Author: cryostar1177

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Concert Photography

Suki Waterhouse’s Loveland Tour

Love landed at The Pageant in the form of Suki Waterhouse and the Loveland Tour. Drawing dreamy-eyed fans from hundreds of miles around St. Louis, they gathered to hear this talented songstress tickle their ears on stage.

Emmma opened the event with a short but powerful set. Combining guitar, keyboards and electronic drums, she entranced the crowd with a few touching songs before ceding the stage to Rochelle Jordan.

Jordan turned the pop into R&B and EDM, magnetizing the crowd and getting feet moving and engaged, voguing on stage while singing to beats dropped from DJ Chrysalis. My initial thoughts were a reminder of the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack’s “Young Hearts Run Free,” but delving deeper into the dance beat.

Finally it was time for Suki to Dazzle everyone. A giant bedazzled heart complete with arrows shot through it adorned the center of the stage, and then she hit the stage running for 90+ minutes. The crowd danced, sang, and threw her roses. She not only covered almost her entire Loveland album, but Suki also threw in a hefty dose of Memoir of a Sparklemuffin and some others, giving the fans a grand mixture of foundation and new songs, AND THEY LOVED IT. I have never seen fans so engaged as they were at the concert.

Definitely make time to see Suki’s Loveland Tour before it leaves North America and heads for Oceania and Europe.

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Lambrini Girls in St. Louis

Every time an English punk band rolls through, it’s just miles beyond everything else. Lambrini Girls are no exception. Raw. Having Fun. Deeply embedded in their own vibe. This show was everything I expected…and more.

Big Girl, another raw, glittery punk band out of Brooklyn, opened up the night. They did a great job warming the crowd up and getting some energy moving. This is a band that bears watching in the future.

Big Special – it was a BIG night – was up next. The duo from Birmingham, England (Midlands-style, folks) brought their drum-heavy act in with a bang (pun intended) and kept things rolling. The energy these two brought was phenomenal. It was my first time hearing them, and I left wanting more. Their unique style of spoken word/punk mix is something to behold.

All this was a precursor, though, to the Lambrini Girls. Within the first three songs, Flora was already in the crowd and circle pits were going. Crowd surfing was encouraged, and the raw, jagged sounds of the girls stoked the energy higher. Sixteen-ish songs later, and everyone was nearly exhausted as the constant energy never ended. These women are going places.

Make sure you catch their North American Tour before they had back home.

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Scene Queen on the Metalicious Tour

Manicured.

Metalicious Tour stopped through Delmar hall and everyone was out to embrace bimbocore! Scene Queen brought high energy Wargasm and Bailey Spinn on her tour into St. Louis ramping up energy in the Loop.

Bailey Spinn opened the tour up, a unique blend of rock ‘n roll. She did a great job of stirring the crowd with some ethereal vocals and hard rock chords. Definitely someone we should be looking for good things from in the future.

Lights dimmed…red lights turned on…and Wargasm entered the stage. This was my 2nd time seeing this ball of energy on the stage, and I was just as impressed. Brining their particular brand of punk and EDM, bounding around the stage, and leaning into the crowd, they grabbed life by the hair and threw it around. This band really deserves to headline a tour, and with any luck, they will come through St Louis when they do!

At long last, the crowd grew quiet. Pink lights dazzled on stage with some inflatable drinks, a couch, and a skeleton…patiently waiting for the Queen to skip on to stage. Starting with “Manicure,” Scene Queen hopped, skipped and jumped across the stage, mixing her self-branded bimbocore voice with heavy growls, churning the crowd and egging them on. At one point, she even brought Wargasm on stage with her, doubling down on the energy. Not a soul would leave that venue with an ounce of energy remaining.

There are more stops up next for the Metalicious Tour; if you love high energy and some new takes on core and rock, plan to attend!

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Gojira in St. Louis benefiting Operation Food Search

Thar be whales here! The flying variety! Gojira, the absolute masters of French Metal descended to St. Louis the best of causes: a concert to benefit Operation Food Search, a local food outreach program. All proceeds from the event benefitted the organization, who also had a presence at the concert! The Sovereign, once again asserting why it is a reigning venue in the St Louis area, hosted the sold out event, selling in less than 2 hours.

