Metalcore fans were in paradise this week when Architects brought their Seeing Red Tour to Marathon Music Works in Nashville.
While She Sleeps set the mood for the night with an energetic and entertaining 40-minute set that was nothing short of exciting. While the instrumentals were solid, it was lead singer Lawrence Taylor who captured the audience’s attention. Early into the set, the lead singer hopped off the stage, racing to the front of the barricade and high-fiving each fan in the front row before joining the rest of the band.
Midway through his set, Taylor once again got up close and personal with fans as he made his way into the crowd. With the help of security and the crowd, Taylor stood on fans’ hands, belted out a song, and high-fived the audience on his way back to the stage. Before the next track, Lawrence asked to bring on crowd surfers, stating, “I want to meet as many as you sexy motherf****ers as I can.” The Nashville crowd obliged as well over 30 crowd surfers – some repeaters – made their way over the barricade.
After laughing about the number of crowdsurfers, Lawrence jokingly asked an audience member to get him a hot dog. To his dismay, the Music City fans obliged, and Lawrence wound up with a hot dog in hand. However, he did not eat the hotdog and ended up punting it back into the crowd, but it was that fun and playfulness that set the tempo for the evening.
Of Mice & Men followed and felt like the veterans on the lineup. After forming in 2009, Of Mice & Men established themselves as prominent in the metalcore scene; thus, when it came time for them to take the stage, some of the audience was ready for their performance. Others in the crowd wondered what type of set they would get. The band underwent a singer change in 2016, as former lead singer Austin Carlile left, setting the way for Aaron Pauley to take over singing duties. Even after eight years, some fans still questioned what they would see.During their 45-minute performance, the group had answers and did a tremendous job mixing the setlist. While they made sure to play some of their newer material, they also concluded the evening with fan favorites. The longtime fans were appreciative, making sure to rock out from the front to the back of the venue, and the band left the crowd ready for the headliner.
Architects wasted little time when they took the stage, immediately performing their single “Seeing Red,” which the tour was named after. That got the fans in a frenzy early as several crowd surfers made their way over the barricade in just the first song. That energy continued throughout the group’s 19-song performance. Architects fed off the audience, including the crowd favorites ranging from the band’s early days to its newer tracks.While the band sounded great, they were also authentic and appreciative, which helped win the fans over even more. On multiple occasions throughout the evening, lead singer Sam Carter addressed the audience and thanked them for coming to the show. Each time he said “thank you,” it was more genuine and made each audience member feel appreciative. “If it weren’t for music, my life would have turned out very different. Today, I just feel very f***ing grateful to be here and to be here on this stage,” Carter said. “I speak for all of us when I say it would be absolutely f****ing meaningless if it weren’t for people like yourselves who support our band, especially by spending your hard-earned money to see our shows. I know how many shows are coming through at the moment and that everything in the world is getting more and more expensive. So the fact that you would spend your hard-earned money to come and see our band means the f***ing world to us, so thank you very much.” The audience said “thank you” right back by their actions.
One of the more moving parts of the evening came during the song “Dead Butterflies.” Before that track, Carter asked the crowd to turn the flashlights on their phones and raise them. It made for a great effect as Marathon Music Works was lit up like a starry night.
That feeling of authenticness even continued toward the end of the band’s performance. Before Architect’s final two songs, Carter addressed the crowd, stating he didn’t want to play the encore game, and the band stayed on stage.
“It wouldn’t feel right walking back there and hiding like we are playing a giant game of hide-and-seek as we wait to see if you want us to play another couple of songs or not,” Carter said. “I’m 35. I don’t want to do that. So all I’m going to do is ask you, ‘Do you want to hear two more songs?’” The crowd answered with a resounding “Yes” as the group performed their final two tracks, leaving the Nashville crowd in high spirits.
Architects has concluded the first leg of their United States tour. The second portion of the tour will get underway in September. All the dates and more information can be found here.
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