In what might be America’s last true rock band, Clutch brings a hard-hitting rock show every single time they perform. They’ve been at this for 20 years, and it shows in both their writing and their performing.
This show at the Egyptian Room had the biggest crowd I’ve seen for a Clutch show in Indianapolis, and Clutch fans are nothing if they aren’t die-hard. The show was raucous and energetic, and the intensity of the show never wavered.
Several years ago, I forced myself to sit down and document my bucket list – a list of bands that I desperately wanted to see before I got too old…or they did. Breaking Benjamin was one of the first bands that came to mind. At that time, catching a show was out of the question, as singer Benjamin Burnley was sick, and the band was in a nasty legal battle over the band name and material. My general assumption was that Breaking Benjamin as I knew it was probably over. However, I still put them on my bucket list and held on to hope.
Much to my thrill, in 2014 it was announced that BB was on it’s way back, with a brand new band surrounding Burnley, a new album, and some heavy touring planned. I was ecstatic. After 12 years of anticipation, I was finally able to check them off my bucket list at Rock on the Range 2015, but rather than blog about that show, I decided to hold off until 3 days later, when we had the opportunity to catch them up close in personal, for a headlining set in a small venue in Indianapolis called the Egyptian Room. Breaking Benjamin – let’s do this.
Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, and Beartooth
World Tour – February 7th, 2015
The Egyptian Room at Old National Center, Indianapolis, IN
Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, and Beartooth brought their aptly named “World Tour” to Indianapolis this spring to play a show. As my musical tastes have matured, I find myself gravitating a bit away from the metalcore genre, however, PtV is a band that I will always have a soft spot. Something about their music really lands home with me, and I find myself frequently taking a break from the stuff I typically listen to, I end up throwing on a Pierce the Veil record. They also have a great live show, a trait that further weakens that soft spot that I have. Thanks to a buddy, I even got free tickets. Pierce the Veil – lets do this!
The Return of Chiodos Tour
The Egyptian Room – Indianapolis, IN
September 15th, 2012
Chiodos became sort of big when I was in high school, although I was never a huge fan. However, in the past couple years, I have been following lead singer Craig Owens story – he helped start Chiodos in high school, and then enjoyed early success with them before struggling with bi-polar disease, substance abuse, and depression. He was let go of Chiodos in 2009, due to undisclosed reasons, and started a “supergroup” called Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (D.R.U.G.S.). This is when he came onto my radar…because the first D.R.U.G.S. release was absolutely incredible. I was able to catch them live, and they put it on a great show.
So, when it was announced in early 2012 that Craig Owens was leaving (…essentially disbanding) D.R.U.G.S. and re-joining Chiodos, I was a bit disappointed and intrigued at how Chiodos would come out of the whole fiasco. Their reunion tour came through Indy, and I couldn’t miss it. Chiodos – lets do this.
As a person who claims to love metal music, I have to be honest when I say that most of my experience is on the hard rock/softer metal/metalcore side of the spectrum. It’s not that I don’t like harder metal, it’s just that it’s not as easy to find, and I don’t have as many friends who really like it and want to go to shows. However, for the past few years, at the request/violent demand of an unnamed friend with long hair who we’ll call “Schmoey”, I have really been trying to expand what I listen to, and a good portion of the interesting new stuff I’ve found has been in the death metal genre. So, when Schmoey called me and said “I’ve got a metal show for you,” I happily accepted. Regardless of the fact that I just started a new job, and this show was on a weeknight, I picked up tickets and had been looking forward to the show for a few weeks.
Bullet for my Valentine is one of my favorite bands. The fact of the matter is, they are just GOOD. I’ve seen them several times before, but as soon as I heard their latest album, Fever, I was excited for them to tour again. I saw the Indianapolis date on the schedule and I immediately bought tickets, and began trying to convince friends to go with me. Luckily, I got a couple friends to tag along, and it was ON!
BFMV blew me away, right from the beginning. I loved the fact that they were so energetic on stage, I loved the lead singer’s accent (random I know, but its awesome), and I loved how their individual talent so flawlessly complemented each other. I was a little bit in awe. After I left that concert, I immediately began immersing myself in the Bullet for my Valentine’s album that was out, called The Poison. Several songs on that album held my interest strong, until I was able to see them again. I saw them over the years several more times, and after the Scream Aim Fire album, they solidified a spot atop my favorite bands. (Interestingly enough, I think that The Poison is a better album than Scream Aim Fire, but for some reason it took the second album to convince me.)