dressed in papal garb, complete with mitre headdress, flowing dark robe, and black gloves.  The Ghouls were all dressed alike, in dark cardinal suits adorned with symbols and each in full molded horned silver masks missing the mouths, preserving their anonymity.

In promotion of last year’s, Meliora (on Loma Vista Recordings), which cheerily means "the pursuit of something better" in Latin, the audio assault continued with the album’s second track, ‘From the Pinnacle to the Pit’ (the band played seven of Meliora’s ten songs in full) as the mostly younger audience clapped along at Papa’s bidding.

Assuming a leader role immediately, Papa had the crowd responding at will, swinging a thurible (the metal censer suspended from chains) back and forth to fill the room with sweet incense, and even brought a pair of “sisters of sin” on stage, to distribute communion to the faithful pushed up along the front barriers during ‘Body and Blood’ (though he warned the crowd against any “touching” beforehand).

Musically, the band plays a tight and surprisingly melodic blend of dark metal, that sometimes fringes on psychedelic and/or progressive, with predictably dark and ominous lyrics, but is presented in such a palatable way, the effect is anything but depressing or fear-ridden.

After a handful of songs, Papa shed his had-to-be-sweltering papal garb, for a svelte black three-quarter coat and white vest, trading the black gloves for white ones and showing his slick black hair, while maintaining the skeletal face makeup.

‘Cirice’ lived up to its 2016 Grammy award for best metal performance played live, ‘Mummy Dust’ maybe the hardest song of the night, roared with dual-guitar riiffage, and the main set ending 1981 Roky Erickson cover crunched the song with a metal sheen, the Texas singer probably could have never imagined.

The encore chants of “one more song” from the crowd were rewarded with exactly that- a single song to end the night, their usual ending of ‘Monstrance Clock’ from 2013’s Infestissumam.  Papa deemed the song the penultimate moment of their set, akin to two people meeting, dating and then culminating their relationship.

The song's choral lyrics of “come together, together as a one” seemed joyous and binding… until you hear the follow-up line, “come together for Lucifer’s son” … and remember again that you’re at a doom metal show-- with sardonic tongue-in-cheek, of course.

Ghost takes a brief break, before heading out again next month on a fall leg, dubbed the Popestar Tour, so know that any facepaint or masks in their crowd are only for band worship, and not any early Halloween.

Audience

Macabre

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost

Ghost at Myth, Maplewood, MN (28 July 2016)

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Silversun Pickups & Foals at Myth, Maplewood (05 May 2016)

Silversun Pickups Setlist Cradle (Better Nature) Well Thoughts Out Twinkles The Royal We Nightlight Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) The Pit Little Lover's So Polite Friendly Fires Latchkey Kids Panic Switch Ragamuffin Lazy Eye -- Encore -- Kissing Families Dots and Dashes (Enough Already) The Wild Kind Foals Setlist Snake Oil Olympic Airways My Number Providence Spanish Sahra Red Socks Pugie Birch Tree Late Night Mountain at My Gates Inhaler What Went Down Joywave Setlist Parade Nice House Bad Dreams Somebody New Tongues Destruction Destruction Read More Silversun Pickups Having spent many times stopping in Minneapolis at smaller venues, like the 7th Street Entry, Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert was amazed at the massive crowd for Rock the Garden, that he said, "This is a big deal!" … Foals "Are you ready? Because you don't sound f****ing ready!," yelled Foals' singer Yannis Philippakis as he worked the crowd. Foals rocked hard at First Avenue in Minneapolis last night to a group of young British rock music fans. … Joywave Special guest Joywave to open the show. Tour dates: 04/30/16 KDGE 102.1 EdgeFest 05/01/16 Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q …

The Foals and Silversun Pickups tour just recently stopped by the Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota.

Joywave

New York’s Joywave was the first band to play Thursday night. They seemed comfortable with their newly gained, but much deserved, popularity as they played through a quick thirty-minute set.

