Review / Photos: Doomsday Tour at the Worcester Palladium, 2/18/18

Who: Doomsday Tour – Architects with Stick To Your Guns and Counterparts

Where: The Palladium, Worcester, Massachusetts

When: February 18, 2018

Architects came back to The Palladium in Worcester, MA for the second time in less than a year for their biggest headlining performance at the venue yet. I saw Architects when they were at The Palladium last year and was so impressed not only with their performance but also by the lineup, that I had to run and see them again.

Since I’d seen Architects once before already, I had a number of expectations. The lineup last time was incredibly strong, so I was expecting nothing less this time. Architects themselves had a great production, but the show itself was also impressive; it was energetic and captivating. I was looking forward to a great night with unforgettable bands and was not disappointed.

Counterparts were the first band on. This was my first time seeing this band, but I have heard many stories about how fun they are live; they blew all of my expectations out of the water. From the minute the band took the stage, the energy was dialed up and the crowd was loving it. The audience did not need any warming up, as the crowd surfing and moshing started right in the first song; it was one of the liveliest pits I have ever seen so early into a show. I am not overly familiar with Counterpart’s music, but I was really impressed by the guitar and screams. The composition of the music was not boring and it kept my interest with neat little things tucked here and there throughout. Vocalist Brendan Murphy had a great sense of humor and connected with the audience quickly and easily. Counterparts had a great set and – on top of immediately going home and checking out their music – I would catch them live again in a heartbeat.

Stick To Your Guns was the second band up. While I am more familiar with their music, I had never seen them live before. The band released their sixth studio album, True View, a few months back and their setlist consisted of quite a few songs off of the album, including “Cave Canem” and “Married To The Noise,” but they also included old favorites, like “Amber,” which sent several people running to the mosh pit when they heard the intro. The pit was even livelier this time around, with vocalist Jesse Barnett even getting a circle pit going. The only thing about their set that I could have done without was Barnett’s speeches. While I appreciated his message, I think it could have been condensed. More than that, I think the best way to bring across messages is through music – and STYG definitely has messages in their music – so it kind of took away from the experience for me. Once the music got going again, though, I was right back into it.

Both opening bands had exceeded expectations and the audience was more than ready for Architects to get on stage. From the moment they stepped on stage, they got the show going. Their setlist included some of my favorite songs, like “Naysayer,” “Gravity,” and “The Devil Is Here.” The audience absolutely loved Architects; there was even more crowd surfing and moshing during their set and everyone was singing along. When I saw Architects last year, it was one of the first tours they had conducted after the death of Tom Searle. The show went splendidly, but it was obvious that they were missing a key member of the band and were still reeling from his death. Although Searle will never be able to be fully replaced and his loss will always be keenly felt, the group seemed like they really found their groove and I think that today’s Architects is a great tribute to Searle. I always love when bands take the time to give kudos to the venue’s employees, which vocalist Sam Carter did. The turnout this time around for Architects was larger than the last time they played. Based off tonight, next time’s turnout should be even bigger.

Every single one of my expectations were blown out of the water. It was a really strong lineup, with every single band leaving a lasting impression on me. Overall, it was a show that I will not be able to forget.

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Post and photos by Karen Shalev

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