Author: cryostar1177

It was a night of pent up emotion thrown into the ether, screaming to be released! I See Stars took the stage in St. Louis after amazing performances by Diamante, Until I Wake and Mothica. The night built in waves.   Diamante started us off, shining in sparkling light with a short set of six songs of her signature rock sound and dazzling voice, giving the night a strong push before handing off to Until I Wake.  

Until I Wake quickly took the stage, bringing their hard hitting and grinding metal sound to the night. The crowd continued to build and push, incited by Cody Jaimson’s lyrics and onstage performance.   Eight songs pounded the night, mostly from Inside My Head, leaving the fans clamoring for more, before ceding the stage to Mothica. 

Mothica may have been my favorite of the night. The twelve songs, were a a fantastic introduction to her library of music, but more importantly, she took time between songs to connect with the crowd.   Her history, her trials and what drives her as an artist. With her arms splayed like moth wings flapping as the night drove on, the crowd gobbled it up. She mixed strong vocals and thematic design to give the audience a breather before receding to the dark, and I See Stars took the stage.

With that, I See Stars initialized and pounded the stage. A great mix of songs, mainly from The Wheel, Treehouse, and New Demons, brought the crowd into a writhing ruckus as smoke and lights filled the stage and floated through the crowd. “Ten Thousand Feet” started their set off, and things didn’t slow down from there. Bright lights and dazzling antics brought energy and life to the stage and crowd. The crowd returned to a calm state only after the band closed out the night with “Anomaly.”  

Ghost summoned…and they came. The Ritual in Peoria Civic Center roiled with anticipation as the hour approached. Slowly, the elements came together. The ritual music started…lights began to dim…incense filled the air. Ghouls around the hall came to a stand still and turned to face the stage as it went black. The Swedish rock band played with the curtain still up just for a minute before it crashed down and revealed the Skeletour stage setting and ghoul band members dressed to fit the theme, all in support of the Skeletá album. The opening song “Peacefield” played on, followed quickly by “Lachryma,” mixing old with new.

In all, Papa covered most of their works, but focused on albums Meliora and Skeletá. The fans soaked it in, dressed to impress in the tour’s new visages and garb. They moved, reached out, grasping for the sound as it came to them. Playing on to a monster set (23 songs) including “Mary on a Cross,” “Dance Macabre” and “Call Me Little Sunshine.” No ghoul went away unsatiated.

St. Louis’s Delmar Hall came to a roar last night as Deafheaven took the stage with its brand of blackgaze metal.   The San Francisco band powered through 11 songs supporting their new album, Lonely People with Power, along with metalcore bands Harm’s Way and I Promised the World.   

The youthful crowd pulsed with the music and threw themselves around the floor, slam dancing in a mosh pit as the night rolled on, enticed by George Clarke’s antics and drawn into the layers of music, literally feeling it at times.