Daniel Armbuster (the singer) had a personality that shined as he joked around with the crowd. The banner behind the drumkit said something to the extent of "due to circumstances out of our control, Joywave will not be headlining tonight". Not only could you see it written on the banner, Daniel made it a point to inform the crowd that they were not headlining and only had a 30-minute set.

Joywave played a handful of songs off of their debut album How Do You Feel Now? and their new release Swish which is an exclusive and unique digital release that features an unreleased bonus track.

Joywave ended with their hit song "Destruction". After playing through the song once, Armbuster informed the crowd that their contract states they do not have to leave the show until they feel the crowd has been satisfied so they started "Destruction" for a second time and played it again.

Foals

English indie rock band, Foals was the second band to play and their live show was so full of energy that I was blown away. Prior to walking on stage, the room went dark and then the crowd was hit with bright lights and nonstop strobe lights while an ambient track played. When the members of Foals were finally spotted entering the stage, the crowd started cheering. When the first song started, the crowd seemed to go silent as to appreciate the music that was being performed.

Foals' music sounds way different live than it does on recordings. When they play live, the music has this sort of intensity that is lost in the recordings. Singer Yannis Philippakis had an extremely powerful and raw sounding voice throughout the set. It was powerful and perfect even when he decided to jump into the crowd. He was quickly swallowed up by fans as he tried to make his way back up to the stage after wandering around and crowd surfing for a little bit.

Brian Aubert

The headliner of the night was Silversun Pickups, currently featuring Nikki Monninger on vocals/bass, Brian Aubert on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Guanlao on drums, and Joe Lester on keyboards and soundboard.

This alternative rock band from Los Angeles has been around for a while and seem to finally be getting the recognition they deserve. They released Better Nature last year and played a lot of songs off of that but did not forget about their three previous releases.

Each song they played was finished with a warm round of applause from the full house. The crowd was quiet throughout the actual songs as if to show their respect for the true musicianship that this band has. Silversun Pickups sounded like a carbon copy of their recordings when they played live. Each song was played with perfection by each of the four members and it was so tight that it was hard to believe it was just a recording.

Remaining tour dates:

05/08/16 89X Birthday Bash
05/09/16 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
05/10/16 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
05/12/16 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
05/13/16 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater
05/14/16 Shaky Knees Music
05/16/16 North Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
05/17/16 Greensboro, NC Cone Denim
05/18/16 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
05/28/16 St. Louis, MO Ballpark Village
06/04/16 Live 105 BFD
06/06/16 Seattle, WA The Showbox
06/07/16 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal
06/08/16 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
06/17/16 Radio 104.5 Birthday
06/20/16 Chattanooga, TN Track 29
06/21/16 Knoxville, TN The Mill & Mine
06/22/16 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
06/24/16 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
06/25/16 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
06/26/16 DC101 Kerfuffle
07/22/16 Panorama Festival
07/25/16 Portland, ME State Theatre
07/26/16 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
07/28/16 Quebec City, QC Imperial Bell
07/31/16 Lollapalooza
08/27/16 Timpanogos Music Festival

Silversun Pickups at Myth, Maplewood (05 May 2016)

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Bullet For My Valentine at Myth, Maplewood (17 Feb 2016)

BFMV Set List No Way Out Skin Your Betrayal 4 Words (To Choke Upon) You Want a Battle? (Here's a War) The Last Fight drum solo Scream Aim Fire Venom The Poison Alone Worthless Hand of Blood -- Encore -- Tears Don't Fall Waking the Demon Tour Dates 02/19 – Chicago, Ill., House Of Blues 02/20 – Milwaukee, Wis., Eagles Ballroom 02/23 – New York, N.Y., Best Buy Theater 02/24 – Pittsburgh, Pa., Stage AE 02/25 – Norfolk, Va., The NorVa 02/27 – Lake Buena Vista, Fla., House Of Blues 02/28 – Birmingham, Ala., Iron City 03/01 – Silver Spring, Md., Fillmore 03/02 – Philadelphia, Pa., Fillmore 03/03 – Boston, Mass., House Of Blues Boston 03/05 – Toronto, Ontario, Phoenix Concert 03/07 – Montreal, Quebec, Metropolis Read More Bullet for my Valentine The British Invasion tour will be stopping at The Myth in Maplewood on Wednesday, February 17th. Now, don't think this will be anything like the "British Invasion" of the Beatles... think more yelling and screaming …

