Words/Photos: Chris Rugowski
https://www.chickenortheeggphotography.com/
First and to start off with, it was a packed house for a singular goal: to have a fun time together and rock out to a band we could all relate and sing along with. On a plus, I haven’t seen moshing happen at a show in a long time too, that was a fun treat.
The overall sound at the venue was really, really good. The sound engineers had things on point, with ALL bands. To add fuel to it all, the venue was small enough you could feel it. It was certainly a 4-D concert to a degree, and I liked that. I took my ear plugs out halfway during the Leprous set and the sound was immaculate in this small 600 max room.
Fight the Fight opened the night and right off the bat, the night started hard and heavy. I found the vocals to be on point, and between screams, growls, and clean vocals, there was certainly a clear ability to differentiate while maintaining a heaviness to the atmosphere of every song. I felt this group was a perfect compliment to the album Leprous just released.
The lighting was spot on for the band, and even if it was hard to see the front of the band, that’s not the metal look anyways. Knowing that the backlight really enhanced the feel of the music, the metal aspect that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Everyone was digging this group, even the security was headbanging along with the tunes.
This band is epic with a great stage presence and they have a really tight sound. Follow them, listen to them, and support them: https://fightthefight.bigcartel.com/
Earthside
This post-rock band is a multimedia experience complete with video playing and a keytarist who is definitely also a hype man.
I really enjoyed this group and their stage presence. Their musicality also showed through when the guitarist broke a string on stage and didn’t have a backup, yet he powered through the set nonetheless and none of us were none the wiser.
I personally enjoyed the screen above them playing videos as the band played. I felt like it was a great compliment to make the music all around, especially since the vocals were limited and not sung by the members on stage.
This band was impressive and full of energy. Looking into their background, all these guys are accomplished musicians outside of the touring scene.
At the last song, the keytar man jumped into the crowd and played. It was a lot of fun to see.
Here’s another band you really ought to follow if you’re a post-rocker: https://www.earthsideband.com/
Leprous
Two words from me: “Holy shit.”
I always heard this band is really good live, but I didn’t think they’d be as good as they were. They are in my top 10 of favorite shows after this one.
Einar’s scream is truly legit. It’s not just an album, recording studio thing. I mean I knew this, but live it was definitely special. Since I always seem to have a focus on the drums in my reviews, both albums and live shows, it should be noted that Kolstad’s energy throughout the entire show was just nonstop. It really was cool to see how he just handled the drums like a beast.
The band was clearly having a ton of fun on stage as they were quite talkative with their audience and engaging with everyone every few songs. Einar also might as well become a part-time comedian because the way he toys with the audience is perfect. They mentioned switching up setlists every night – now that doesn’t mean switching every song, just a few here and there, but I like that it makes the show unique and different.
The guitars and effects on them are just like the album, but what I found myself thinking was how balanced the sound was even though both guitarists might have been playing around the same areas in the upper neck or lower neck. The interplay between them was interesting and inspiring to watch. They moved around the stage a lot too.
Plus, you add in the bassist who commands the neck of his bass like a boss. It was fun to watch him play around the neck in real life.
The harmonies from this band are just unreal, personally at least. It looks so natural and so easy.
During “Below,” the guitar tone was a little heavier and I felt that complimented everything really nicely. Add in the lighting and kisses tips of fingers like an Italian chef.
For “Faceless,” they had a few fans come up on stage, but that didn’t make a big difference because everyone ended up singing anyways. However, fun fact, the group ended up with 170 people to create their chorus at the end. The slide guitar solo, simple but it works. This song really showed me that this band is fan-based first.
When they went into “From the Flame,” the place lost their minds and erupted in such a way that the energy was beyond palpable. The entire crowd was singing along.
“Atonement” included a huge mosh pit – and holy cow, super powerful live.
Then, they did the fan choice – whoever catches the water bottle gets to name three songs. They chose “Nighttime Disguise”. My favorite Leprous song, and I won’t lie, it was the perfect ending to this show that was already full of surprises and unforgettable moments.
This was my first time seeing Leprous live, and it certainly won’t be the last. I highly urge you to check them out on this tour: https://leprous.net/tours/
Check their Madison Setlist here: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/leprous/2024/majestic-theatre-madison-wi-4b5623e2.html
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