Spiritbox / After The Burial / Intervals
House Of Blues
Chicago, IL
May 9th, 2023
To say Spiritbox is one of the hottest acts in heavy music wouldn’t be an understatement. Coming in with critical acclaim by critics and fans, the band initially gained traction through an EP and a steady stream of singles – eventually landing themselves supporting arena acts, on prime slots in festivals, and the talk of the town by every music outlet out there for good measure. So it made perfect sense that when the band announced their first headlining tour, that it made the tour entirely sold out, with some extra dates added even before it began. Chicago was treated special as the band graced the legendary House Of Blues here for two nights of “Eternal Blue” greatness.
Kicking off the evening was instrumental metal act Intervals. An interesting choice for the evening but one that made sense. The group, technical masters of their craft, blazed through a 30 minute set with little talking in between songs easing the crowd into the heaviness that the night would progress into. As the room filled during their set fans watched, some in awe, at the masterclass of instrumental metal being played and the band for sure walked away with some new fans that evening.
It was time for movement though and that’s where After The Burial came in. Vets of the scene the band showed the all too familiar crowd why they are genre mainstays. Blasting through an 8 song set with ease, the band is sight to see with their mix of technical skills mixed between just being plain and simply heavy. They had the entire sold-out floor moving and bouncing giving the House Of Blues its legendary bouncing floor where you can feel it shake under the crowd’s feet.
Even with a shorter set what fans in attendance that weren’t familiar for sure walked away fans. The bands darker strobe heavy set worked well with the bass drops and constant mosh pits the crowd was breaking into. Ending the set with seas of crowd surfers as well it was a clear sign for Spiritbox at what the crowd had to offer.
With a silk screen type curtain in front of the stage, Spiritbox entered breaking right into “Sun Killer” and the floor became one wave of bounces after another. The crowd was in a rabid state all night through the bands 15 song set showing their outpouring of love for the band. The first 3 songs of the bands set played like some heavy art piece with projections shown on the screen while the band danced behind it.
Once the screen dropped though all bets were off and the crowd was eager to show their energy. Jumping, singing along, pits, and crowd surfers galore were plentiful showing the band just how much Chicago was in need of them. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante commanded the stage gracefully with her slick dance moves throughout and powerful voice.
It was clear that Spiritbox put money into having a production here as well. A bright LED screen backed their entire stage, which included a massive riser platform in the back that Courtney used constantly. Various images and flashes played along perfectly to the set giving the band a big time feel because they are in fact a big time band. If you missed this tour I feel bad for you because next headliner won’t be in venues even close to this size at the band’s growth. Spiritbox are destined for arenas and it won’t be long till they find their way to headlining one.
Photo Gallery : After The Burial – House Of Blues (05.09.2023)