The British Invasion Tour made a stop in Maplewood last night at The Myth Nightclub. The tour featured some of the best new school metal that the UK has to offer including Bullet For My Valentine, Asking Alexandria, and While She Sleeps.

Headliner Bullet For My Valentine is currently on the road in support of their newly released album, Venom (RCA). Even though they just released this heavy hitting album that is gaining a bunch of praise, BFMV still treated the crowd to some of the old music which was more than refreshing to the small group of older people at the show. Majority of the crowd were young kids. The music of bands like the three featured on this tour is heavy. It's metal but it's accessible to younger kids and that's what makes it great. It's not overly explicit and their shows aren't overly aggressive but it's still exciting and not a concert for everyone.

These guys are definitely not a new band on the stage. They have released five studio albums and have been touring constantly for over ten years. There's no easier way to make me feel old than to tell me that your first album (that I worshipped as an angsty teenager) came out over ten years ago.

Matthew Tuck

Bullet For My Valentine walked out on stage to Motorhead's “Ace of Spades” and completely captivated the audience throughout their twelve song set and two song encore. As I said, they did a great job of mixing old and new songs. They even threw in a seven-minute drum solo featuring guest drummer Jason Bowld. Michael 'Moose' Thomas, their usual drummer, decided to sit this tour out due to his wife expecting their first child. Usually this would be a complete downer, but Jason did a great job of filling the throne. He didn't miss a beat and did Moose justice. I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell it was a new drummer had it not been for it being pointed out by singer Matthew Tuck.

Asking Alexandria

Asking Alexandria was the second of three bands to perform on Thursday night. I have seen these guys a couple of times previously and they have always wowed me with the amount of energy they have on stage. The Myth show was no different, even though they just got a new singer last year. Denis Stoff has taken over for Danny Worsnop on lead vocals. Much like Jason playing drums for BFMV, I honestly wouldn't have noticed the change had it not been for the fact that I have seen these guys before.

Denis had the crowd in the palm of his hand and demanded energy. He got exactly what he asked for and the crowd was rowdy and in your face the entire set. Their music, much like the music of BFMV, is heavy but still approachable. These guys also did a great job of playing both old and new music. They are due to release their fourth studio album The Black next month. They did play a couple of new songs and the songs seemed to be sounding more and more like bands such as Bring Me The Horizon. Could this be a move to more radio play for the band?

While She Sleeps

Opening up the show was the opening act of the night called While She Sleeps, playing tracks from their latest Brainwashed is out now on Razor & Tie... and, by far, the heaviest. This group of Sheffield musicians are just getting started on their road to fame but, trust me, it's going to short. I suspect that they are going to be the next over-night sensation in this radio metal scene. Their set, although only thirty-five minutes long, was intense and got the young crowd excited for a night full of metal.

The British Invasion Tour continues in North America; they are stopping by Chicago tonight.

Bullet For My Valentine at Myth, Maple Wood (17 Feb 2016)

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Bring Me The Horizon at Myth, Maplewood (14 October 2015)

Setlist Doomed Happy Song Go to Hell, for Heaven's Sake The House of Wolves Chelsea Smile Can You Feel My Heart Shadow Moses Throne Sleepwalking True Friends Antivist -- Encore -- Blessed with a Curse Drown Read More Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me The Horizon have the #1 selling album this week in the U.S. with their fifth studio release That’s The Spirit (Columbia Records). The album tops several U.S. charts, including …

Last night Bring Me The Horizon brought their radio friendly metalcore to The Myth in Maplewood.

