WE CAME AS ROMANS /CURRENTS /AFTER THE BURIAL /JOHNNY BOOTH
By Mia Palazzo
We Came As Romans, Currents, After The Burial and Johnny Booth live at the Palladium in Worcester.
This show at the beloved Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts was filled with bands that even though I have seen numerous times before, I will continue to see till I can’t anymore. Personally, so far this show had one of my favorite lineups of the year, packed with energetic bands that separately always bring an amazing show but together were able to create one that had more energy than any show I have seen in a long time.
The show started off with Johnny Booth. Johnny Booth is a band that I think should have more of a following than they do. This is a band I will always be happy to see because they consistently bring an energy that can’t be beat. Almost immediately upon taking the stage the pit erupted open, and stayed open through the duration of the band’s set. They played their biggest songs, such as ‘Rebuttal’ and ‘Theif’ which a surprising amount of the crowd seemed to know.
Throughout the set, crowd surfers flew which at least to me, during the first band is pretty impressive. Even if you don’t know the music, just watching the passion each of the members has playing their music, the dancing they do on stage brings such an amazing energy. And a bonus that every time I have seen this band each of the members has always been kind and willing to talk to fans.
Next up was After The Burial. This band is a classic and they proved relevancy when the entirety of the pit burst open not even a bar through the first song, and held that energy throughout the whole set. I cannot even begin to describe the energy during their set. They transferred their energy straight from the stage into the crowd and had everyone from the pit to the mezzanine seats moving in some way. The only song I personally know by this band is “Behold The Crown” and honestly, no matter how many times I see them perform it I will never be disappointed. Their accuracy to their recorded work just makes the shows that much better.
Currents was the final opener to play and I will start by saying this entire blurb is going to be insanely biased because being from Connecticut, I love Currents. With this being what I think is the 8th time I have seen this band, I have a lot of comments to make. First off, they never disappoint. Ever. I can’t speak to their crowds outside of the North East because I have only seen them in this region but of all 8 shows I have seen the energy in the crowd is always immaculate. The next comment I have to make is their production. From their sound to their lighting design they always have such a cohesive, aesthetic, beautiful performance.
Now, saying all of this, I do get a little sad that their setlist doesn’t often change. Though they play some of their best songs, “Remember Me”, “Monsters”, and closing with “Unfamiliar” I do love these songs, as well as all the rest that are typically on their setlist but I do wish there was more variety given they do tour very often. Otherwise, this is a band that I will continue to see time and time again because the show as a whole is one of the best and most consistent I have seen.
Finally it was time for We Came As Romans. With the venue at 80 degrees, fans were anxiously awaiting the start of the set to some rather wisely picked intermission music, such as “Pink Pony Club” by Chapel Roan and “They Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, which had fans singing along and honestly was a rather genius way of getting the crowd hyped up for their set.
As the band came out fans from front to back cheered with excitement and almost immediately as the band broke into the first song the most pit burst open the largest it had been all night. Almost instantly fans started flying over the barricade. Security was a bit concerned for this show because at the last We Came As Romans show at The Palladium someone climbed or rode down the wires that run to the main floor from the mezzanine, but little did they know they had something much different to worry about today.
The Palladium has the best barricade staff out of any venue I have ever been to. Consistently they put their all into making sure everyone is safe at shows (a reason this is my favorite venue), therefore they have a very large barricade staff. Even with the probably 10-15 security people on the barricade, they were consistently scrambling to keep up with the never ending stream of crowd surfers.
But anyways, my personal favorite part of the set (speaking as a photographer) was WCAR’s photographer/videographer hopping up on someone’s shoulders in the pit with a circle pit turning around him during “Cold Like War”, a song people typically go crazy for anyways. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone look so genuinely happy to do their job.
Another highlight of their set, David Benites, who is no stranger to being on stage with We Came As Romans, or at The Palladium, came to help out with some of “Daggers”. We always love to see him here. A little plug for his band, Renesans, if you have never heard of them they are great and you should check them out!
Overall, a spectacular Friday night at the Palladium with lots of great bands.
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