By: Carissa Aguirre
UK band Bring Me The Horizon made their stop in Houston on Monday, October 3rd at 713 Music Hall. Fans were pouring in right as the doors opened at 5:30PM. There was a line that wrapped around the building all the way to the entrance of The Post. As SiiickBrain played people were still shuffling in, but when Knocked Loose came on, the place was pretty much packed shoulder to shoulder. I will give props to the venue, because they were well prepared for the crowd and the type of music that was being played. One of the security guards even said “I heard things are supposed to start getting weird” referring to Knocked Loose, minutes before they came on.
That security guard was not exaggerating. For Knocked Loose’s entire set, everyone was either headbanging, moshing, or crowd surfing. Lead singer Bryan Garris would practically command it of the crowd saying, “Everyone fucking crowd surf” and “I want everybody to push the person next to you.” The metal core band from Oldham, Kentucky, started off the show with Where Light Divides The Holler off of their most recent EP, a Tear In The Fabric Of Life. Surprisingly, they only played two other songs from it, ending the show with Permanent. However, I think fans were more excited to hear some of the songs off of the band’s first studio album Laugh Tracks and their 2019 album, A Different Shade Of Blue. I find it amazing that fans memorize these lyrics and scream it just like Garris. Every time he heard the crowd sing along, you could see a smile on his face. I was also amazed that Garris was able to keep the same energy for every single song. There was no lack of enthusiasm from any one of the members or fans in attendance. I even asked one of the fans what they thought of the show so far. She told me that she was there for Knocked Loose and their performance was unlike anything she’s ever experienced.
The wait for Bring Me The Horizon felt like forever, but once the lights shut off and the infamous image of the Post Human Live Experience screen came on, fans absolutely lost it. I heard so much about their intro and I’ve even seen videos of it, but nothing compares to seeing it in person and feeling the rumble of the crowd when she announces “Initializing: Can You Feel My Heart.” The show started off with one of their most famous songs and Oli Sykes jumped on stage in a matching black jean outfit with white hearts all over it. The visuals for the entire show were specific to each song as well and even included lyrics on the screen. My favorite visual was during Happy Song. The entire stage was covered in tye dye and colored lights and a happy face that pulsated in the background. When I say you had to be there, you just had to.
Everything went completely dark after Happy Song and the band walked off stage for a bit. Everyone was a bit confused as they continued to chant the lyrics “S-P-I-R-I-T spirit, let’s hear it.” It seemed like part of the show until they came back out and Sykes apologized saying there were some technical difficulties. This actually happened again, but the second time was on purpose and the visuals from the beginning of the show came on screen telling everyone to open up mosh pits for Parasite Eve.
The rest of the show was such a good combination of their music. They played new releases like Strangers and some older songs like Shadow Moses and Sleepwalking off of their 2013 Sempiternal album while the legendary flower of life symbol glowed red in the background. Hearing the songs from the Post Human album felt a little bit more special though, considering that it was made during covid and hadn’t been performed in the U.S. yet until this tour. During that time, the band had gained many more fans and the crowds have gotten much larger since I saw them back in 2014. It was insane to see how many hands went up when asked whose first time it was seeing them.
Bring Me The Horizon was the first concert I went to without my parents back in 2014. I moshed, crowd surfed and got that crazy feeling of euphoria for the first time. To be back that night, doing it all over again and being able to photograph them, was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. If you have a chance to see them on this tour, I would highly recommend it. Especially with the supporting acts they have like Knocked Loose who definitely brought the right energy we needed for this tour.
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