The crowd was full of teenagers and their parents. This was definitely not what I was expecting. The last time I listened to Bring Me The Horizon was probably eight years ago when I was a senior in high school. It was some of the best angry music I had ever heard. It was full of guttural scream and pig squeals. Last night, was full of pop riffs and vocals you could actually understand.

Bring Me The Horizon has hit the jackpot with their most recent releases and have been getting radio play on every station from the hard rock station, 93X, to the top 40 station, 103.3 KDWB. Their sounds has done a complete 180. The crowd was super into the new songs and probably had no clue what Bring Me The Horizon sounded like when they first hit the scene around 2008. Bring Me The Horizon only played one or two old songs as if they were trying to keep this new, mainstream audience in the dark about their roots but with the crowd being full of parents, you really couldn't blame them.

The five piece from England seemed to have the crowd in the palm of their hands from the start. When frontman Oli Sykes said jump, the whole crowd would jump. When he said to sit down, although hesitant, majority of the crowd at least crouched down.

The crowd was singing along to all of the new songs but seemed to shy away during the few old songs that were played. Whereas I was all about the old songs and got bored during the radio friendly portions of the show.

Issues (feat. Tyler Carter and Mike Bohn from Woe, is Me) and Pvris opened the show.

Bring Me The Horizon On Tour:

10/16/15 Dallas, TX South Side Ballroom
10/17/15 KTBZ Buzzfest
10/18/15 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
10/19/15 Wichita, KS The Cotillion
10/20/15 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
10/22/15 KUPD Mesa Meltdown
10/23/15 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
10/24/15 Monster Energy Aftershock Festival
10/25/15 Knotfest
10/31/15 Southampton O2 Guildhall Southampton
11/02/15 Munich, Germany Tonhalle
11/03/15 Pratteln, Switzerland Z7
11/05/15 Vienna, Austria Gasometer
11/06/15 Wurzburg, Germany Posthalle
11/07/15 Stuttgart, Germany Longhorn
11/08/15 Cologne, Germany Palladium
11/09/15 Hannover, Germany Capitol Hannover
11/10/15 Berlin, Germany Huxleys Neue Welt
11/12/15 Goteborg, Sweden Lisebergshallen
11/13/15 Oslo, Norway Rockefeller Music Hall
11/14/15 Stockholm, Sweden Arenan
11/16/15 Helsinki, Finland Cable Factory
11/18/15 Copenhagen VEGA House Of Music
11/19/15 Hamburg, Germany Docks Konzerte Disco
11/20/15 Muenster, Germany Skaters Palace
11/21/15 Tilburg, Netherlands 013
11/22/15 Brussels, Belgium AB Club
11/24/15 Glasgow O2 Academy Glasgow
11/25/15 Edinburgh Edinburgh Corn Exchange
11/26/15 Doncaster The Dome
11/27/15 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
11/28/15 London Alexandra Palace
11/29/15 Birmingham O2 Academy Birmingham
11/30/15 Bristol O2 Academy Bristol

Bring Me The Horizon at Myth, Maplewood (14 October 2015)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Chvrches, w/ Mansionair at Myth, Maplewood (10 October 2015)

Chvrches Setlist Never Ending Circles We Sink Keep You on My Side Lies Make Them Gold Empty Threat Tether Playing Dead Science / Vision Gun Bury It Under the Tide Recover Clearest Blue Leave a Trace -- Encore -- Afterglow The Mother We Share Mansionair Setlist Mirror Me Speak Easy Falling Calling You Seasons (Waiting On You) (Future Island cover) Pick Me Up Waiting Room Technicolor Shadows Hold Me Down Chvrches Scottish electronic band Chvrches is headlining Myth in Maplewood. They are promoting their latest album Every Open Eye, which came out earlier this September 2015, via Virgin/Glassnote. ...

