Nothing More blows fans away with a high-energy headline show at The Machine Shop, with support from Kingdom Collapse and Never the Crash.
Local band Never the Crash gets the opportunity of a lifetime to open tonight’s show. They have a sound that is a mix of rock and alternative metal. They open their set with “Abysmal.” Their set also includes “Pop Jesus” and “Ash” from their Lessons in Grace and Violence EP, as well as “World Premiere,” and “When Darkness Falls.” The latter has a cool guitar opening.
The band is comprised of Bryan Kelly on vocals and guitar, guitarist Donald Dobos, bassist Christian Poehner, and Billy Davidson on drums. Donald is highly active, headbanging while tearing it up on the guitar. They get a great round of applause from the early arriving fans after every song. You can also catch them back at The Machine Shop doing Deftones covers as the tribute band Koi No Yokan. A highlight of their set tonight was an awesome version of the Deftones hit “Be Quiet and Drive.”
Texas band Kingdom Collapse is up next and gets the crowd amped up with a hard-rocking set. They open with the title track from their current EP ELEVATE. Their stage presence is great with lead singer Jonathan Norris engaging the fans. Bassist Aaron Smith is highly active, while guitarist David Work lays down the catchy but crunchy riffs. Drummer Gaston Flores pounds the skins, sending his hair flying. Their set has several older songs from an earlier EP including “Bring Me Down,” “Payback,” “Uprise,” and “Suffer.” They also play some other songs like “Last One Standing,” “NEVER BE LIKE YOU,” and “Break Free.” Their songs are catchy but still hit hard. A cool cover of Natasha Bedingfield’s hit “Unwritten” gets many fans singing along and waving their arms. They close out their set with big hit “Unbreakable.” Before playing it, Jonathan mentions that it spent 12 weeks on the Top 15 on SiriusXM as an unsigned band. The fans love it as they put up their horns, wave, and sing along. They have certainly warmed up the fans. The anticipation builds for the headliner Nothing More to hit the stage. They are currently on tour opening for Disturbed and playing to large arena crowds. During the tour, they are tossing in a few headline shows on off nights. Nothing More is no stranger to The Machine Shop, having played here at least six times since 2015. Since that time, they have put out several more albums and built up their fanbase to where they are regulars at festivals and headline shows at venues that hold thousands. Tonight’s show is a rare treat and could very well be the last time they grace the stage of this smaller, but world-famous, venue.When the lights dim and they take the stage, the sold-out crowd erupts in deafening cheers. They waste no time cranking it up with their hit song “HOUSE ON SAND,” which has been on high rotation on the likes of SiriusXM Octane. They follow that up with “ANGEL SONG” and “IF IT DOESN’T HURT” from their latest album CARNAL, with both having hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. They have a knack for putting out songs that fans can relate to, and their live shows are second to none as far as energy. Lead singer Jonny Hawkins is front and center, and never standing still but for a few seconds. The small stage restrains him a bit tonight, but he still manages to jump, spin, and make as much use of it as he can. Bassist Daniel Oliver has an old-fashioned smoking pipe in his mouth while he delivers the solid low-end and joins guitarist Mark Vollelunga on the left side of the stage to rock out. The smiles on their faces say it all; they are having a great time tonight. The fans love it and respond with cheers often and sing along to pretty much every song.
Their set pulls songs from several of their albums including many hits like the pulsing “Don’t Stop” driven by the powerful drumming of Ben Anderson, as well as “Let ‘em Burn,” “Go to War,” and “TIRED OF WINNING.” Dan leads the crowds in pumping their fists in the air at the beginning of “Let ‘em Burn.” Quite a bit of their set are songs from their 2024 release CARNAL. One of those is “FREEFALL” which seems to really connect with fans and has them singing along and waving their arms in the air. They also play one of the band’s favorite tracks “DOWN THE RIVER,” as well as “STUCK” and “EXISTENTIAL DREAD.” Ben pummels the drums during a solo during “SHIPS IN THE NIGHT” before Jonny joins in on a smaller set of drums.
They start winding down their set. First is a fan favorite, “Jenny,” which Jonny wrote about his sister and her struggle with bipolar disorder. The fans sing along while Jonny belts it out with conviction. Following “SPIRITS” is the emotional “Fade In/Fade Out” that Mark wrote about the bond between a son and an aging father. “Jenny” and “Fade In / Fade Out” always pull at the heartstrings. They wrap it up with “This Is the Time (Ballast),” which is the song that really put them on the radar back in 2014. Jonny’s vocals are soaring on this song, including the screams, and Ben and Dan have the house shaking with the thunderous low end. At one point, Mark and Dan are beating drums held by stagehands on either side of the stage, while Jonny wildly beats some drums held by fans up front. Before leaving, Jonny exclaims “Machine Shop we love you.”
It is once again an incredible performance by one of the best rock bands out there today. They are on a trajectory to be headlining arenas in the future, but hopefully, it won’t be the last time their presence graces the stage at The Machine Shop. Be sure to catch them on a headline show, at a festival, or while out on the road opening for Disturbed.
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