It was a very humid summer night in Dallas, TX on June 28^th. In downtown Deep Ellum, at the venue on Elm St. called Club Dada, it was the final date on DEAFHEAVEN's U.S. tour for the up-and-coming Doom Metal groundbreakers from Arkansas, PALLBEARER upon the brink of their yet-to-be-released new album "Foundations of Burden". Although there were many memorable things that happened at this show, the most spectacular thing to me about this show that had nothing whatsoever to do with the performing artists. When I came in to Club Dada and took a good observation of the crowd that had gathered for this show, I noticed that I was at a show with probably the most diverse crowd I had ever seen. It is so typical for me to go to a concert, be it large or small, and see a crowd that is both predominately male and Caucasian with a fraction of a percent of people or different ages, races and genders in attendance. But the audience that gathered at this show included people of many different races other than white, nearly half of the crowd was female and all of these people were of different ages. I cannot honestly remember attending a concert where the crowd was this diverse and consisting of random demographics.
 

The night kicked off with WRECK & REFERENCE. This two-piece, avant-garde supporting act can be found on Flenser Records, and are touring with DEAFHEAVEN for the remainder of their U.S. tour. Drummer/vocalist Ignat Ferge and sampler/vocalist Felix Skinner introduced a majority of their large, curious crowd to their idiosyncratic blend of experimental noise rock and Industrial screamo. Their music is punishing, unnerving and apocalyptic. Parts of their set reminded me of early GODFLESH, somewhat. Although it may be true that everyone didn't understand what to make of the music, it was clear that these guys had a ton of energy in what they did. It was definitely a first time for me to see someone swing a Korg sampler around on a strap as if it were a guitar or a bass.
 

For me, the anticipation about this show revolved around PALLBEARER. This show marked the fifth time I have seen this amazing group live. That tidbit should tell you enough about how much touring and performing PALLBEARER has been doing since releasing their debut album "Sorrow & Extinction" in 2012. But after routinely playing the same five songs at every show for two years, it must've been a big deal for them to play the material they are ready to release in August on their follow-up album "Foundations of Burden". Everyone in the band was on point but I've got to give the biggest amount of props to PALLBEARER's bassist Joe Rowland. I could tell from the buckets of sweat that were dripping off his face that Joe was definitely putting their all into this show but the same thing could be said about everybody else in the crew. This performance would be their final concert date before they head off to Europe in the Fall. I am so excited to hear their new album getting released in August.

Setlist:
1. The Ghost I Used to Be
2. Devoid of Redemption
3. Foundations
4. Foreigner
5. Given To The Grave
 

And after waiting patiently through a very meticulous sound check, DEAFEHAVEN took the stage. Before their set even started, they invited the members of the audience who lined up around the edge of the outdoor stage to get as close to the band as possible. There was a short flight of steps leading the stage area that became overcrowded within a matter of seconds by the DEAFHEAVEN fans that wanted to get the most intimate locations for the show. As soon as this happened, the air became electric and the band kicked into the nine minute symphony of blackened Post Rock anthem "Dream House". Lead singer George Clarke had a fearful stage presence, never once allowing a smile to grace his face for the entire show. Seeing him in person as he leaned over the dozens of crowd members to screech into their awe-struck faces was truly entertaining in very intense sort of way. I impulsively grew concerned for members of the crowd that they would get to get to amped up by George's stage antics but these concerns were dispelled once I saw the crowd literally embrace George as he was performing or reaching up to hold his hands. The interactivity came off as dangerous as first glance but there was only appreciation and love coming from the crowd.
 

There were so many people clamoring to get close to the band that it made my job of photographing DEAFHEAVEN extremely challenging. I wouldn't exactly say this was DEAFHEAVEN's fault nor was it the crowd. The outdoor stage at Club Dada was just too small to fit as many people as this concert drew and so even media personnel like yours truly had a hard time seeing the show. I felt pretty bad for the hundreds of audience members that filled out the rest of the outdoor patio area who probably could only see the tops of the bands' heads. Guitarist Kerry McCoy, who would occasionally step on a monitor speaker to elevate himself over the front of the stage to peer out and over the rest of the crowd were probably the only glimpses of the band the audience would get.
 

Nonetheless, the hour-long performance from everyone in DEAFHEAVEN was as powerful and emotional as I expected it was going to be. Although the musicians' appearances, namely George Clarke's black silk dress shirt and pants looked like they should be playing indie music along the lines of Interpol, but DEAFHEAVEN truly shined as the headliners of this show and the sound was unmistakably heavy.

Setlist:
1. Dream House
2. Irresistible (instrumental)
3. Sunbather
4. Please Remember (instr.)
5. Vertigo
6. Windows (instr.)
7. The Pecan Tree
8. Unrequited