I bought tickets to this show on a whim. It was the day before Spring Break and I had two tests. But it was a few days before my birthday, and I really wanted to see Knocked Loose. No surprise, here, that I bought tickets and decided to go to the show anyway. This was Knocked Loose’s first headlining tour and I was super excited to be a part of it.
So, all the bands that played at this show are hardcore bands. Hardcore is another genre of metal that has a different type of fan. I am more of a metalcore/deathcore fan, but at this show I wanted to become the hardcore kid of my dreams. The attire at these shows is completely different. Instead of combat boots, you wear vans. Instead of ripped jeans, you wear clean, solid jeans (and you roll them up at the bottom). You can wear a band shirt, but one must pair it with either a flannel, a hoodie or a windbreaker. Then to finish it all off, you have to have a dad hat. The dad hat is the most important part of being hardcore.
I got to the venue a couple hours before the show and I met the owner of The Blind Tiger. We talked for a bit and he let me inside the venue early! I hung out with some friends that I know, who work for Crank It Loud, until the show started.
The opening band was a local NC band called Dwells. They were pretty good. The crowd didn’t really get into them, or the band Stone. There were some Crowd Killers that were jamming (swinging their arms around) the entire time. The crowd at this show was funny, no one was piled up at the front of the stage like they do at other shows that I have been to. They left the entire area open for the Crowd Killers. There were some people in the front (like myself) that jammed out, and then occasionally had to fend off Crowd Killers who like to hit random people around the perimeter.
Once Jesus Piece hit the stage, the crowd went off!! There were Crowd Killers everywhere and everyone in the building was jamming! I was really impressed with the band and how they worked the crowd. They were running and jumping around and yelling at the crowd the entire time. They were very entertaining to watch! They played songs such as: Oppressor, Conjure Life, and Deny Reality. During this band, I got into the habit of jamming out, and then when there was a break down, I would turn around and defend myself against all the Crowd Killers that were just kicking and swinging around.
The next band to go on was Terror, and man… they put on a great show. I thought the crowd went crazy for Jesus Piece, they were insane for Terror. They went so crazy that I had to leave the front. Everyone was jumping around and going on stage to stage dive and yell into the mic. I have a handprint bruise on my shoulder from where people were using me as leverage to get onto the stage. I had a guy literally on my shoulders, a crowd surfer landed on my back, and a stage diver landed on my head. I had three people on top of me during Terror’s set. Once I left the front and stood on the perimeter of the pit, I had a good time! I was jamming out and pushing people in the pit. Some of the songs that Terror played were: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Spit My Rage, and Always the Hard Way.
And finally, the band that I have been waiting for: Knocked Loose. I got back into the front for Knocked Loose and boy did they put on a show!! Bryan (the lead singer) came out doing hardcore dance moves and yelling into the mic at us. He is such a great front man. There were more people trying to get into the front, now, so I had a buffer between me and the mosh pit. I was yelling all the lyrics to every song and Bryan let me yell into the microphone. The crowd got even more rowdy once they started playing Oblivion’s Peak. There were more stage diver and crowd surfers. Thankfully, no one landed on me this time. They played some of their most well-known songs such as: Separate, Counting Worms, and Deadringer. Knocked Loose put on a killer show and I would love to see them again soon!
Knocked Loose’s setlist
THE SAW