Not a boring Monday night: Underoath at The Castle Theatre

For most, Mondays are typically not a day to look forward to – the weekend is over, you’ve got a long week of work ahead of you, and you probably just want to go home and relax. For those lined up outside of The Castle Theatre in Bloomington, Illinois, however, relaxing was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Underoath had stopped by town for the night on April 14th, bringing along Great American Ghost and The Funeral Portrait for a night filled with loud, hard-hitting music.

Great American Ghost, a heavily political metal band hailing from New Hampshire, started off our night as people were still steadily filing into the venue. Vocalist Ethan Harrison was in charge of getting the crowd involved, calling out people to get their flashlights out if he caught them without one and encouraging the room to get dancing. There was no lack of energy from him, either, as he ran back and forth across the stage and even down and onto the barricade during “Kerosene,” allowing him to stand tall above the crowd for the breakdown. The band kept their sound interesting with a constant rotation of who was in charge of backing vocals for each track, as it appeared to be a different member each time I looked.

Second in line for the night were the emo-rock revivalists from Atlanta, Georgia, The Funeral Portrait – a band that never fails to win over the crowd. There’s no question as to why this is the case – between their unique southern-rock and alternative blended sound, Lee Jennings’ strong vocals, and some of the most on-stage energy you’ll ever see on stage – you don’t have a reason to look away. There’s no shortage of stage-to-fan interaction either, from callbacks splitting the room in half, counting along to the chorus of “Dark Thoughts,” and the crowd taking over without instructions to clap along to the beat of their closing song, “Suffocate City.” 

Jennings took the time to tell the room about their band’s excitement to be opening for Underoath, one of the bands that’s kept them inspired to get up there and do their thing for the past ten years, which is working out great for them. At the moment, the rerelease of their song “Holy Water” featuring Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch is currently trending #9 on Billboard’s Rock Radio Charts. And, as always, Jennings also made sure to let the crowd know he’d be hanging out at the merch table for the rest of the night and anyone was welcome to come over and say hi, or spit in his face, whatever they wanted to do.

The venue itself presented some challenges when it came time for Underoath’s set. With tables mixed into the standing area, it made it difficult for the crowd to get moving, an issue that vocalist Spencer Chamberlain was quick to point out. It took a bit of time during the first songs to figure out, but a decent-sized pit was able to open on one side of the room, with fans rushing across the venue to join in. And while the fans may have had limited mobility in the room, the band certainly had no lack of it onstage. In fact, I’m not sure I ever saw electronics/keyboard player Christopher Dudley stop moving for more than just a few seconds.

Their stage setup was truly something that got you to keep your eyes on them. A huge, flame-filled cloth setting the backdrop was attention-keeping enough on its own, but the LED light sticks abstractly mixed in and around the electronics and drumset were the real star of the show. While they provided a lot of emphasis on strobe effects, as you would imagine, I found it more visually interesting when the light sticks pulsed along to the beat, or colors shifted throughout each of them to set the vibe to each song.

Underoath’s setlist was filled with fan favorites as the crowd seemed to know every song, even including the track “Generation No Surrender” off their latest album, “The Place After This One,” released on March 28th. Other songs on the setlist included “Reinventing Your Exit” and “Vultures,” both of which successfully got a multitude of crowd surfers off the ground and sent them over the barricade. Electronic-based interludes filled the space between songs, keeping the energy going through the night.

Chamberlain also took time to talk to the crowd at various points of the night, checking in for safety as things got rougher towards the end of the night, and promising one fan to play a certain requested song on the next tour since their guitar tech that night was unable to play it. He took the time to thank everyone for coming out on a Monday after what was most likely a full day of work to a show that wasn’t promoted as much as a full headlining tour would have been. The band had just finished up on tour with Papa Roach and Rise Against the previous week, and instead of heading straight home, they took the time to play some shows in places that had been missed on that tour, truly showing their dedication to their fans.

Underoath Setlist:

1. Loss
2. In Regards to Myself
3. Breathing in a New Mentality
4. The Blue Note
5. It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
6. All The Love Is Gone
7. Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear
8. Generation No Surrender
9. Young and Aspiring
10. Shame
11. Hallelujah
12. Reinventing Your Exit
13. Vultures
14. A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White
15. Writing on the Walls