Between The Buried And Me: An Evening With Chicago, IL at House of Blues
Written By | Jason Vega
After two years Between The Buried And Me returns to Chicago; performing a sold-out show at Chicago’s House of Blues. Fans of the progressive metal band attended the show dressed to the nines. I saw plenty of studded belts, chains, platform boots, and even some interesting masks. As I took a look around the room everyone had their masks on, however, you could see the excitement in their eyes. Fans stood eagerly waiting for the show to start. At one point chanting for the band to come out. They could hardly contain their excitement as the curtains pulled back and the lights faded to black. A flash of light paired with the crash of drums filled every corner of the venue. Leaving the crowd in shock and awe. The band opened with the intro of “Naked By The Computer” which flawlessly lead into “Astral Body”.
The crowd was wild for instance fans not only sang along to many of the bands’ classics such as “Yellow Eye”, “Backwards Marathon”, and my personal favorite “The Coma Machine” they moshed and head-banged too. In addition to all the moshing fans cheered and roared when lead vocalist/ keyboardist Tommy Rogers introduced the band. He thanked the fans for their loyalty, coming to the show, and above all respecting Chicago’s covid safety rules. Shortly after the band played “Fix The Error” off their new album Colors II.
See more photos of Between The Buried And Me HERE
The band finished the first half of their set with “Reaction”, “The Grid”, and “Mirrors” as a result a huge mosh pit opened up in which man punches were thrown, and even though people would fall to the ground fans were quick to help each other up. The energy stayed consistent throughout the night. During the band’s heavier songs the crowd looked like a sea of bobbing heads. With hair flying around and fans breaking their necks, Tommy was left speechless. He along with the rest of the band were shocked at how crazy and wild the crowd was and how much energy the fans had. Paul Waggoner delivered many guitar solos; all of which received a lot of cheering and hollering. Dan Briggs and Blake Richardson played the bass and drums in a way that sent sound waves blasting through the room.
As the show came to an end the band changed up the vibe with songs from their album The Great Misdirect. Playing “Fossil Genera” and “Desert Of Song”. In which Dustie Waring and Paul Wagonner played melodic chords paired with siren-like vocals that entranced the crowd. The gorgeous guitar solo of that song had everyone swaying and dancing. You could tell the fans really could just feel the music. The band closed the show with their 17-minute song Swim to the moon. One of their more traditional metal songs. That not only contains 2 guitar solos but a drum and bass solo.
In short, the crowd’s energy was unlike anything I’ve seen before and the progressive style of the band had me captivated and interested throughout the entire show. They manage to bring so many different styles and musical elements into one song and do it so effortlessly. I’m typically not a fan of metal but I can confidently say that after their show Between the Buried And Me is now one of my new favorite alternative bands and I hope to see them perform in the future.
Photo Credit | Jason Vega