A Tuesday night at the Rialto Theater usually means that a much anticipated act will perform. However, at times the headliner does not deliver the entertainment expected and, in turn, is outshined by the opening bands. This is what happened to Atreyu on October 13 in Tucson, Az.

Too enthused to wait until the 7:30pm show time, Endless Hallway began their set a few minutes early. They came on stage and delivered a consistently high energy set from the first to the last song. The drum beatings, guitar rhythms and intense vocals that were heard from outside the Rialto lured stragglers and onlookers into the theater where they purchased last minute tickets.

Inside the theater, the floor was filled with young fans accompanied by their parental chaperones. Age difference aside, there was united excitement and shared enjoyment.

Escape the Fate then came on stage and gave a performance that stole the night. They were a step-up from the last time I saw them at KFMA day last spring. Possibly due to the intimate nature of the Rialto Theatre versus the massive audience from the outdoor event, Escape the Fate were personable, funny, and they dominated the stage with apparent zeal. At times, when lead singer Craig Mabbitt would head bang with such force, I was afraid he would suffer some whiplash.  It was good to see a band onstage having a good time and rocking out despite however many times they have heard and performed their own songs.

At approximately 9:25pm, Atreyu came on stage and were greeted by the loud chanting from an awaiting audience. The band started off performing songs from their new album Congregation of the Damned, and gave some background on favorite songs such as “Gallows” while practicing in rehearsal. If you haven’t heard of Atreyu, their music can be described as screamo/metal. Atreyu live sounds like incomprehensible vocals coupled with quick beats, their strong point was that they were consistently powerful throughout each song, but their performance did not allow for listeners to notice a distinction from one song to the next. After half an hour of listening to songs with only slight noticeable differences, they performed their new radio favorite song “Falling Down” from Lead Sails Paper Anchors.  This song is not just drastically different from the other songs performed so far, but it sounds like it belongs in a Weird Al Yankovic album.  After “Falling Down” they returned to performing predominantly screamo style songs.

The spotlight to the night’s show definitely belonged to Escape the Fate rather than the Headliners Atreyu. Each band performed well, but Escape the Fate truly knew how to deliver their music to show the uniqueness of each song.

Concert photos by Mike Leland | www.mikeleland.com

◄1234