Parkway Drive ended their “Mini-Tour” in Southern California at The Glass House in Pomona Wednesday night. The tour was seven shows on seven consecutive days and saw support from Betrayal and Upon a Burning Body.
Headliners Parkway Drive have already proved their dominance in their homeland of Australia and show why they are one of the top bands in the metalcore scene anytime they visit Southern California.
As soon as the lights went out, their intro song “Sparks,” off of their latest album “Atlas,” began. The band made their way to the stage and fans erupted with cheers. The line from the intro track had lead singer Winston McCall scream out the first verse of the band’s set featuring the perfect line to set the tone for the night, “If you bring the matches, I’ll bring the gasoline.”
The fire was then ignited.
That song’s end led right into “Old Ghost/New Regrets,” which had fans jumping from start to finish. The same can be said for the rest of the band’s set.
The Australians’ hour-long set featured songs from all four of their albums. The sheer intensity of the sold out crowd was enough to fuel Parkway Drive for the rest of the evening.
“Boneyards” and “Karma” both include chants for various parts of the songs to encourage fans to participate during shows. Both of these songs were played to audience enjoyment.
McCall’s powerful and deep vocals were spread across the room like wildfire and fit in perfectly with the band’s explosive drums and finger-licking bass and guitars. Guitars get really shredded on “Idols and Anchors” with fans trying their best to imitate guitarists Jeff Ling and Luke Kilpatrick’s instrument chords.
The entire floor was moving due to consistent jumping, hardcore dancing and crowd surfing by the fans. It was a challenge to stand in one place.
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“Swing” and “Wild Eyes” rounded out the band’s set followed by their encore song that was asked by fans all night, “Carrion.” It was the best way to conclude the band’s evening with the Southern California crowd.
Twelve years together, four albums under their belt and hundreds of sold out venues around the world have solidified Parkway Drive amongst elite metalcore bands.
Upon a Burning Body (UABB) played second and set the bar really high for Parkway Drive to overtake. For every show the band dons matching outfits that include: dress shirt, shoes, vests and ties. But don’t let their image fool you. These Texans know how to erupt any audience.
“Showtime” followed by “Intermission” helped the band enlist the crowd as part of the band.
Wearing a slim suit jacket, lead singer Danny Leal had the crowd singing and bouncing for each song. He hovered over the fans and let them sing for many parts of the band’s songs.
The deathcore fivesome has vigorous breakdowns in nearly all their songs that everyone was into. UABB played songs off both their albums to audience enjoyment. “Sin City” ended the band’s set with the words, “Let’s tear it up tonight.” That was exactly what band and audience did.
Less than 50 miles from their hometown of San Fernando Valley was four-piece hardcore band Betrayal. These guys showed their hardcore roots and intensity with their 30 minutes. Fast-action packed vocals, drums and guitars fueled these guys from start to finish.
Lead singer Brendan Foley jumped in the crowd numerous times to build up their excitement. Him doing that helped bring on the crowd surfing.
The band played a killer, sped-up version of Offspring’s “Bad Habit,” which led right into their song “Low Expectations.” The band ended their night with fan-favorite “The Good Die Young.”
Dude, loving the pics!