Memphis May Fire. Photo/Dylan Dulberg
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]emphis May Fire made their presence felt at The Crofoot in Pontiac, MI, when they covered all stops on their discography during their Tuesday night show.
Beartooth opened the show and with only having 4 songs officially released, they got one of the biggest receptions of the night. The band’s energy was unreal, and so were the fans, with circle pits and moshing during every song.
During the second to last song of the set, the bassist dove off the stage into the crowd and ended up dislocating his shoulder. For the last song of the set, vocalist Caleb Shomo took over on bass as well as covering his usual vocal duties.
Hands Like Houses was perhaps the most out of place of the night. The band has virtually no breakdowns and absolutely no screaming vocals. There wasn’t too much energy in the crowd for their set, but the crowd was singing along.
A Skylit Drive was up next and definitely got the crowd going. The lead singer didn’t look like he belonged in the band though, more like a wannabe member of Three Days Grace or Papa Roach, with his mohawk, leather jacket and fingerless gloves. The band gave a pretty good live performance with the exception of some vocals being a little off.
Direct support for this tour was The Word Alive, and they did not let the fans down. There was a massive wall of death during “2012.” The Word Alive always puts on an excellent performance with their instrumental proficiency, and incredible energy.
Following these openers, Memphis May Fire kicked off their set with “The Sinner” — a staple in their set. The band’s energy during this performance set the tone for the rest of the night, and the crowd gave just as much back.
Next up was the song “Alive In the Lights” from the widely successful album Challenger. The title of this song is very fitting of the band’s performance because they without a doubt were alive under the the raging light setup they had.
“Michigan you are always amazing,” Vocalist Matty Mullins repeated throughout the evening. “This is hands down the GREATEST stop on the tour so far!”
The third song of the set was “No Ordinary Love,” new song off the bands upcoming album Unconditional. Memphis May fire played two songs from the new album that night, the second one being “Sleepless Nights.”
About halfway through the bands set, the band surprised fans by playing “Be Careful What You Wish For.”
“Are there any old school fans in the crowd tonight?” Mullins asked the crowd, to which they responded with cheers. Hearing older music was a treat, considering the band almost never plays songs from their debut album Sleepwalking or their Between the Lines EP.
Changing up their energetic set, MMF slowed things down by playing quite possibly the softest song in their catalog, “Miles Away,” leaving fans slow-dancing instead of moshing in the pit– something you don’t see everyday.
A Skylit Drive. Photo/Dylan Dulberg
The night had some surprise guests joining the bands on stage. The first was Luke Holland (drummer of The Word Alive) joining Hands Like Houses on drums for their song Antarctica. The Second guest performance was Michael Jagmin of A Skylit Drive joining Memphis May Fire on stage for “Miles Away.”
Towards the end, Mullins asked the crowd “Who is ready to hear some good ol’ southern rock? This one is for all you REALLY old school fans.”
The audience seemed a bit bewildered as to what would happen next, and the band kicked right into “You’re Lucky It’s Not 1692.” This performance really separated the “old school” fans and the newer fans in the crowd because there was a vast majority of people not singing along and just nodding their heads.
To much excitement, Memphis May Fire delivered a two-song encore to chanting fans, undoubtedly giving their all even at the end. They closed out the show with “Legacy”– a energetic performance that surely left a legacy for Memphis May Fire at The Crofoot, with both the band and crowd giving it their all to end the night.
The fans seemed to leave the concert with complete happiness because there was a sea of people proclaiming their excitement after the show. Memphis May Fire definitely had a standout performance, and proved that they are doing everything they can to make the fans have the best time they can have.
To listen to the interview, listen to The Pit: Podcast – Episode VI
