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| Beartooth @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
By the time Summer of Loud Festival headliner Beartooth took the stage at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord, as the eighth and final band of Sunday, you could have forgiven a sun-soaked and pyro-dazzled crowd if they lacked enthusiasm. But Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo and his bandmates were having none of that as they delivered an energetic performance and the singer more than once heralded the audience as the best of the tour so far. “This is far and away my favorite show of the tour,” Shomo announced before “Riptide” near the end of their set.
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| Beartooth @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Shomo - who has been very up front about his struggles with mental health - was filled with smiles and his positive energy had more of a pop vibe than “metalcore” while his band laid down a thick layer of hard rock underneath him. Underneath a giant snake that enveloped the stage, Shomo was in constant motion crisscrossing the elevated walk at the front of the stage and frequently leaping out onto the subwoofers on the pit floor to get close to the crowd. Shomo was clad in a t-shirt of his fellow tour mates Devil Wears Prada that appeared a few sizes small on the tall lead singer as he slithered about the stage and out to the audience. “This entire show is dedicated to the Devil Wears Prada!”
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| Beartooth @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Shomo’s lyrics and performance put Beartooth on a different level as the band displayed their commitment to mental health and support with the energetic initial song “The Lines.”
We are the sons
We are the daughters
The generation of Disorder
What is the poison inside of me
The sickness in my head?
“Sunshine” and “Might Love Myself” – songs that could have come from AJR just as likely as Beartooth - showed their poppier side and continued the theme of mental health. They ended their set with a call and repeat intro to “In Between” before unleashing a furious version of the song and then going back into a fun interactive singing moment with Shomo and the still ready to sing crowd to end of the night.
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| I Prevail @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Prior to Beartooth, Michigan’s I Prevail – a more traditional metalcore / nu metal band unleashed an apocalyptical amount of pyro amid the growling vocals of lead singer Eric Vanlerberghe. “Bow Down” served as their first song of the 40-minute set and was delivered with blinding white backlights so that each of the band member was silhouetted. Rhythm guitarist Dylan Bowman stepped up with clean singer Brian Burkheiser out with a medical issue (here’s to his July-predicted return). Bowman not only provided some of the clean vocals but had frontman level energy throughout the performance.
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| I Prevail @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
As they performed in front of a set adorned with metal and barbed wire between giant roman columns, the band leaned heavily into the pyro with fire balls in the back and columns of flame erupting from the front throughout. “Body Bag” saw the band kick their intensity level up to 11 with machine gun drumming and rapid-fire flames.
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| I Prevail @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“If you don’t know the devil, then you don’t know me!” Vanlerberghe continually chanted ominously under deep red lighting as the band continued to turn the dial higher with 2022’s “Self-Destruction”. The intro – along with the chorus – brought the crowd to the night’s emotional peak.
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| I Prevail @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Oh…. you like the heavy s@#t…?” Vanlerberghe asked the crowd a few songs later after they had played “Violent Nature.” “OK…here’s some heavy shit,” he told them before the band launched into their pounding cover of Taylor Swifts “Blank Space” (which worked incredibly well in this genre).
Later, Vanlerberghe paid tribute to Dave Shapiro, the music executive from Sound Talent Group who represented the bands on the bill and tragically died on May 22 in a plane crash. “This next song is one of my favorites and means the world to me and the band. We were going through a lot of stuff as a band this song meant the world to us. The ONLY reason this whole Summer of Loud is happening is because of a man named Dave Shapiro who was taken away from us way too soon. This is song is ‘Hurricane.’”
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| I Prevail @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
After the band had paid tribute to Shapiro, they wrapped up their set with “Gasoline” as Vanlerberghe called for all the propane tanks to be emptied for pyro. interesting note: Most of the gigantic pyro in the front of the stage was fueled from standard propane tanks that you would use with a gas grill (albeit with a thicker hose).
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| Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Killswitch Engage showed why they’ve been nominated for multiple Grammys over their 25-years with a performance that saw vocalist Jesse Leach not only moving continually on stage, but also throughout the pit of the Toyota Pavilion. Multiple times during the set, Leach hopped off and either climbed over or pushed aside a metal barricade to get among the people.
