It was a blustery night in Minneapolis, Minnesota as it took me an eternity to find parking. The Cabooze is located around the Somalian district of Minneapolis right next to Augsburg College, which is known for alum Devon George, who used to play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers during the Kobe/Shaq era. It was a sold out night as metalcore giants August Burns Red were headlining “The Dangerous Tour” with special guests Fit For A King, Miss May I, and Crystal Lake.
People were jam packed into the venue that holds I would say MAYBE a 1,000 people, then again, I cannot estimate crowd size worth a hoot. After getting the photo pass(huge shoutout to Atom Splitter for hooking us up), the crowd waited with anticipation for Crystal Lake.
I’ll admit, I listened to one song by Crystal Lake passively and was impressed with them, but I didn’t know what to expect. The drummer kicked in with a massive drum solo to begin the set. Tell you what, this band out of Japan was primed and ready to leave total waste and carnage to the Minneapolis crowd. They were in your face, and just were there to take no prisoners as they thrashed, smashed, and left heads gashed through their 25 minute set. They didn’t waste anytime and they immediately set the bar so high that you would need a pole vaulter to jump over the bar that they set. The bass player grabbed my camera, turned the flash on himself and took a pic. They ripped through songs “Devilcry”, “Aeon”, and “Lost In Forever”. I was half hoping they would’ve played their blistering cover of “Rollin'” by Limp Bizkit, but it wasn’t meant to be. Fans can check out Crystal Lake at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/crystallake777
www.twitter.com/crystallake777
www.instagram.com/crystallake777
Miss May I further engaged the crowd, and I missed some of the set because I grabbed a phonecall from a friend who wanted an August Burns Red shirt from the show, and those that know me know that I get to talking on the phone, however, Miss May I further brought the brutality, but a little more gentler than Crystal Lake did. Fans can find Miss May I at the following locations:
Fit For A King, laid further waste to the Minneapolis crowd, and frontman Ryan Kirby acknowledged some familiar faces that they saw in the crowd as they previously played at The Cabooze a couple months back. The bass player was crazy as he went up into the balcony, let the fans “slappy da bass” and ran back downstairs while further engaging the crowd. I love how nonchalant Ryan Kirby is as a frontman as if he’s saying, “I got this, the crowd will be left for dead for August Burns Red”. The crowd hardcore danced and moshed like crazy to their sick breakdowns and the crowd sang at the top of their lungs to their single “Tower of Pain”. Fans can find Fit For A King at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/fitforakingband
The crowd chanted “ABR” in anticipation to a band that has helped me through my anxiety. I got to be in the photo pit, and it made me realize that I need to invest some money in a new camera, I got some “okay” shots, but I need a professional camera instead of the Nikon camera that I got on clearance. August Burns Red just dove in to their set and in the second song, they amped the crowd with their staple song “Composure”. I was expecting that song to be their encore song since that metalcore jam got them on the map. They were just perfect live! Jake Luhrs is an incredible vocalist, but you can tell with his personality that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. JB Brubaker just lays on guitar harmonics thick that adds another layer to the August Burns Red sound. The crowd sang at the top of their lungs with “Ghosts” and their set closer “White Washed”.
This night added years to concertgoers lives as all four bands offer rejuvenation through their heart pounding breakdowns and breakneck arrangements. It was plain to see why The Dangerous Tour sold out in minutes at The Cabooze in Minneapolis! Overall, I expected August Burns Red to just finish us off, they absolutely delivered, but I cannot get Crystal Lake out of my head after their performance! The Dangerous Tour was a fantastic night to kick the winter blues to the curb and to just enjoy some heavy metal music for an evening!
August Burns Red setlist:
Dangerous
Composure
Meddle
Provision
Invisible Enemy
Float
Mariana’s Trench
King of Sorrow
Identity
Truth of a Liar
Ghosts
Empire
Encore:
Drum Solo
Zelda Theme Song
The Frost
White Washed
The Dangerous Tour wrapped up recently. However, August Burns Red will be appearing at the Domination Festival in Mexico City and the Vans Warped Tour this summer. Check out the dates below:
Fri. 5/3- Domination Festival in Mexico City, Mexico
Sat. 7/20- Vans Warped Tour in Mountain View, California
For tickets and further information on any of the shows listed above, click here.
