The Ghost Inside and Underoath Tackle NYC On Their Summer Co-Headlining Tour with Special Guests We Came As Romans and Better Lovers
All Photo Credit: Emily AgnesiniJuly 28th, 2023- The Ghost Inside and Underoath performed at Irving Plaza in NYC.
Better Lovers:
To kick off the evening, fans and supporters were welcomed by a new metalcore band known as Better Lovers. Better Lovers is an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York. The band was formed in 2023 which has members from different bands featured in it, such as EVERY TIME I DIE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, AND FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. The band consists of Jordan Buckley, Clayton “Goose” Holyoak, Stephen Micciche, Greg Puciato, and Will Putney. The group has recently put out a new EP titled ‘God Made Me An Animal’ which is a four song EP.
Once the lights dimmed, I knew chaos was going to immediately start considering I knew which band each member came from. All I can say about that was holy crap! Vocals and the instrumentals sounded extremely incredible and my jaw dropped immediately. As a guitar player myself, the riff they came up with for their whole EP was something I would struggle to learn. Towards the end of their set, I heard the crowd all cheering and in pure shock. I took a look at what was happening and I saw Puciato (vocals) climbing the speakers during their debut single “30 Under 13” and he jumped off the balcony into the crowd. I’m surprised he didn’t get hurt and that he did not drop his microphone or choke somebody with it during that. I was left with confusion but it was very hilarious. Overall it was a phenomenal experience and I would definitely see them live again.
BETTER LOVERS: Instagram | Twitter | Tiktok | Threads
We Came As Romans:
Next group to kick the night off was We Came As Romans. We Came As Romans is one of my top 10 favorite bands and being able to photograph them was truly one of the best experiences yet of my photography career. We Came As Romans is a metalcore band from Troy, Michigan. Members consist of David Stephens (vocals), Josh Moore (guitar), Lou Cotton (guitar), Andy Glass (bass) and lastly David Puckett (drums).
They open their set with “Darkbloom” which was from their latest album ‘Darkbloom’ released in 2022. The crowd went absolutely insane as soon as the song started. All the fans knew the lyrics and were screaming along, including myself. Next song they played is one of my favorites titled “Daggers”. Stephens jumped into the crowd during the pre- breakdown of the song which was absolutely incredible. I’m still amazed even though I’ve seen him do it every time they perform it. All the members of the band were jumping around and hyping up the fans. While I was taking photos, I saw at least ten people crowd surfing back to back all at once and I’m shocked I did not get kicked in the head!! Altogether it was definitely an amazing time and the energy for WCAR fans was astonishing.
WE CAME AS ROMANS: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Tiktok
Underoath:
Followed by We Came As Romans, Underoath takes to the stage before the night ends. Underoath is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. The band consists of Spencer Chamberlain (vocals), Grant Brandell (bassist), Chris Dudley (electronics), Aaron Gillespie (drummer), Timothy McTague (guitar). This was my first time seeing this band ever and I did not know what to expect. Their music gives me a sense of a flowy genre with a taste of heaviness. This band also recently released a new single titled “Lifeline (Drowning)” which is available on all streaming platforms.
To start off their set, they performed “Take a Breath” which was released in 2022 from their album ‘Voyeurist’. The crowd went absolutely feral as soon as the song started and the vocals and instrumentals sounded exact in comparison to the studio version. I noticed the people at the barricade were dancing and reaching their arms out with such high energy. Based on the crowd interaction, you would have been able to tell which songs were their older songs. At some point during their set, I was unable to hear the vocals due to the crowd acting wild and screaming loudly to the lyrics. Their set overall gives me that nostalgic warped tour vibe from the early 2000s. At some point later in their set during “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” people were crowd surfing back to back and even some were on top of one another. I kind of felt bad for the people at the barricade and the security guards haha! Overall, the vibe was both humorous and unforgettable. I recommend checking out their discography and would definitely pay money to see them perform again.
The Ghost Inside:
To close out on this double headline tour, The Ghost Inside is the closing act of the evening. The Ghost Inside, previously known as A Dying Dream is an American hardcore/metalcore band from Los Angeles, California signed from Epitaph records. Members of this band consist of Jonathan Vigil (vocals), Jim Riley (bassist), Zach Johnson (lead guitar), Chris Davis (rhythm guitar), and lastly Andrew Tkaczyk (drums). This tour was the first full North American tour since their tragic tour bus collision accident that occurred back in November, 2015; leading many injured and Tkaczyk to lose one his legs.
As they stepped on stage, fans were so happy to see them back on tour and playing a whole set for the first time in a while. Fans were able to see Tkaczyk and Davis walking on stage performing the leading introduction riff to the first song of the set titled “Avalanche”. While that song was playing, the whole crowd was screaming the lyrics and to whoever crowd surfed, Vigil kept passing the microphone to fans to scream into the microphone. I have never been to a show where the vocalist would willingly hand people their microphone. Since Vigil passed around the microphone, it led to numerous people wanting to crowd surf to get that one unforgettable moment. As I was making my way towards the balcony, I saw people two-stepping in every single direction in the venue, whether it was the pit or even back by the bars. It was the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert. Definitely reminded me of those hardcore local shows I used to go to. One other thing I would like to make note of was how talented Tkaczyk is playing the drums with one leg. The band overall put on a beautiful performance and even since that accident, that never stopped them from touring and I would definitely want to meet them and see them perform again.
