The IRE tour stopped in at Union Hall on Thursday night to throw down and kick you in the feelings. You know... I've been to my fair share of concerts, and each one is relatively the same in most ways; Awesome crowd, rippin' band, the whole works. But last night's show was a whole new ball game. Not really knowing what to expect, I went into this one blind, and my goodness, my eyes have been opened to the awesomeness of Parkway Drive, and how passionate their fans are.
It always warms my heart to see a bands audience get so into the music, which seemed to maintain a steady pace throughout the night. With hardcore openers In Hearts Wake warming up the crowd, Thy Art Is Murder's pleasantly devilish death metal, and Miss May I's menacing metalcore goodness, setting the mood while assisting in the warming up of headbanging necks, and preparing concert-goers minds for what was in store.
As soon as Parkway Drive hit the hazy, and dimly lit stage, Union Hall erupted into a frenzy of worm-rolling crowd surfers, and aggressive moshing that seemed to have the whole room spinning in a whirlwind-kamikaze of bodies and hair. Strobe lights would fire, CO2 cannons would blast into the air, the audience would roar and the whole room would be adrenalized by the very essence of Parkway's performance, as they inebriated their audience with the power of music. People could be seen headbanging, jumping, pumping fists and singing their hearts out all around both levels of the building, which really made me one happy gal.
Despite having trouble to find words to further describe last night's chaos, I cannot help but feel inspired by the uplifting atmosphere that I was involved in, just by simply being in the room. This really was one of my most favorite shows that I have ever had the opportunity to photograph, and I know for a fact, that I myself, won't be forgetting this epic experience any time soon, and I'm willing to bet that there are other people out there who have experienced performances such as this, that feel the exact same way. Huzzah to the passion and power of music and how it brings people together. It's gigs like this that truly makes me love what I do.
