Photos / Review: Hollywood Undead and From Ashes to New at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

Who: Hollywood Undead, From Ashes To New

Where: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire

When: July 25, 2018

Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom has quickly become one of my favorite venues partly because of its amazing location steps from the ocean, but mostly because of how much I like the staff and security. So, when Hollywood Undead announced a show at the Casino Ballroom, I knew it would be a fun night.

It was a Wednesday night, so the venue was relatively empty when From Ashes To New took the stage, but that did not stop them from getting the energy up from the minute they took the stage. The setlist was a good mix of songs off their latest album The Future as well as some older tracks; “The Future,” “Through It All,” “Wake Up,” and more were all performed to an audience who was singing along loudly to every word. This was my second time seeing From Ashes To New; my first time seeing them was in June when they co-headlined the What’s In Your Head tour with Bad Wolves. The setlist and performance was very similar to the previous time I had seen them, so it felt a bit predictable to me, but the audience was thoroughly enjoying the set. I did like From Ashes To New on this lineup more than I did when they toured with Bad Wolves; they were a good choice for an opener.

I had never seen Hollywood Undead before, so unlike From Ashes To New, I did not know what to expect. The first thing that you notice about Hollywood Undead, besides the masks that they wear on stage, is that there are five of them, plus a drummer. With five performers who are constantly moving around the stage, there was always something to look at and no part of the audience was ignored; while this could have also been easily overwhelming, they did a great job of balancing how many members were at the foreground at once. The set started with “Whatever It Takes,” which had everyone in the audience pumped up. “Undead” and “Been to Hell” flew by next in a whirlwind of banging hands and clapping hands. Hollywood Undead’s music live is on another level from the record version; it is so much more energetic and just rocks. After the first three songs, the masks came off and the setlist spit out more fun tracks like “California,” “Renegade,” “Gravity,” “Another Way Out,” and “Day of the Dead.” “Everywhere I Go” and “Hear Me Now” rounded out the night. Hollywood Undead was absolutely fantastic live. They were able to get audience participation at a level that I do not often see at concerts. Even though the venue was nowhere near full, they attacked the night with the same enthusiasm as if it had been sold out, and the energy was returned by the ecstatic fans. Hollywood Undead turned me into a lifelong fan in the first thirty seconds of their performance; the rest of the night was purely icing on the cake.

Hollywood Undead is a very energetic group; if they have a show near you, I highly recommend that you go check it out. Hollywood Undead is a band whose show you can enjoy even without being a fan of their music.

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Post and photos by Karen Shalev

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