Photo credit: Gabe Becerra

As we go to press with this review we learned that Better Lovers drummer Grayson “Goose” Holyoak’s daughter Sage has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia, and he has left the tour to support his family. Please donate to the GoFundMe set up to help defray the costs for her treatment and care.  

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sages-battle-against-leukemia

It was election night in the States and sitting around watching the TV show for an outcome no one had control over would have been pointless so nothing made more sense than going to a “hardcore” show. This was my first time catching a concert on the outside side stage at the Orpheum. Thanks to the Florida weather in November it was barely noticeable, there was a hint of a breeze coming off the Bay.  SPY took the stage after we arrived. A punk band whose singer might have owned a Napalm Death album or two. They had an energy that gave them enough momentum that the crowd did not get bored by the uniformity of their songwriting, as they pushed each other around on the concrete slab the stage sat on.

I was excited to catch Full of Hell as the last time I caught them was in 2013 opening up for Mutilation Rites. They crushed it then, but have evolved their sound a great deal in the past eleven years. Much like Deafheaven, Full of Hell hits you with a chaotic intensity they do not let up on. Their set list was pulled largely from their new album. This worked well since Coagulated Bliss (review here) assembled the grind-core spasms into a more thrashing song-focused framework, which locked them in on stage. Their performance gave me a new appreciation for those songs, and the album went into heavy rotation since. Their powerful live performance clicked everything in place and solidified me as a more devout fan.

Better Lovers took the stage with a soundtrack blaring over the PA using a varied array of popular love songs mixed by the turning of the dial. My first catch of Greg Puciato, on stage in any of his projects was exciting, as I’ve developed a deep appreciation of his work as a singer His band is comprised of former Every Time I Die members, who were both high energy and solid professionals. It was a mix of business and pleasure, with Puciato commenting the best thing about being in Florida was the food. It should also be noted that none of the bands mentioned the election, which was appreciated since music is the cathartic escape from what we are inundated with daily to an extreme these days. 

Their set list leaned heavily on their new album Highly Irresponsible. This worked in their favor as those songs are more anthemic and give you a chance to hear a wider range of Puciato’s vocal prowess.  This also set them apart from Full of Hell, as Better Lover’s more adrenaline-fueled take on rock n roll, occupied a different sonic space than Full of Hell’s darker feral explosion. Puciato proved himself as being one of the more commanding frontmen, to emerge from the past 20 years. If you went to this show expecting them to throw in Dillinger songs or The Black Queen tunes, you might be disappointed, but I think this expectation should have been diverted by the high-energy set that established themselves as a distinct entity that is just as worthy of your respect for what they do. 

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WIL CIFER
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