Opening for Gojira was Columbia, Missouri veteran band, Locked Shut. They brought their distinct flavor of core to the stage and set the crowd in motion for what was to come. A few songs later, both levels of The Sovereign were frothing and ready to go!

After a brief intermission, Gojira took the stage with a vengeance. You could say they were…Born for One Thing. Covering a variety of albums over their long history, including Flying Whales, Silvera and Amazoni…all the way to a three-song encore that included “Mea culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”, a traditional cover they brought to the world’s attention at the Paris Olympic Opening in 2024. Ending with “The Gift of Guilt,” I couldn’t think of a better way to close out this phenomenal set. C’est Magnifique. 90 minutes of grifting metal to benefit the fight against food insecurity! You can see both bands at the Louder than Life tour next!

Locked Shut Setlist

Gojira Setlist

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The Rock Orchestra Burned in STL

Purged in fire!

The Rock Orchestra brought the Arena of Fire tour to St Louis Music Park last Friday with haunting renditions of well-known rock and metal songs. The arrangements and costumes were done to a T, bringing the gothic feel to the St Louis stage. This time, though, they brought fire; pyrotechnics were used in nearly every song.   

Starting with Zeppelin and running all the way through System of a Down and Metallica, the orchestra covered everything in between.  My favorites were easily Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” and The Cranberries’s “Zombie.” So much feeling and action on the stage…and fire. So, so much fire. While the music drove the show, and the singers carried us through the night, it was the Fuel Girls that brought the heat with their pyro performance! They were fantastically complimentary to the show’s outstanding flow and vibe.

Catch this tour before it heads back to Europe!

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Concert Photography Reviews

Evanescence on their Sanctuary Tour

What. A. Night.

Evanescence returned to St. Louis at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater with LiveNation to support their brand new album, Sanctuary. As hot as it was outside, it would not stand up to the fire that would embrace the stage as the night started with high energy and ended with explosions.

Nova Twins kicked the night off with a bang. The duo out of London England captured the audience immediately and didn’t let go. Guitar troubles aside (a little tech help was needed), these two mixed it up and jammed along to get the awaiting fans frothed to a frenzy. They were absolutely fun to watch and listen to.

Spiritbox stepped in after with their particular mix of metalcore.   While not charged with reviewing their set, one could not help but enjoy listening to the music, as Courtney and team ramped the tunes and guitars up to 11.

All of that was just a tease, though. A morsel to Evanescence’s monster 21 song set.  Lights dimmed…Their insignia flashed…and blasted into their new album’s title track with gusto. All 12 songs from the new album were played, along with a familiar mix of hits and personal favorites from the band’s 20+ year history. They brought everything to the show: Lights, fire, smoke, screens, rampaging guitars, quiet moments with Amy at the piano; everything you would expect Evanescence to be. Do not miss this tour!

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Concert Photography Reviews

STL’s own SLAYYYTER plays The Pageant for 3 nights

St. Louis’s own SLAYYYTER kicked off her Worst Girl In The World Tour in style…starting in her home town at The Pageant! Three crazy nights of chaos raging across the stage, enticing crowds with dazzling lights…and bubbles.  

Opening up the show was Canadian R&B artist SadBoi. Bringing a simple set saying “God Forbid I Have Fun”, she proceeded to have a lot of fun on stage. Spinning up the crowd and getting cheers all around as she sang, rapped and danced from side to side.   

The curtains opened on SLAYYYTER’s performance to reveal a small home set and a carousel horse, bound on both sides by light arrays.

Entering on to set through the house door in a denim skirt, flannel top, trucker hat and a Solo cup, she proceeded to blast the doors off the venue with wave after wave of electro-pop chaos. The crowd roared, enthralled, as she danced around while teasing them on to more.  

