On April 11 I had the opportunity to go check out Crown the Empire, We Came as Romans, Erra and Shvpes at House of Blues Chicago and this particular show was different it was like no other I had gone to in the past. With the recent passing of We Came as Romans vocalist Kyle Pavone this tour brought something different, it was definitely an emotional night. It is inspiring to see these guys continue to push through despite tragedy and create something really significant and meaningful.
The night started off with Shvpes metal band from the U.K. These dudes really kicked off this show right and brought high energy throughout with their blend of metal and hints of pop and hip hop in there they really killed it. This is their very first American tour, and I think they have really left a good impression on American fans. You could really feel the passion they had for the music and could tell they genuinely love what they do. I was not at all familiar with this band before the show, and I must say I was impressed.
Up next Birmingham, Alabama based metal band Erra took the stage and absolutely brought the house down. They definitely kept the energy going. I have absolutely loved Erra for years but never got the opportunity to see them live before. I loved their energy and stage presence, vocalist JT Cavey uses the whole length of the stage to his advantage and really keeps the show pumping. Starting off the set right with their song ‘Irreversible’ off of their album Drift the crowd went off the whole set.
Next, We Came as Romans took the stage and I think it was an emotional one for just about everyone. Before the set even started while they were still setting up when they placed a banner in memory of the late vocalist Kyle Pavone on top of the table where his laptop and turntables should have been I think it really became real for a lot of people. They really did an excellent job of celebrating Kyles memory well throughout the set. They started off their set with a high energy heavy songs from their newest album ‘Cold War.’ They played ‘Vultures With Clipped Wings’ first and followed it up with ‘Wasted Age.’ They then really threw it back for the rest of the set with a lot of older songs going all the way back to their first album with ‘To Plant a Seed.’ It was truly amazing to see them back at it doing what they love.
Crown the Empire ended off the night, and they were great. They were somewhat similar to We Came as Romans as they started off the set with a new track titled ‘Sudden Sky’ that was just released a few days ago but then really threw it back the rest of the set. Playing tracks such as ‘The Fallout’ and ‘Memories of a Broken Heart’ and even going back to their very first album ‘Limitless’ with the track ‘Voices.’ While they definitely played quite a few newer songs they had no shortage of older tracks in there as well, even playing ‘Johnny Ringo’ which they have not played in a long time. Towards the end of the set, they slowed it down for a moment with their acoustic track ‘Millenia’ really changing pace momentarily. I really loved the amount of interaction the band had with the crowd throughout their set, that was something I did not see a lot of from the other bands, that Crown The Empire definitely had a lot of throughout. Overall this show was terrific. Every band put 110% into their set, and I was impressed with the whole tour package.
