KNAC.COM - Reviews - THE AMITY AFFLICTION In Boston, MA With Photos!

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THE AMITY AFFLICTION, CURRENTS, DYING WISH, MUGSHOT In Boston, MA With Photos!

By Leah Feder, Beantown Reporter
Sunday, May 26, 2024 @ 2:01 PM

The 'Let The Ocean Take Me' Anniversary Tour Lands At The House Of Blues May 24th

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All Photos By Leah Feder

Friday night, Australian metalcore band THE AMITY AFFLICTION rocked through Boston's Citizen's House of Blues. This gorgeous venue is located on Lansdowne St, directly across from MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Easy transport, including the commuter rail and the green-line makes this venue a dream. The ambiance of the House of Blues is unmatchable. Detailed artwork lines the walls and stage, even featuring a disco ball above the pit! This was only my second time at the venue, but it has quickly become a favorite. The tour celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the album Let The Ocean Take Me. Openers included CURRENTS, DYING WISH, and MUGSHOT.

Opening up the night we have MUGSHOT, a metal band with inspiration from hardcore music. The band from San Jose, California, came into the metal scene back in 2016. The current lineup of the band showcases vocals from Ringo Waterman, Connor Haines on drums, with Michael Demko on guitar and Zero Ciro on bass. Their newest single came out at the beginning of March. The track, titled "24 Thorns", received tons of love and support. Fans online even say, "MUGSHOT [is] turning into one of my most reliable bands," and "MUGSHOT just doesn't release bad music."

The time is 6:20pm when the overhead lights fully dimmed and were replaced with bright neon stage lights. Everybody's hands went up as MUGSHOT opened the night with a ton of energy. The band played fan-favorites, including "Egodystonic", "Death Has a Shadow" and "Hate Speech".

Setlist:

"Hate Speech"

"Death Has A Shadow"

"24 Thorns"

"Life's Debt"

"Cold Will"

"Blush Covered Bruise"

"Left In The Wake"

"Egodystonic"

"Violent Ends"

For updates on MUGSHOT, keep your eyes on their Instagram (@mugshotca) or their website!

https://www.purenoise.net/artists/mugshot/
https://www.facebook.com/Mugshotca/

DYING WISH was a band that I was excited for. I had heard positive things about them, but even then my expectations were blown away. From 7:10pm to 7:40pm, DYING WISH owned the stage. Vocalist Emma Boster is extremely talented. Their stage presence was known as Emma bounced around the stage, showing off her gorgeous pink and sparkly cowboy boots. The rest of the band is made up by Pedro Carrilo, Sam Reynolds, Jeff Yambra, and Jonathan Mackey.

I had high hopes for this band, and my expectations were exceeded. Emma Boster had similar things to say about us: "This is one of the greatest tours we've ever done, and this may be one of the best shows on it." DYING WISH played a loaded set including a song off their new EP which dropped earlier this month. The song, titled "Watch My Promise Die", sounded heavy live, and the vocals sounded superb. In the middle of the set we were hit with their most popular song, "Cowards Feed, Cowards Bleed" which has over three-million listens on Spotify.

Setlist:

"Symptoms Of Survival"
"Watch My Promise Die"
"Starved"
"Enemies In Red"
"Prey For Me"
"Cowards Feed, Cowards Bleed"
"Torn From Your Silhouette"
"Lost In The Fall"
"Innate Thirst"

DYING WISH will be making their way across Europe in the months of June and July, playing festivals and shows in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and the UK. Grab tickets, or check out more dates you can catch DYING WISH on their website, https://dyingwishhc.com/.

Growing American metalcore band CURRENTS was next to take the stage, another band that I've heard tons about but never seen live. The music was felt in my chest, which reminded me how much I love shows. CURRENTS is made up of Brian Wille, the vocalist, Chris Wiseman, Ryan Castaldi, Matt Young and Christian Pulgarin.

Their 45 minute set was interrupted by a medical emergency. The lights came on and CURRENTS left the stage. It took a few minutes of security in and out of the pit to get the show back on track. Despite this, CURRENTS still played an amazing set. They played songs mostly off of the album The Death We Seek and The Way It Ends.

Setlist:

"Never There"
"Monsters"
"Kill The Ache"
"Better Days"
"The Death We Seek"
"So Alone"
"Unfamiliar"
"Living In Tragedy"
"Over and Over"
"Remember Me"

Following the completion of the "Let The Ocean Take Me" tour, CURRENTS will be joining BEARTOOTH for a North American tour. Dates range from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. A few cities on that tour include Las Vegas, Nevada, Buffalo, NY, Worcester, MA, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Want to look at more dates and cities to see CURRENTS? Check out their website for more information, https://currentsofficial.com/.

THE AMITY AFFLICTION consists of vocalist Joel Birch, with Ahren Stringer, Dan Brown, Joe Longobardi on bass, guitar and drums, respectively. The morning of the Boston show, THE AMITY AFFLICTION posted an update to their Instagram. Due to personal reasons, Ahren Stringer will not be joining the band for the remainder of the tour. Tonight, and for the rest of the tour, Tim Beken of TRUE NORTH will be standing in for upcoming shows.

The barricade was lined with THE AMITY AFFLICTION VIP. I was lucky enough to be allowed into the venue during the session. I watched as fans got to talk to the band and take a photos, even seeing the band draw out a tattoo for a fan. Their setlist comprised all ten tracks off of Let The Ocean Take Me, including their most popular song, "Pittsburgh", and other hits such as "Don't Lean On Me" and "F.M.L.". Additional songs played, not off the album were "All My Friends Are Dead" and "Like Love". Their set time ran from 9:15pm until 10:30pm.

Setlist:
Set One

"Pittsburgh"
"Lost & Fading"
"Don't Lean On Me"
"The Weigh Down"
"Never Alone"
"Death's Hand"
"F.M.L"
"My Fathers Son"
"Forest Fire"
"Give It All"

Set Two

"I See Dead People"
"Drag The Lake"
"All My Friends Are Dead"
"Like Love"
"Open Letter"

Encore

"It's Hell Down Here"
"Soak Me In Bleach"

THE AMITY AFFLICTION will be letting the ocean take them (see what I did there?) to Australia, where they'll continue the tour. These Fall shows have dates in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. Supporting acts for this leg include big names in the scene, specifically ICE NINE KILLS and WE CAME AS ROMANS. To stay on top of new music and dates, or to grab tickets for this tour, allow me to redirect you to THE AMITY AFFLICTIONhttps://theamityaffliction.net/.

During and after the show I was able to connect with fellow music lover, Taylor. When asked for her thoughts, this is what she had to say. "Each of the band's sets were phenomenal! MUGSHOT, DYING WISH, and CURRENTS brought some amazing energy to the stage. With Ahren out, you could really feel Joel's and the rest of THE AMITY AFFLICTION's emotion in every lyric of every song. Shout out to Tim Beken who did a wonderful job filling in for Ahren. Your fans are rooting for you Ahren, we love you! #NeverAlone"

Missed this show but want to check out the tour? Remaining dates are: