Story by: Richard Kelly
While I’d seen Parkway Drive once before, never had I seen them in a enclosed venue such as the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Mo. It was an experience not to soon be forgotten.
Playing to a packed venue, the band mixed old and new as the Australian band brought their show to KC on Feb. 18. Enemies Laid to Rest, The Warriors, The Ghost Inside and Set Your Goals all opened for the headliners.
Now, with how Parkway Drive, I could easily skip right ahead, however, the other acts put on an equally solid show so it’s hard to not mention them first. The first band to stage, Enemies Laid to Rest, were a local band from the area with a definite love for metal. The most talented and perhaps most interesting aspect of the band was their vocalist, Cameron Walker.
Not only did he succeed as a very successful vocalist, but he also plays drums for the band. For anyone relatively familiar with the metal scene, complex drum structures are rampant and would usually be enough to keep a member busy, but he took it an extra step, which looked ridiculously difficult.
The next band, The Warriors, came to the Beaumont Club with an in-your-face punk experience and great stage presence and energy. Without barriers between the stage and the fans, it was The Warriors who started encouraging fans towards moshing and crowdsurfing, much to the delight of fans. However, despite the obvious talent of the band, the crowd seemed fairly timid much of the performance.
But, The Ghost Inside changed that timidness. Now, without utter bias, they were who I was there to see. Their melodic yet hardcore sound has appealed to me since the moment my ears heard it in late 2008. Now, TGI has been in Kansas City and the surrounding area before, but due to circumstances, it was my first time seeing the band live.
Talk about one hell of a performance. As they cycled between songs from their newest album Returners and their first album Fury and the Fallen Ones, I began screaming the lyrics to the band on stage. Now, I’m sure we’ve all been to shows where we’re absolutely ecstatic to see the artist but when the band members catch eyes with you as you’re singing the lyrics and appreciate the fanbase, the experience becomes all that much better.
But, need I say, let the stagediving commence. TGI was fast to influence this and with their encouragement to fans, I successfully made my way to stage and jumped off, getting caught by fans and cycled across before making my way back to the ground. That was an exciting moment. As they finished their set, I was satisfied, because their performance was everything I was hoping it’d be.
Set Your Goals, who took the stage next, had an interesting variation of pop-punk and melodic hardcore, which seemed to fit for them. While I’d never heard of the band, their set consisted of a large amount of energy and it was evident the band had quite the following as many fans could be heard as the band performed. Stagediving and moshing continued through the set, as they cycled between old and new songs alike.
The wait between SYG and Parkway Drive seemed to be an eternity. I’ll just put it that way. But it was worth the wait.
Parkway Drive mainly played music off their new album Deep Blue beginning their performance with one hell of a breakdown and a lot of moshing and moving. What was most eye-opening was just how many people knew every single song of theirs. Before the set even started… the chant “PARKWAY DRIVE, PARKWAY DRIVE, PARKWAY DRIVE” had commenced.
Halfway through the set, the band claimed to the fans they were some of the craziest fans on tour and one of the most fun shows they’ve had, which caused a huge roar from the fans. After their set had finished, this was evident as the fans chanted their name again and to everyone’s delight, they returned to play “Carrion,” one of their most popular songs.
As I left, I realized it was probably one of the most exhilarating (and exhausting) shows I’ve ever been to. I would give each band a huge chance if ever able to see them again.
While I’d seen Parkway Drive once before, never had I seen them in a enclosed venue such as the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Mo. It was an experience not to soon be forgotten.
Playing to a packed venue, the band mixed old and new as the Australian band brought their show to KC on Feb. 18. Enemies Laid to Rest, The Warriors, The Ghost Inside and Set Your Goals all opened for the headliners.
Now, with how Parkway Drive, I could easily skip right ahead, however, the other acts put on an equally solid show so it’s hard to not mention them first. The first band to stage, Enemies Laid to Rest, were a local band from the area with a definite love for metal. The most talented and perhaps most interesting aspect of the band was their vocalist, Cameron Walker.
Not only did he succeed as a very successful vocalist, but he also plays drums for the band. For anyone relatively familiar with the metal scene, complex drum structures are rampant and would usually be enough to keep a member busy, but he took it an extra step, which looked ridiculously difficult.
The next band, The Warriors, came to the Beaumont Club with an in-your-face punk experience and great stage presence and energy. Without barriers between the stage and the fans, it was The Warriors who started encouraging fans towards moshing and crowdsurfing, much to the delight of fans. However, despite the obvious talent of the band, the crowd seemed fairly timid much of the performance.
But, The Ghost Inside changed that timidness. Now, without utter bias, they were who I was there to see. Their melodic yet hardcore sound has appealed to me since the moment my ears heard it in late 2008. Now, TGI has been in Kansas City and the surrounding area before, but due to circumstances, it was my first time seeing the band live.
Talk about one hell of a performance. As they cycled between songs from their newest album Returners and their first album Fury and the Fallen Ones, I began screaming the lyrics to the band on stage. Now, I’m sure we’ve all been to shows where we’re absolutely ecstatic to see the artist but when the band members catch eyes with you as you’re singing the lyrics and appreciate the fanbase, the experience becomes all that much better.
But, need I say, let the stagediving commence. TGI was fast to influence this and with their encouragement to fans, I successfully made my way to stage and jumped off, getting caught by fans and cycled across before making my way back to the ground. That was an exciting moment. As they finished their set, I was satisfied, because their performance was everything I was hoping it’d be.
Set Your Goals, who took the stage next, had an interesting variation of pop-punk and melodic hardcore, which seemed to fit for them. While I’d never heard of the band, their set consisted of a large amount of energy and it was evident the band had quite the following as many fans could be heard as the band performed. Stagediving and moshing continued through the set, as they cycled between old and new songs alike.
The wait between SYG and Parkway Drive seemed to be an eternity. I’ll just put it that way. But it was worth the wait.
Parkway Drive mainly played music off their new album Deep Blue beginning their performance with one hell of a breakdown and a lot of moshing and moving. What was most eye-opening was just how many people knew every single song of theirs. Before the set even started… the chant “PARKWAY DRIVE, PARKWAY DRIVE, PARKWAY DRIVE” had commenced.
Halfway through the set, the band claimed to the fans they were some of the craziest fans on tour and one of the most fun shows they’ve had, which caused a huge roar from the fans. After their set had finished, this was evident as the fans chanted their name again and to everyone’s delight, they returned to play “Carrion,” one of their most popular songs.
As I left, I realized it was probably one of the most exhilarating (and exhausting) shows I’ve ever been to. I would give each band a huge chance if ever able to see them again.
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