Underoath at The Triple Rock (Review)

Why do I suffer being shoulder to shoulder with people who have let the scent of their body odor ferment on their skin over a week? Why do I keep returning to the pit just to have elbows thrown at my face and to bang knees with other concert goers? Why do I allow myself to have stage divers torpedo at my cranium? To answer those questions simply, it’s for the love of music. It’s so I can submerge myself into the art and the atmosphere of live music.

I have been an Underoath fan for many years now, so I was not going to this show hoping to be exposed to new music and to be converted. I went to enjoy myself and to support a very talented band. I knew of the supporting acts, but have not spent much time listening to them. By the time I arrived at The Triple Rock in Minneapolis, This Is Hell was already mid-song. Pretty good opening act, but I was unfamiliar with their music and they didn’t do much to draw me to their music. The band I was least familiar with was The Chariot. Looking back, I fully wish I had known their songs because they put on an incredibly energetic show and their fans were as rowdy as ever. I learned later while chatting with Chris from Underoath that The Chariot barely made it to the venue on time. When This Is Hell finished and was loading their trailer, The Chariot pulled in and began to unload. Comeback Kid was the main support to Underoath. They are long time veterans of the scene and they haven’t lost a step. For a band with such a large catalogue of songs, it must be difficult to cater to their new and old fans simultaneously.

That brings us the headliner. Grammy nominated Underoath released their newest album, Disambiguation, on November 9th, 2010. Disambiguation is Underoath’s first album without founding member Aaron Gillespie, and this was my first time seeing them without Gillespie. I was very interested to see how they would perform their old songs and how Spencer Chamberlain would handle full time vocal duties. The set did not have the production value that Underoath shows in the past have had, but my assumption is the lower level production was mostly due to the economy and because The Triple Rock best serves for an intimate setting. With that in mind, Underoath’s performance was still as good as ever. Like Comeback Kid, Underoath has an extensive back catalogue of songs to choose from. They did a great job creating a set list that covered all their albums (or at least the albums since Spencer Chamberlain joined) and did a good job sneaking in slower songs in between the brutal ones. However, the set list in my opinion was not perfect. I very much dislike when fans at shows want bands to play only their older material. This show was no exception as many fans called for songs off of They’re Only Chasing Safety, the album that launched them into a larger fan base. However, I was hoping for more songs off of Define The Great Line which is arguably Underoath’s masterpiece. It had not occurred to me how many “slow” songs were on Disambiguation until I went to the show.

Regardless, Underoath still put on an amazing show and I had a great time. The concert reminded me of my youth but it also reminded me why I have been a fan of music and of the scene for many, many years. If you’re a fan of the hardcore, screamo, metal scene and have not seen Underoath yet, add it to the bucket list. You can thank me later.