It’s no secret that the entirety of A Tour Of the Concrete Jungle is sold out, since it’s pretty much the first thing anyone says when they speak about this tour. Quite a few of the dates were added due to demand, and some venues were even upgraded in hopes to accommodate anticipated crowds. Charlotte, North Carolina was one of those nights.
The show was originally booked for The Underground, but quickly made the switch over to The Fillmore. Stepping into the venue after doors, I knew immediately that I was in for a treat. While completely packed, the room was buzzing with excited energy. With it only being the second night of the tour so far, there may have even been a hint of impatience as we were all ready to experience whatever was in store for us.
I (unfortunately) only caught the end of Thousand Below’s set. From what I saw, they definitely knew how to get the crowd ready for what was ahead. The pit was absolutely packed and extremely energetic.
Thanks to being warmed up, the energy levels grew with Make Them Suffer. This band is extremely impressive live. Alex Reade, their keyboardist and vocalist, is an absolute powerhouse. I found myself watching her the entire set. They ended the set with their newest single “Doomswitch”; I was excited to hear this one live, and so was the rest of the crowd. It was becoming more apparent just how special this lineup and tour really are.
Dayseeker cemented this by giving a perfect performance. With only an eight song setlist, they had to make sure the crowd was ready for the main performance coming up and they absolutely did. Vocalist Rory Rodriguez took a moment to talk about the passing of his father and how that impacted their newest record, Dark Sun, which would be out at midnight. It was a beautiful moment of reflection and the crowd gave him so much love by singing along to every song.
After thirty minutes of switching equipment and growing anticipation, Bad Omens took the stage, fittingly opening with “Concrete Jungle.” This wasn’t just a concert. This was truly a show. The stage was covered in huge screens that housed unique visuals, corresponding with the song being played. “Concrete Jungle” had visuals of an evergrowing fire, while “Artificial Suicide” was paired with bouts of TV static. This added an impressive cinematic storytelling element that really kept me interested, as if I wasn’t already.
Bad Omens are finally getting the crowds they deserve. There wasn’t a single person standing still or not singing along. While everyone was having fun, they were looking out for each other as well. No matter where I went in the crowd, there were people around me willing to headbang with me or lift me up to crowdsurf.
Noah Sebastian is truly a leading frontman of this scene. He continuously commanded the entire room effortlessly — it was such a sight to see. The confidence he carries really gets the crowd going. The second he asked for a wall of death, the crowd was quickly parting and making way. Same goes for the number of circle pits he demanded.
Unsurprisingly, the rest of the band was just as impressive with their near perfect instrumentation and stage presence. Drummer, Nick Folio, was propped up on a riser that felt absolutely massive but still couldn’t contain his extreme talent. I found myself watching him in awe. Flanking [Noah] Sebastian on either side stood Nick Ruffilo and Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson. Both of which maintained a mysteriously cool demeanor as they played masterfully.
While the setlist heavily contained songs from the band’s newest release, THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND, there were a few older standouts (such as “Glass Houses” and “Limits”). A highlight of the night was a touching tribute to the late Keaton Pierce, the vocalist of Too Close To Touch who tragically passed in March of this year.
Bad Omens covered the band’s song “Sympathy” but kept in Keaton’s vocals, creating a heartbreaking duet. [Noah] Sebastian’s voice alongside that of [Keaton] Pierce was gorgeous, and brought so much emotion that the crowd absorbed and desperately tried to give back.
The main part of the set ended with a newfound fan favorite, thanks to TikTok: “Just Pretend.” [Noah] Sebastian even took a moment to pay respects to the amount of attention the app has given the song. I thought the crowd was loud before this one, but nothing came close to the absolute boisterous roar of two thousand fans singing along.
The crowd begged for an encore and the band obliged with the perfect trilogy of songs: “The Death of Peace of Mind,” followed by “Dethrone,” and ending with “What do you want from me?” It was a great way to end the night and bring the show to a close.
I was already a huge fan of Bad Omens before this show, but I was genuinely so impressed by their talent and ability to put on such an emotional and intricate show. If you were able to score tickets to any of the dates of this tour, don’t even think twice about going. Make sure you’re a part of this.
While A Tour Of the Concrete Jungle is entirely sold out, here are the rest of the dates:
November 7 – Houston, TX @ Rise
November 8 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Music Hall
November 10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
November 11 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
November 12 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
November 13 – Roseville, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
November 15 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
November 16 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
November 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
November 20 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
November 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre
November 23 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
November 25 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
November 26 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
November 27 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
November 29 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
November 30 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
December 2 – Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
December 3 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
December 4 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
December 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
December 7 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
December 9 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
December 10 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
December 11 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
December 12 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
December 14 – Columbus, OH @ The Athenaeum Theatre
You can catch livestreamed events of their Irving Plaza shows on Veeps by clicking here.