She left St. Louis for Chicago and Lollapalooza…then on to the world, not coming back to the United States for shows outside of LA until September. Check out her tour dates through links above, and definitely do not miss this performance.

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Concert Photography

Jinjer at The Pageant in STL

Metal…to the core. Served up for your ears to feast on at The Pageant, Jinjer brought their North American Tour through St Louis last week to the delight of death and metalcore fans alike.   

Opening for the tour, Entheos blanketed the crowd with death metal thunder as lead singer Chaney Crabb leaned towards the crowd, growling her dark vocals. A quick 30-minute set primed the crowd, ending with cell phone lights bathing the stage in a dying light. 

Japanese metalore band, Crystal Lake, was up next. High energy doesn’t even start to cover them and their gutteral vocals, high kicks, spins and abounding thrashes.  Drummer Gaku Taura took the cake, though, as he reveled in the heavy beat this deathcore band brings.   The energy was engaging and the songs something else. Crystal Lake are definitely a band that I will be listening to in the future.

At last, Jinjer took the stage in front of a light wall. Drummer Vladislav Ulasevich hammered away with the bands heavy sound.   Tatiania sauntered on stage, swaggering, and taunted the crowd, enthralling them. They kicked off with “Duel,” the title track of their latest studio album – one steeped in a rich Ukrainian history. While other songs from their four previous albums were included, Duel would lead all night long, showcasing the band’s continued presence as cultural ambassadors for their country. Be sure to catch Jinjer on their tour before they head back to Europe, as only a few more dates remain. 

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Concert Photography

Kittie on Legacy of Fire Tour

What a purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-fect night with Kittie coming to town to kick off their Legacy of Fire Tour! 30 years of metal as these Canadian metal goddesses took the stage at The Pageant treating us to some monster songs from their history.   

Spellblade opened with sludge metal mixed with shoegaze vibes, and the quartet had fantastic energy and great set. We’re looking to hear more from this local(ish) band in the future.

Then Texas stormed on stage and GORE rocketed through! Texan Metalcore ruled the venue with their “emotional gore” sound, as the weight of the heavy riffs intersected with emotional lyrics, and vocalist Haley Roughton thrashed on stage in a flowing, long black dress. The juxtaposition was magnificent as the band provided a great sampling of their two EP’s. Definitely worth a listen to in and outside the venue.  

Finally, those goddesses took stage. Kittie toured us through “Brackish,” “Vultures,” “Burning Bridges,” and more as they hit songs from 6 of their 7 albums (Funeral for Yesterday) for the ravenous fans to hear. All in all it was everything I had hoped, having waited many years for their return to the 314 area code.

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Concert Photography

Godsmack’s Rise of Rock Tour 2026 in St. Louis

Rise up! World Tour coming through! Godsmack brought the Rise of Rock tour through Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, and, to the joy of thousands, proceeded to blast the top off the venue.  

Dorothy kicked off the night with some bluesy, southern rock,   getting the crowd engaged and moving around. Lead singer Dorothy Martin engaged with various members, pointing them out and motioning as she sang. The band got into the groove quickly. It was my first time hearing the band live…and I will definitely be back for more!   

Up Next: Stone Temple Pilots! Like a comfy set of clothes, they slipped on the stage, and instantly, you were sitting back, enjoying SoCal rock like it was the 90s all over again.   Everything you could want to hear from them, live and on stage, sounding like new. From “Dead & Bloated” to “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song,” and even my favorite, “Crackerman,” got some play time.   

Then the curtain came up, and Sully & Godsmack took the stage. Legends rose…and rocked! They covered the bases through 15 songs, including a 4-song (yes, 4-song) encore! New stuff from Lighting Up the Sky was in the mix, as well as older stuff from the self-titled Godsmack and everything in between that you’ve loved listening to for decades.   Sam “Bam” Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat) made his hometown debut, as well, as Godsmack’s touring guitarist, eating up every moment in front of the home crowd!  The night ended with “I Stand Alone” and an exhausted crowd.       

Set lists are below:

Dorothy Set List

Stone Temple Pilots Set List

Godsmack Set List