Glasgow's Chvrches (not to be confused with Australian band The Church) recently stopped by the Myth in Maplewood, as part of their tour in support of their latest Every Open Eye (Virgin/Glassnote).

NOTE: In an effort of getting setlist(s), poster (if any), and event photographs online as soon as possible, this is just a skeleton post. We'll fill in the full review later.

If you're not familiar with the Myth, there is a five-step process to get inside the venue. This includes ID check, wristband, body pat-down, ticket buy/pickup (if you did not pre-buy), and ticket scanner. Despite having three entrances, it still was a time-consuming process to get inside. On top of the painful process, doors were not opened until closer to 7pm (even though the venue listed doors at 6:30pm).

Mansionair

As a result of standing in line for 45 mins, we did miss a little bit of Australia's Mansionair.

For your benefit, I started taking notes as soon as the band started playing (while still standing in line!) so I believe the setlist is correct, including their Future Island cover song "Seasons (Waiting On You)".

They played just slightly over 40 minutes. More details later.

Chvrches at Electric Fetus

Prior to the Myth appearance, Chvrches appeared at an instore signing at the Electric Fetus. Due to time zone miscommunications (EST vs CST), the band arrived an hour late. Once everything was settled in, they took line pass holders, then regular line. They happily signed anything and everything and posed for photos/selfies with fans. They were very nice, appreciative and apologetic about the lateness. After signing, they hurried to their in-session at The Current and then then directly to the Myth.

Lauren Mayberry

Chvrches didn't quite make their 8:30 set time at the Myth, despite the DJ playing the intro Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl" song at the right time. The stage was still dark and empty, and after a pregnant pause, the DJ started up again, this time playing Alvvays' "Archie, Marry Me"... then, when it became apparent that the band was going to need a few more minutes, he just started playing more random songs. It wasn't until, ironically the song "Big Exit" by PJ Harvey that the band finally entered the stage at 8:46pm.

More details later...

Remaining tour dates:

10/13/15 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/14/15 Seattle, WA @ Paramount
10/17/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium
10/18/15 Treasure Island Music Festival
10/21/15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
10/22/15 Denver, CO @ Fillmore
10/23/15 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
10/24/15 Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/26/15 Tulsa, OK @ Cains Ballroom
10/27/15 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
10/28/15 Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore
10/30/15 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
10/31/15 St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
11/05/15 Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory
11/06 - 11/08/15 Fun Fun Fun Festival
11/10/15 Paris, France @ Trianon
11/12/15 Hamburg, Germany @ Docks
11/13/15 Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
11/14/15 Brussels, Belgium @ AB*
11/16/15 Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
11/17/15 Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
11/19/15 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
11/20/15 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
11/21/15 Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
11/23/15 Aberdeen, UK @ Music Hall
11/24/15 Dundee, UK @ Fat Sams
11/25/15 Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
11/27/15 London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
01/30/16 Singapore Laneway Festival
02/01/16 Auckland Laneway Festival
02/05/16 Adelaide Laneway Festival
02/06/16 Brisbane Laneway Festival
02/07/16 Sydney Laneway Festival
02/13/16 Melbourne Laneway Festival
02/14/16 Fremantle Laneway Festival

Chvrches at Myth, Maplewood (10 October 2015)

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Breaking Benjamin, w/ 10 Years and Starset at Myth, Maplewood (27 September 2015)

poster Breaking Benjamin Setlist So Cold Follow Angels Fall I Alone (Live cover) Breaking the Silence Ashes of Eden Hopeless Who Wants to Live Forever (Queen cover) Blow Me Away Failure Breath Ænema (Tool cover) Give Me a Sign Polyamorous Imperial March / Schism / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Walk (medley) Until the End I Will Not Bow -- Encore -- Intro The Diary of Jane Starset Setlist Rise and Fall Down with the Fallen Antigravity Halo Telescope Carnivore The Future is Now My Demons Read More Breaking Benjamin Starset will be in town on Sunday, September 27th to support Breaking Benjamin at The Myth Nightclub in Maplewood. This is sure to be an exciting and busy show so make sure you get … Starset This is possibly on the list of best rock albums of 2014, and that's no exaggeration. Starset sure has come a long way to making their first debut album. They sure got noticed very well on the radio with …

Around 3,200 fans converged on the Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, MN to see Breaking Benjamin, 10 Years, and Starset. It was a Sunday night and it was more than sold out. The bands all seemed more than happy with the turnout, as they should have.