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| Killswitch Engage @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Co-founder and bassist Mike D’Antonio was all smiles and poses throughout the set as he crossed back and forth as the Massachusetts band showed their more melodic approach to metal. As a longtime fan of heavy metal, Killswitch’s sound served as a nice blending of traditional metal with the more modern sound. Their version of metalcore combined some of the sreamier moments of metal with beautiful harmonies – filled in by guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.
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| Killswitch Engage @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Dutkiewicz was fun and engaging throughout the set – think Will Farrell combined with Scorpions’ Rudy Schenker – as he provided terrific guitar and vocals while clad in a “Beer” headband and. “Yes. we look stupid and we are truly nothing without you guys,” Dutkiewicz told the crowd at one point. In tribute to their influences, Killswitch ended their set with a driving cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver” that had the entire crowd on its feet.
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| Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A headline-worthy band placed in a late afternoon slot, Parkway Drive put on a set that rivalled any of the three that followed them and seemed intent to steal the show. ‘Their set was fire” can’t begin to describe the end of their 50 minutes that saw the entire stage surrounded by flames, as well as fire surrounding the drum kit of Ben Gordon as he played upside down on a kit that had rotated a full 180 degrees. The Australian band – now in their third decade – showed why that have topped the chats with their metal sound (evolved from an earlier deathcore tone to more traditional). Vocalist Winston McCall and guitarist Jeff Ling looked out into the audience to see fans on the rail holding up handheld signs with their faces on them.
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| Parkway Drive @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Ling has a likeability and look up front that reminds of later Eddie Van Halen days. McCall in his cut off shirt had the audience on their feet, arms up with an active mosh pit throughout the performance. Songs like the powerful “Vice Grip” and “Carrion” saw McCall deliver his mostly growl-style lyrics while Gordon thundered away on drums. The finale of “Crushed” reminded a bit of Linkin Park as McCall alternated between clean and growl singing and the previously mentioned flames engulfed nearly the entire stage.
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| Parkway Drive @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The Devil Wears Prada seemed to have the most energetic fan base on the day – despite their fourth band of the day status. Like many of the others, the Ohio metalcore band measures their longevity in decades – not years – forming in 2005. Lead singers Mike Hranica and Jeremy DePoyster were entertaining throughout. Their initial arrival on stage was interrupted when DePoyster found he was not turned on properly.
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| The Devil Wears Prada @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Did I ever tell you about the concert in Concord, California where I s@#t the bed at the very start of the show,” DePoyster asked his bandmates while the fix was underway. It set the tone for a fun and tongue-in-cheek set that clearly demonstrated TDWP as a band to never be missed. Though on schedule and delivered according to plan (after the initial snafu), the band had a making it up as they go mentality that fun to watch and multiple times could be caught watching the crowd that was watching them with mosh pits and walls of death being frequently present.
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| The Amity Affliction @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
No band on the bill has a longer list of former members than The Amity Affliction. Following the departure of founding lead vocalist Ahren Stringer in February, the Australian is now without any of its founding members. Ironically, screaming singer Joel Birch – who, in fairness, has been with the band since year two – broke his foot a few days before and was forced to come on stage with crutches and a leg cast. Showing his tough Australian grit, he performed most of the set leaning up while performing – despite the lure of a tall stool next to him and at the ready if he needed it. Kudos to the clean vocals and bass work of the impressive Jonathan Reeves who performed double duty on the day by also serving as bassist and clean vocalist for Sacramento-band Kingdom of Giants – who opened the show. On a day that was filled with growls, Reeves clean vocals stood out and Birch pointed out how thankful the band was to have him doing such heavy lifting with two groups on a hot day.
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| Kingdom of Giants @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Opening bands Kingdom of Giants and Alpha Wolf both did admirable jobs performing before most of the crowd had arrived or was hidden in the shade to avoid the heat. Australian Alpha Wolf sported San Deigo Padres gear that they had been gifted during the tour’s stop earlier in the week.
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| Alpha Wolf @ the Toyota Pavilion at Concord (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The Summer of Loud was a great display of the variety of the metalcore generation and that despite the growling the genre is paying attention to emotional and mental health and delivering aggressive music in a highly positive manner. Though the show logged in at nearly eight hours, it was compelling, entertaining and fiery throughout.
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