Concert Review: Fleshwater with Chat Pile and Balmora at The Orpheum, Tampa FL

In a massive year for Fleshwater after releasing their latest album “2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky” and supporting Deftones earlier this year, Freshwater hit the road again on their first U.S. headline tour and on the first of two Florida dates returned to Tampa for the first time in over 3 years bringing along Chat Pile and Balmora.

To older fans of Fleshwater before their rapid growth catering to audiences like Deftones fans, they were known as the side project of hardcore/metalcore band vein.fm with veins members making up Fleshwater with the inclusion of vocalist Mirsy Shirar. So bringing a hardcore band like Balmora on tour with them makes a lot of sense even if the two bands don’t identically connect in sound anymore. For the entirety of the set Balmora brought the energy from the jump and older vein.fm fans made their presence known and made the pit a warzone. Fleshwater guitarist Jon Lhaubouet who also does deep screams in Fleshwater was also guitarist/deep screams in vein and did a guest spot during Balmora’s set which sounded incredible and had the crowd moving even harder. This wasn’t the first time I had seen Balmora live but I can say without a doubt it was the best performance I’ve seen them put on even as the first opener on a bill I thought going into wouldn’t go as hard for them as they actually did.

After Balmora was quite the change in vibe with “sludge metal” act Chat Pile directly supporting Fleshwater. If there was a picture definition next to the word “kooky” I believe it would be this band. Although strange they put on a tight and interesting set that had the crowd in their grasp. Chat Pile had one of the most insane bass tones I’ve heard live and I can’t say I’ve seen stage mannerisms quite like theirs. With that said it’s impossible to doubt that Chat Pile put on a memorable set that I won’t be forgetting soon from their heavy tone to performance that had me interested the entire time they were on the stage. The band members seemed to be playing off each other and having fun, even at one point playing a song someone requested in the parking lot before the show. I’d have to recommend anyone who hasn’t seen Chat Pile live to make it to a performance because it’s something they wouldn’t forget.

Finally, it was time for Fleshwater to take the stage with such an excited energy in the air of the venue I like to say feels like someone's backyard at the Orpheum off of USF’s campus in Tampa FL. Having seen Fleshwater before at Welcome To Rockville in 2024, I’ve held that memory very closely as one of my favorite live performances I’ve ever seen from the energy of not only the band but also the crowd, and just how incredible they sounded live, I was so excited to finally get to shoot Fleshwater especially at a headline show, and that excitement did not disappoint. The entire set felt like what your dad would describe a 90’s shoegaze concert, the crowd was in their hands the entire night singing every word to every song and being one of the most fun crowds/pits I’ve ever been in. Not only did they bring even more energy from the last time I saw them but they sounded even better too. I couldn’t recommend seeing a band live more than Fleshwater and will hold this set as one of the best concert sets I’ve seen not only this year but maybe of all time.