Union Events presents… We Came As Romans with guests Miss May I, Of Mice & Men, Texas In July, and Close To Home on September 19, 2011 at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
As the ‘hardcore’ music scene continues to grow and grow, from the ’80′s and 90′s ’till now, it is no shock to see the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg, Canada nearly full of older teens. With 5 different bands, each member of the audience had a different shirt to match their favourite artists.
Starting off the night was Close To Home. Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio Close To Home played a quick 30 minute set while the floor filled up as fans entered. Playing a bit from all their EP’s, LP’s, and Demo’s the band was bound to play something that the fans reacted well to, and sure enough fans reacted well to the entire set. Close To Home also made sure to play their latest single ‘All We Know’ to climax their set.
As the roadies rushed to change the set over, Texas In July prepared for their set. By the time the background music stopped, and the lights dimmed, all 5 members of the band appeared on stage. At this point the building was nearly at full capacity for the night, and it didn’t take long for mosh pits to form. It was made apparent that the night was going to turn into a rowdy one.
Following Texas In July’s performance, Of Mice & Men hit the stage minutes after. Forming only 2 years ago in Costa Mesa, California with Attack Attack!’s vocalist, Austin Carlile, the band had a following right off the get-go. Touring around the world, including 2 consecutive years on the Vans Warped Tour, these guys have their performance nearly perfected already. Occasionally being disturbed on stage by fans, they still managed to rock hard, and encourage moshing to a fullest.
Up next was my personal favourite of the night, Miss May I. Out of Troy, Ohio, these 5 guys go hard. Simple as that. Having already two complete CD’s out, these guys have released numbers of singles including their latest tune ‘Masses Of A Dying Breed’. Organizing a circular mosh down below as they played kept the crowd energetic throughout the show. Touring later this fall, co-headlining with Pierce The Veil, Miss May I will be seeing the majority of the United States, in which I recommend you check them out.
Finally it was time for headliners, We Came As Romans, to hit the stage. Commonly misinterpreted as a christian band, We Came As Romans sing about Pride and Joy, which many other metal core bands avoid. With the majority of the crowd coming out to see this band alone, I did not see a single member of the audience in their seat. Their entire set left the crowd as excited and rowdy as ever, probably to end off the night on a natural high, with bruises about.
Overall, metal shows are not my scene, however I did enjoy this one. Getting to see 5 great band in one night was great. I highly reccomend any metalcore/hardcore fans to check out this tour, because it’s not very often you get to see these 5 bands together.
