The unusually warm winter in Minnesota has everyone getting out of their homes and looking for shows. The sold-out show of The Devil Wears Prada and Fit For A King’s co-headlining Metalcore Dropouts Tour was a testimony to that. Minneapolis was the final stop of the 29-city tour. The bands gave it their all and the crowd that night was one of the wildest I’ve ever seen.
Sometimes opening bands can be generic or boring, but that was not the case tonight! AVOID, hit the stage with more energy than I’ve seen in a long time. This four-piece band from Seattle, Washington was incredible. Lead singer Benny Scholl commanded the crowd with confidence and an incredible amount of charisma. Scholl jumped in and crowd-surfed after the first song and continued to rile the crowd during their 25-minute set. The band (Nick Olson- guitar, Luke Ryder-guitar, and Paul Jaton -drums) truly surprised me with both their music and stage presence. It will be exciting to see where this band goes.
Next on stage was the Canadian band, Counterparts (Brendan Murphy-vocals, Tyler Williams-rhythm guitar, Jesse Doreen- lead guitar, and Kyle Brownlee -drums). While not quite as energetic as Avoid, Counterparts still delivered a killer set. They opened with “Love Me,” “Choke,” and “Bound to Burn.” The crowd was constantly singing and screaming along. The band continued to play songs from their extensive discography and closed their set with “Whispers of Your Death.”
Fit For a King and The Devil Wears Prada alternate the headlining spot from city to city, and FFAK performed first tonight. For those unaware, the band (Ryan Kirby- vocals, Bobby Lynge-guitar, Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary-bass, Daniel Gailey-guitar and Trey Celaya- drums) is a Texas metalcore group that brings Texas-sized metal. I’ve seen FFAK several times before, but this was both the tightest the band has played and the wildest the crowd has ever been. It was chaotic. The music was so heavy that the crowd often had multiple circle pits going simultaneously. O’Leary often spins wildly with his bass or does impressive jumps from the risers.
The band performed many tracks from their latest album, “The Hell We Create,” including: “End (The Other Side),” “Eyes Roll Back,” Falling Through the Sky,” and my personal favorite, “Reaper.” They also performed many fan favorites from their albums, “The Path,” “Dark Skies,” and “Deathgrip.” As a long-time fan of the band, I was a little disappointed they didn’t play anything from their early albums, but we did get treated with a brand new single called, “Keeping Secrets.” To close their set, FFAK played “God of Fire” and Benny Scholl of Avoid joined the band on stage for an exceptional finale.
I was surprised that the crowd had any energy left after the first three bands, but they seemed ready to give it their all for metalcore titans, The Devil Wears Prada (Mike Hranica-vocals, Jeremy DePoyster- rhythm guitar/clean vocals, Kyle Sipress- lead guitar, Mason Nagy-bass, Jonathan Gering- keys, Giuseppe Capolupo-drums). The setlist weighed heavy with songs from the band’s last album, Color Decay. They opened with “Exhibition” and “Watchtower,” then transitioned into their ever-popular “Danger: Wildman” and the crowd loved every second of it.
Some of the other songs performed from “The Color Decay” album were “Salt,” “Hallucinate,” and “Sacrifice.” The band did treat older fans with “Outnumbered” from the first “Zombie” EP and their 2009 hit “Dez Moines.” It’s crazy to think that the “With Roots Above and Branches Below” album turns 15 years old this year. We are all getting old! Another treat was hearing the band perform “Reasons” for the first time in Minnesota.
The band mentioned several times how impressed they were with the energy of the crowd. Someone mentioned that Milwaukee had been the best crowd on the tour (Hranica resides there) but Minnesota’s stamina was easily surpassing our neighboring city to the east. The band ended their set with a mind-blowing performance of “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?” and everyone went bananas.
In a musical landscape that is constantly evolving, The Metalcore Dropouts Tour is a testament to the genre’s relevance and ability to captivate audiences. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, Fit For a King and The Devil Wears Prada leave a lasting impression and great memories. This was the last night of the tour, so although you won’t be able to catch this one, make sure you see these amazing bands the next time they’re in a city near you!
