Thanksgiving weekend is all about family and togetherness and that’s exactly what was up at Deep Elm in Dallas.
Protest The Hero performed in support of their latest record ‘Volition’ out now. If you have not read the review yet , please read it here. It was from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m at The Door , Dallas on November 29. They were supported by fellow Canadian act ‘The Kindred‘ and Ohio locals ‘Affiance‘. ‘The Architects‘ were supposed to show up but could not due to touring exhaustion.
Set 1 : The Kindred
The Kindred is a peoples band. The set was full of emotion , progressive elements and enough crowd participation to make even the dullest kid in the crowd go crazy. The songs were solid , melodic and intelligent. The highlight of the set was when the vocalist brought out a floor tom into the crowd , right in between the crowd and played an African music inspired tribal beat , getting everyone pumped and raising their fists in the air. The singing was as harmonious as it was monstrous while the most performance and energy was shown by the bass player. It was quite evident how much effort they put into their set. They surely made a big impression on the fans in the DFW metroplex.
Set 2 : Affiance
Ohio lads Affiance wasted no time setting up their gear and then the metal-onslaught began. They were quite goofy on stage , especially the drummer . He had a very small kit with just a single crash-ride cymbal and a high-hat to compliment a tom and snare. But that did not stop him from delivering a bone-crunching performance , occasionally even hitting a crash that was on the kit for Protest the Hero to play on , placed behind him . Both the guitar players were synchronized and those high pitched screams by the vocalist reminded me of the new wave of British Heavy metal , a genre that marked the resurgence of heavy metal in England in the late 70s. They warmed the crowds perfectly for Protest The Hero.
Set 3 : Protest The Hero
That’s the song they opened their set with. The rest was sheer craziness. People flying everywhere , fists up in the air and it was just the beginning. It was as if the place was alive and in celebration of everything that metal really stood for – brotherhood , music , a sense of belonging , power , controlled positive aggression , skill , technicality and enjoying the moment as if it were your last.
They played hits such as ‘Clarity’ , ‘Hair-Trigger’ , ‘C’est La Vie’ and the crowd grew more wilder and happier. Kids were stage-diving left and right , crowd-surfing to their glory, while others sang their hearts and lungs out. The orange-haired quirky and brutally funny frontman , Rody Walker pleased the crowd with his eccentric and brilliant sense of humor , showcasing the ‘Rody Walker Stand-up Routine’ in between the songs , taking pot-shots at Star Wars and strange fans who get up on stage to ‘snap chat’ with the performers.
Even with a new drummer and a fill in bass player , Protest the Hero is as tenacious as ever. Special shout out to the sound engineers as ‘The Door’ for making the show as best as shows can sound.
‘Bloodmeat’ was by far the most stand out song performed for me as I found myself getting up on the stage , staying silent for a second till they hit the breakdown and then jumping on a small puddle of people , who graciously let me float on their hands for nearly 40 seconds before carefully putting me down. If you have not experienced something like this before , it is a felling unparalleled. Protest The Hero is a fun band , encouraging unrestrained self-expression on stage , goofy antics and advocates of the philosophy ‘Just let go!’ of all your inhibitions , your ego and prejudice.
The highlight of the night was when a small , 5 year old kit rocked out to Protest The Hero on stage , cementing that when it comes to live performances they put on a show for all age groups. You know you can’t go wrong when you have little kids rockin’ out on your show.
Here’s my playlist for the night :
Here’s the new Protest The Hero album :
Here’s their newest video :
Aftermath ::
“It was one of the best concerts of my life!” Andy Mandelbaum.
“I think I have a black eye , the pits were brutal , but it was all METAL!” – Joey ‘Byborth’ Byboth
@shreyas_gune
shreyas.gune@mavs.uta.edu
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Shreyas is an a Graduate student at University of Texas , works as a writer for The Shorthorn | Student Publications , plays drums for Eximius Dominus , The Shrubs | percussion for JoFace | Composer/singer for The Starscream Chronicles and they say he cooks rather well !
The Quasar Syncopation 