On June 8th, 2024- Knocked Loose performed at The Eastern in Atlanta, GA with special guests; Speed, Loathe, and Show Me The Body. If you didn’t come to this show; you missed out on such a wild night. The line literally had hundreds of attendees waiting 2-3 hours before the event even started. The way the venue filled up within 20 minutes of doors opening baffled me because I didn’t at the time understand why this tour was selling out venues left and right. Let me tell you; this night was wild and left me speechless!
Opening the night was; Speed! I’ve never heard of this band before, but before their set I was actually texting one of my friends and they told me they needed their “Speed Hardcore” shirt, so I thought to myself; maybe this band is really good! I had no idea what was going to happen on stage when Speed appeared, but the second their set started; If Speed could be the definition of “explosive”; they would be plastered in the dictionary. The vocalist had such an immense amount of energy that I’ve ever seen on stage. He was literally jumping in the air; throwing his microphone across the stage; two-stepping, and so much more. It was impossible to get good photos of him, but that's a good thing! Because we love to see vocalists and other musicians on stage not being stagnant and basically being themselves. This band is from Australia and the vocalist even stated he never thought he’d be touring the states. He also stated when he performed 7,500 miles away from home at a festival; he actually missed a band's set because so many attendees came up to the band and told them how excited they were for their set! The vocalist; Jem Siow, would tell the attendees that he's excited to see all of them and he's just a “hardcore” kid like everyone else! We love a band that’s humble like Speed because they are just regular individuals who love music and wanted to create something for the scene. Speed is definitely not for the weak and If you want to see a band that has THAT energy; I suggest you come to one of their shows because you will leave that show feeling energized and ready to go!
Next up was; Loathe! I actually saw them last year when they opened up for Chevelle and Three Days Grace in Charlotte, NC! That was the first time listening and seeing Loathe at that one show and they instantly became one of my favorites because the vocalist; Kadeem France has the BEST energy on stage between performing groovy dance moves as well as explosive lows with vocals. The band formed in England consisting of; Kadeem France (Vocals) , Erik Bickerstaffe (Vocals/Guitar) , Sean Radcliffe (Drums) , and Feisal El-Khazragi (Bass) Being able to see them again live on this tour was a blessing because this opportunity for them was insane and out of this world! The band performed songs such as; Gored, Screaming, New Faces In The Dark, and Two-Way Mirror! During their set; they had incense burning and I couldn’t stop coughing while I was in the pit, but at least it masked the smell of attendees not wearing deodorant. Watching their set; I felt hypnotized because the set was that MEMORABLE and I couldn’t take my eyes off anyone on that stage. Everything about their set was extraordinary between the instruments, how interactive everyone was, and just how their sound makes you want to get up and dance! I saw at least 6 people at the barricade mimicking Kadeem’s dance moves and that’s what we love to see at shows!
Show Me The Body was up next and they are from New York; which I am originally from! I was not a fan of their set at first because the first two performances were intense and their set was a little bit calmer. So I had to adjust to the difference pretty quickly. I’ve personally never listened to this band, but a lot of my friends in NY stated they are pretty huge in the area and they do raise a lot of money for charities. Show Me The Body formed in 2009 in New York City consisting of; Julian Pratt (Vocals/Banjo/Programming/Guitar) , Harlan Steed (Bass Guitar/Programing/Baritone Guitar) , and Jack McDermott (Drums) Pratt and Steed became friends in 9th grade due to loving the same music scene and they formed Show Me The Body a year later. Their goal was to engage with the scene as much as possible and become close to fans; they performed shows in alley ways, basements, and other places. The band also creates music basing around; Police Brutality and so much more which most bands tend to stray away from due to avoiding issues with fans. The vocalist during the set did a few jumps in the air and I was standing there wondering how this man got so much air because If I even attempted to do something like that; I would break a hip. During their set; the lights weren’t on the crowd, so I couldn’t really get crowd shots, but the stage was very neutral, which is like a photographer's dream. “Metallic Taste” is the most played song on their spotify with over 13 million plays off the album “Body Water” that was released in 2016!
It was time for Knocked Loose! I knew what was coming because I’ve seen dozens of videos on almost every platform of their set; but I was not prepared to walk out of the venue in love with this band. Seeing them that night was my first time seeing and listening to them live because I couldn’t get into their music on Spotify at all, but their live performance changed my mind drastically. The thing with me is when a band is trending everywhere on social media; I automatically lose interest in that band and refuse to listen to them because the fan base is so toxic at times; but now I fell in love with Knocked Loose and my goal next time is to get inside the pit! Let’s talk about the history of the band first before anything! Knocked Loose formed in 2013 in Oldham County, Kentucky consisting of; Bryan Garris (Vocals) , Issac Hale (Lead Guitar/Vocals) , Kevin Otten (Bass) , Kevin Kaine (Drums) , and Nicko Calderon (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals).
All I can say about their set is; my god. I’ve never seen a mosh-pit so large that it went from one side to the other side and front to back. I was on the second floor at the time and I was baffled to see that these mosh-pits didn’t stop for over an hour. I’ve seen several circle pits and when the wall of death was forming; all you could see was dozens of men doing push ups in the middle of the wall of death and all I could think about is “Are these dudes insane? I’m about to witness several deaths” and within seconds; the wall of death had dozens of people crashing into each other. The band performed songs off their newest album “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To” and the ONLY song I knew off this album because of social media was “Suffocate” ft Poppy. It only knew the beginning of the song and I instantly knew it was Suffocate before he even verbalized any words. The light production during their set was one of the best I’ve seen till this day! And the way they had the whole stage decorated with the cross behind them, trees, and visuals; AMAZING!
If I could’ve gone to several dates on this tour; I would’ve because Knocked Loose has honestly become one of my favorite live bands. The whole line up was worth the 5 hour drive! Was I scared at first? Oh yes, but good thing the venue had two floors! I was able to watch the destruction go down in the mosh-pit several times in the safety of being upstairs! I heard several stories from people from that night with a girl getting her nose ring ripped out, a guy's ear started bleeding because he got kicked in the ear, and someone told me that an attendee actually lost some teeth. If you come out of a Knocked Loose show unharmed, did you REALLY have fun?
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