Images: Hollywood Undead, Crown the Empire, I Prevail September 12, 2015 at the House of Blues

The night began with I Prevail taking the stage to an HOB room that still had concert goers filling in. The young band went to work quickly to try and win over the crowd,  and before the first song had even ended, vocalists Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vandlerberghe called for a “wall-of-death.” Surprisingly, the crowd followed direction and parted down the middle, and then proceeded to clash as the song came back in on the breakdown.

The highlight of the set was the band’s cover of good ol’ TSwift’s “Blank Space” which went viral over this last winter and has now reached over 11 million views online.

The second band of the night was Crown The Empire, and youngins in the crowd could be seen trying to push their way up to the front of the barricade to get as close as possible. CTE fans noticed right away the missing presence of lead guitarist Benn Suede and oddly, his reason for absence was never brought up by the band during the performance. Despite the missing body, the group powered through the 8 song set as a 5-piece and still sounded solid.

They opened with “Phoenix Reborn” and “Initiation” to warm the crowd up, which worked, because it wasn’t long before the crowd was moshing their way around the floor. Highlights of the set was the group performing two brand new songs “Prisoners of War” and never-before-heard “Cross Our Bones.” Both songs were received well by the fans and will be on the upcoming deluxe re-issue of Crown The Empire’s 2014 release The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways.

As the stage crew began to tear down and set up for the headliners, the underage crowd could be seen trickling out and off the floor as the mid-20s crowd grabbed their drinks from the bar and moved down to replace them.

Hollywood Undead were met by loud cheers and ear-piercing whistles. The group opened with “Usual Suspects” and then into “Undead” and “Tendencies.” By the time the third song was over, the masks that the group wear had come off and the 18 song set showcasing material spanning nearly 7 years and 4 full length albums continued on.

It was interesting to watch the group rotate on instruments from song to song and seamlessly share vocal duties amongst all members. Mid set saw a display of the bands ability to jump across different genres of music. We saw the band go from their typical rap rock style in “Comin’ in Hot” then followed that up with a short Johnny Cash cover that bled right into their softer, upbeat song “Bullet.” I’m sure their fans loved the diversity of the set.

I never was a follower of the band but after watching the guys put on an entertaining show like this, it’s easy to see why they’ve got a loyal fan base and have sold over 3 million records worldwide. I’d definitely catch them again when they come back through town.

-Tylor Thuirer | https://www.flickr.com/photos/thuirermedia/