Starset

Starset started off the show. These guys came out and turned heads instantly with their look and sound. These guys seemed to be the odd balls out of the line-up. Their sound was much more electronic than that of the other two bands. Not only was their sound much different, so was their look.

10 Years

Both 10 Years and Breaking Benjamin looked like your typical rock bands dressed down in jeans and shirts. Starset came out looking like they came from some other planet. They had light up gas masks on along with a jumpsuit complete with backpacks. Add the amazing light show and all the smoke and you get something that was truly a sight to see. All of this fit really well with their futuristic, electronic sound as heard on their latest release Transmissions (Razor & Tie).

The crowd seemed to dig it. I had honestly never heard of these guys before but there were definitely some fans in the crowd going crazy and jumping up and down to every song. That being said, it seemed like majority of that crowd was waiting patiently for the headliners of the night, Breaking Benjamin.

Breaking Benjamin is a hard rock band from Pennsylvania that has been around for years. Their first album Saturate came out in 2002 and took the radio waves by storm. Now, thirteen years later, these guys are still putting out music and tearing up the air waves. This tour was in support of their latest release Dark Before Dawn which came out on Hollywood Records in June of this year. That didn't stop them from playing all of the old songs that the crowd wanted to hear.

They were able to fit a couple of cover songs amongst the almost twenty song set list including a medley of "The Imperial March" (Star Wars), "Schism" (Tool), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana). That medley was made complete with the random storm trooper that graced the stage for a short time. They also covered "I Alone" by Live and "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen. Normally the crowd goes wild for cover songs, but I think last night the audience was much more about the original songs that Breaking Benjamin had to offer.

Breaking Benjamin play for well over an hour and seemed to quench the crowd's thirst for a good old fashioned rock show.

BB's remaining tour dates:

09/29/15 Moorhead, MN Bluestem Center
09/30/15 Clear Lake, IA Surf Ballroom & Museum
10/02/15 Kansas City, MO Crossroads-KC
10/03/15 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
10/04/15 Louder Than Life Festival
10/16/15 Wichita, KS Intrust Bank Arena
10/17/15 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy
10/18/15 Lubbock, TX Amphitheatre
10/20/15 Rio Rancho, NM Santa Ana Star
10/21/15 KUPD Mesa Meltdown
10/22/15 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
10/24/15 Monster Energy Aftershock Festival
10/26/15 Everett, WA Xfinity Arena At Everett
10/27/15 Kennewick, WA Toyota Arena
10/29/15 Bozeman, MT Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
10/30/15 Salt Lake City, UT Maverik Center
10/31/15 Broomfield, CO 1stBank Center
11/02/15 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford
11/03/15 La Crosse, WI La Crosse Center Ballroom
11/04/15 Cedar Rapids, IA U.S. Cellular Center
11/06/15 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center Arena
11/07/15 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre
11/08/15 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center
11/10/15 Knoxville, TN Knoxville Coliseum
11/11/15 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center
11/13/15 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
11/14/15 North Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
11/15/15 Cape Girardeau, MO Show Me Center
11/17/15 Fayetteville, NC Crown Coliseum
11/19/15 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
11/20/15 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
11/21/15 Huntington, WV Big Sandy
11/23/15 Albany, NY Times Union Center
11/24/15 Portland, ME Cross Insurance Arena

Breaking Benjamin at Myth, Maplewood (27 September 2015)

langen ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com