Hard Feelings Tour
By: Jennifer Pinckney
September 11, 2018 | The Masquerade | Atlanta, GA
I had been looking forward to this night for so long! I first learned of this tour a few months ago, and I immediately marked it on all of my calendars! oes anyone else do this? Such an incredible line-up full of new and old metal/rock bands who weren’t afraid to get sweaty on stage.
It’s a Tuesday night in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and we are at The Masquerade in the room they call “Hell.” Pretty fitting. Doors were at 6pm and first band up was at 6:30pm, a band called A War Within.
I briefly met the guys before their set. They blew me away with their performance. The lead singer (Spencer) had an incredible voice and he was all over the stage and even made his way to be right next to the crowd for a bit to warm them up. About half way through the set, the singer and the guitarist switched positions. The guitarist (Nikhil) was also the screamer, so that was cool to see. The setting and environment for this venue was just perfect as well, I was able to capture some pretty cool pictures.
Next up was one of my favorite bands, a band from San Diego, called Thousand Below. I could listen to their music over and over and never get sick of it! Photographing and seeing them live was an incredible moment. I noticed other people in the crowd singing along with their songs, too. They played all my favorites, “Sinking Me,” “Tradition,” and “No Place Like You.” The singer, James Deburg, has perfected his screaming mixed with his singing. Very talented band!
Ded needed no introduction, everyone knew them even though most of the audience hadn’t seen them before. They creeped out a few people with their “white” eyes, but once the music was going, everyone was head-banging and moshing along! They even played one of their new songs that hasn’t even been released yet! I can’t wait to get a copy of that! Tons of rockers began moshing and crowd-surfing, enjoying this crazy Tuesday Night.
The Masquerade was even more packed now for a band we all know and love, The Word Alive! Singer Telle Smith was so in tune with the audience. He kept moving to the barricade, where he could shake hands and sing to his fans. Their entire set was flawless and ended all too soon.
But… we still had one more band to see for the night! The headliners of this tour.. Bless the Fall! It’s no question why so many people love them! Vocalist Beau Bokan so kindly watered down the audience all night long… that was fun to capture. They were so lively and playful, especially with the audience! Beau also made his way to the barricade quite a few times to shake hands, or high five his fans. Tons of people crowd-surfed their way to the stage just so they could shake Beau’s hand. I love seeing bands appreciate their fans and show so much love and fun while they are up there. We need more bands like these to just get up there and cut loose!!
