Stick to Your Guns played a packed show at The Palladium Upstairs in Worcester, MA with opening support from Foreign Hands, Belmont, and Kublai Khan TX.
Foreign Hands started off the night and the crowd was already rowdy at the start of their performance. It was clear the crowd was happy about the opener and ready to go. It was a small venue that was already packed full when the music started. The crowd didn’t let the small space of this smaller upstairs room at the venue stop them at all, it was probably the rowdiest mosh-pit that room had seen since the pandemic. The band’s live sound was heavy and in line with their recorded tracks such as “Hesitation Marks” and “Separation Souvenir.” The crowd was clearly fans of their performance and they did a wonderful job of starting the show.
Belmont was next up. It was a hard act to follow after such a strong start with Foreign Hands but Belmont did their best and held their own. Belmont was the lightest sound of the night, their live sound did not give the same heavy impact as the other bands that night. The crowd was definitely more subdued with the second band. Belmont did manage to get the crowd moving and even jumping on and off the stage with them in the small room. It was clear that there were people there who were already fans of the band as they sang along and cheered to songs such as “Pushing Daises.” The band gained new fans by playing some newer unreleased music.
The second to last band was Kublai Khan TX. They were the heaviest band of the night and the crowd was very responsive. Kublai Khan TX has a reputation for their heavy and southern sound. The crowd hit their rowdiest peak with this band as the mosh pit overtook the crowd and countless people jumped on and off the stage during their set. Their live sound was spot on from their recorded tracks such as hit song “Antpile.” The band’s vocalist kept the band’s southern roots strong in their branding by talking about southern metal and how they do things in the south. It is clear that Massachusetts was happy to see the southern band up in the north.
Finally, the headliner most of the fans came to see, Stick to Your Guns hit the stage. The band’s iconic sound back from the Warped Tour and earlier days was just as good now as back then. The fans were not quite as rowdy as they were with Kublai Khan TX but that did not mean much considering how crazy the room was. It was still quite the active and excited crowd. The band started with their song “The Bond,” and the fans’ screams and cheers were a clear answer that they were happy with the performance and thrilled to see the headliner. The ending act was accompanied by more crowd surfers, mosh pits, and dancing as the band played their older hits such as “Amber” and “Against Them All.” There is no doubt that the packed and sold-out crowd would say this was a success.
Amy is a Rhode Island based photographer who shoots a variety of things including but not limited to - concerts, creative portraits, and weddings. Concert photography is what made her first pick up a camera and sparked her interest in photography. Concert photography now combines her love for music and photography and she is looking forward to capturing more shows in the future.
