Even tornado warnings couldn’t stop the Still Panicking tour from making its way to Tennessee on Wednesday.
It should come as no surprise that the powerhouse rock/metalcore band, From Ashes to New, brought us the independent tour of the year. The guys announced the Still Panicking tour in February of 2022 and that the line up would include Above Snakes, Kingdom Collapse, Blind Channel and Fire from the Gods. This dream team of killer independent artists have been shattering glass ceilings and selling out shows across the US. As the tour rolled into Tennessee, so did an intense storm, but even a tornado warning couldn’t take everyone’s attention off the Capones stage Wednesday night.
The four hour show kicked off at 7pm sharp with Above Snakes. To be honest I hadn’t heard of them prior to the tour announcement. But I was immediately entranced by not only their aesthetic, but their stage presence and sound. They quickly grabbed the audiences attention and had everyone hype and throwing up horns in no time. Their set included their singles Broken Ones and Nothing to Loose. The Johnson City crowd was undoubtedly digging them just as much as I was. The four-piece rocked every inch of the stage and won over the hearts of every one in the room.
Up next was the rising band from Texas, Kingdom Collapse. Recently Octane debuted their single Unbreakable which has since garnered 4.3 million streams on Spotify alone. Though they’re new to touring they rocked the stage like true professionals. Every moment of their set was meticulously calculated. Their vibe was infections and they had no qualms about matching the energy Above Snakes brought. In addition to their hit Unbreakable they also performed their singles Save Me From Myself and Uprise. But the song that had everyone screaming along to the loudest was Suffer. I was lucky enough to meet the guys after the show and I have to say they’re the sweetest and most humble group of dudes I have ever met, mark my words these guys are assuredly about to be a household name.
Two bands down, three to go! The third band of the night was Finland’s own Blind Channel. I don’t think the Tennessee crowd was ready for the intense performance they were about to witness from this band. The group of six has defined their sound as violent pop, which perfectly describes their unique fusion of pop, rock and spoken word, paired with their savage energy. Their set list included their most popular tracks Balboa, Bad Idea, and We Are No Saints. Once the techno intro to Dark Side began to play, every middle finger was in the air and the crowd thunderously screamed along to every word. I didn’t know what to expect from their performance but I was thoroughly impressed with every minute of their set. Blind Channel dominated the tiny Tennessee stage and showed us that there’s no language barrier when it comes headbanging.
Luckily the stage was still standing after the last performance, because Fire from the Gods was ready to heat things up. Also hailing from Texas, FFTG are no strangers to touring, as they toured with some huge names like, Sevendust, In This Moment and Five Finger Death Punch. There’s a reason that this rap/metal group has half a million monthly listeners and that’s because of the distinctive sound they’ve fabricated which carries over flawlessly to their live shows. They opened with Another Level from their 2019 album American Sun and the crowd came undone. Their stage presence had jaws dropping, as they rocked every square inch of the stage. After blazing through some of their biggest hits like, Truth to the Weak, The Voiceless and American Sun they took a quick break to connect with the audience. Vocalist AJ Channer even gave a finely crafted speech about the importance of togetherness in a country so divided, before ending their set with Excuse Me. This was my second time seeing these guys live so I knew their performance was going to be impeccable, but I think I speak for everyone when I say they far exceeded expectations.
Last but certainly not least, it was finally time for the Pennsylvania native band, From Ashes to New to take the stage. The foursome is comprised of vocalists Matt Brandyberry and Danny Case, guitarist Lance Dowdle, and drummer Matt Madiro. In the height of the pandemic the group released their album Panic, that has since warranted millions of streams worldwide. So it was only fitting that they kicked off their set with their hit song, Panic. The moment they entered the stage the screams became deafening and echoed throughout the building. Though many bands have graced the stage of Capones, I don’t think its donned a performance quite like this, because FATN brought fans an arena style act to the 400 capacity venue.
I’ve seen 100s of bands live, but I can’t say that I have witnessed a dynamic quite like the one I witnessed with Brandyberry, Case, Dowdle, and Madiro Wednesday night. Inevitably when you work together and tour with each other for so long, you become pretty close, some members of your team even feeling like family. As soon as the guys came on stage you could immediately pick up on the fact that they are not only band mates but they’re friends. The energy they gave off was so intense, yet warm and inviting, the only way I can describe it is, aggressively wholesome. They were undeniably having the time of their lives performing with each other and for the crowd. Not only did they sound incredible, they really took the time to personalize the show and interact with their adoring fans.
They energetically powered through their set list that included songs from the new album like, Nothing, Wait For Me and a partially acoustic version of Scars That I’m Hiding. The crowd of course went wild for fan favorites, My Fight, Broken, and Light Up the Sky, but were left in awe of their acoustic performance of Lost and Alone. After a stunning hour long set it was time for the guys to pack it up and head out for their next show in North Carolina. But the crowd vehemently protested and immediately began chanting “one more song”. The guys quickly resurfaced and gave fans two more songs, one of which was a flawlessly executed version of Bring Me to Life from Evanescence. Fans rightfully still didn’t want the night to end but FATN concluded the show with Through It All.
Their approach to the music industry may be unorthodox to some, but they’ve worked insanely hard to get where they are and it has paid off. I don’t think it really matters their approach though, because FATN constantly gives their dedicated fans what they want, while not compromising who they are as a band. They some how continue to be positive pillars in the industry while being absolutely unapologetic and it’s so refreshing to see.
