Southbound Fearing at The Upper Room – Review
After a long one and one-half hour drive, Seth, my dad, and I arrive in Statesville, NC. After a quick meal and visit with my grandparents, we are off to The Upper Room, an old store downtown that has been converted into a concert venue and coffee shop. We arrive early and end up in a pre-show gathering with the bands. They invite us to pray, and we all hold hands. It was great to see the true hearts of the bands and their music before an epic show.
At this point, a lady comes and comments on my Demon Hunter shirt and Seth’s RED shirt. We get to talking and find out how awesome this lady is. She is around 53 years young and loves all of the same music as I. We talk of amazing concerts and musicians for about an hour. She tells us of her love for Random Hero, the second band which I had not heard yet. Upon finishing our conversation, Seth comments, “There are some people that I just want to hug.” I agreed.
First band up is Flawed by Design. They are a local band with much potential. The vocalist is 17 year old, Dillon Reynolds, whom I had contacted on Facebook previously. After several technical problems, Flawed by Design gets into their hard-hitting groove. They finish their set, and have me expecting some promising music in the future. My favorite part of Flawed by Design is the challenging lyrics that they brought. We grab their EP and head downstairs, where the other two bands would perform.
Shortly after checking out merchandise, the second band began. As I said before, I had never heard of Random Hero. After the first song, I knew I would buy their album (okay, really my dad would). Aside from the awesome music, the stage show itself was phenomenal. The guitarist had dreadlocks, white eyes, and painted blood from his eyes. Pretty epic. The bassist wore steam punk goggles while he played in a robotic style, which was interesting and amusing. The lead vocalist knew how to command the crowd and was very humorous. The drummer kept the band together and even impressed Seth, who is a percussionist as well.
At last, Southbound Fearing takes the stage. Any sign of subtlety in their recorded music was quickly blown apart. Perfect vocals, soaring guitars, and blistering drums left me with a performance that I cannot soon forget. Even softer songs, such as “I Heard the River,” were kicked up to an amplitude of awesomeness that an album simply cannot record. Southbound Fearing played some new music, including the single “Easy Way Out,” off the Undefeated album which we were able to purchase that night. This song was possibly my favorite for the night. Brady’s high vocals were on point with complements from the screamed vocals provided by Eric, who often did not use nor need a microphone.
The set of nine songs left me thirsting for more. One of the best parts of attending a venue like The Upper Room is being able to converse with the members of the bands. Collectively, we talked with Random Hero and Southbound Fearing for well over an hour, mentioning favorite songs and other amazing bands toured with. After receiving autographs and taking pictures, Seth, my dad, and I departed home for Gaffney after a great night.
“The Lord will save me; we will play stringed instruments all the days of lives at the house of the Lord.” Isaiah 38:20
Find out more about each band by visiting their website:
http://www.southboundfearing.com/
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