So, I didn’t think I was going to go to this show because I had a Psychology exam the next day. But, I have no self-control and I caved in and went to the show anyway. I do not regret going to the show at all, and I also made an A on my Psychology exam. It’s safe to say that I am living my best life. This show was at the Blind Tiger in Greensboro, and I really like this venue. I saw Suicide Silence here (and if you scroll down, you can see that show review as well). Yeah, we broke the barricade at the Suicide Silence show so there was no barricade at all during Wage War’s show. RIP my knees, I had so many bruises because I was in the front and I kept getting slammed into the speakers. But it was a great time 10/10 would do it again. I reunited with some homies that I hung out with at previous shows and we had a grand time.
The first band to go on was Loathe. I have heard of them but never really listened to them before. They were good, they kinda give me a Knocked Loose vibe. The singer has some killer dance moves. He was breaking it down on stage. Some of the songs they played were The Cold Sun, It’s Yours, and Dance on My Skin.
Next up was Varials. I really like this band; they play some bangers. This was my second time seeing Varials and they never disappoint me. The crowd was getting into the music at this point and there were tons of people singing along with the songs and really engaging with the band. I talked to the singer after the show and bought a hoodie from their merch booth. It’s now one of my favorite hoodies because it’s black and says, “Pain Again” (the name of their new record) on the front in a small font. They also played some bangers such as The New Damnation, Anything To Numb, and Empire of Dirt.
My boys in Gideon were the third band to play and WOW, THE CROWD FREAKING WENT INSANE!!!!! Everyone was jumping up and down, crowd surfing, and moshing. No one was standing still during their entire set. This was my fifth time seeing Gideon and they always put on a good show. The singer always interacts with the crowd and he really got everyone fired up. The band seemed like they were having a great time hanging with us North Carolinians. Some of the hitters that they played were Pulling Teeth, Survive, and Calloused.
The second to last band to perform was Oceans Ate Alaska. I have never really listened to this band before, but they put on a great show. The singer is very energetic and he was jumping up and down the entire time on stage. They are a very metalcore band, but there were some parts where I could sense that they could easily become deathcore. The crowd was going crazy for them as well, jumping up and down, moshing, and they were singing their little metal buts off to these guys. They played their version of Drunk in Love by the queen herself, Beyoncé. It was a really cool version and everyone was singing and dancing. I hung out and talked to the guitarist outside of the venue while me and my friends were waiting to get inside. He was a really nice guy, he let me have some of his coffee because I was freezing while waiting outside. Some of the songs that they played were Covert, Blood Brothers, and Escapist.
The moment I have been waiting for – finally, Wage War was up next. And when I say that this crowd was rowdy, I’m telling the truth. This crowd went insane for Wage War. The whole entire crowd was a mosh pit. The only part that wasn’t a pit were the people in the front (aka me and I almost died from the beatings I was getting from the pit), but hey, if you don’t come back with a couple of bruises you didn’t have a good time. This was a sold out show so you know everyone was going hard. I was looking at videos of the crowd and wow, they were crazy. The pits were crazy, crowd surfers everywhere and everyone is head banging. It was one of the best crowds I have seen. This was also my fifth time seeing Wage War and I could never get tired of seeing them play. While they were playing Youngblood, the light show went out and everyone in the crowd took out their phones and used the flashlight to make our own light show. It was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever seen and been a part of. The song is a very personal song, and having the whole venue be in complete darkness except for our flashlights really set the mood. Who needs a light show when you got us, am I right?
Wage War was jamming-out the entire time. They put on a great live show. I love everything about this band. They also played some of my favorite songs like The River, Alive, Gravity, Johnny Cash, and Stitch.
I am so happy that I decided to go. It was one of the best shows that I have been to. I also got to meet Seth Blake and Cody Quistad (again) – the two guitarists – after the show. Cody actually remembered me from the last time that I met him and the band at Warped Tour.
The SAW