AWOLNATION brought the Falling Forward Tour to The Fillmore Detroit with support from Badflower and The Mysterines.
While on tour, bands get periodic days off. On the night before the show, The Mysterines made the decision to see a Detroit Red Wings game, they were in Hockeytown after all. While the game did not end in the Red Wings’ favor, it was a good game that included overtime. The Mysterines are an alternative rock band from Liverpool. The four-piece band is made up of Lia Metcalfe on vocals and guitar, George Favager on bass, Callum Thompson on guitar, Paul Crilly on drums. They formed in 2015 and released their first album in 2021.
The evening started off with the dark yet light music of The Mysterines who opened with “Reeling.” As they continued, they took a pause to give a shout out to the new friends they made at the previous night’s hockey game. They performed a total of seven songs for the night, giving the audience a taste of who they are. The crowd enjoyed the set, dancing along with the sounds. They ended the set strong with their song “Hung Up.”
Up next was the post-grunge band from Los Angeles, Badflower. They started the night out with “Drop Dead” from the 2106 EP Temper. The crowd was very energetic, headbanging, singing, and bouncing along with each song. The band is made up of lead singer, Josh Katz, Alex Espiritu on bass, Joey Morrow on guitar, and Anthony Sonetti on drums.
They continued the set with three additional songs from Temper, “Animal,” “Let the Band Play,” and “White Noise.” They took a small pause to breathe for a moment before playing “Don’t Hate Me” from their newest album, This Is How The World Ends which set the crowd off with loud screams. They then continued with three songs from their very popular 2019 album OK, I’M SICK. First up, was “Heroin,” followed by “Jester,” and then “Ghost.” To end the set, they closed out with the song “30” which was released on Josh’s 30th birthday in 2020.
The headliners AWOLNATION were next up. One at a time, Daniel Saslow on keyboards, Issac Carpenter on drums, Josh Moreau on bass, Zach Irons on lead guitar, and Aaron Buno on lead vocals took the stage. The band went right into one of their newest popular songs, “Freaking Me Out.” They then continued with “Slam (Angel Miners)” and “Soul Wars.” The audience danced along with the set. When it was time for “Handyman,” Aaron asked the crowd to pull out any lighters or cell phone flashlights. They obliged and illuminated the beautiful venue, formally known as The State Theatre, now revitalized and known as The Fillmore Detroit.
Near the end of the show, Hyro the Hero joined the band on stage for the full-length version of “Knights of Shame.” After a break, the band, including Hyro the Hero, came back out for an encore starting with a cover of the Biz Markie hit “Just a Friend.” This had everyone in the venue, security, bartenders, and fans both young and old, singing along. To close out the night, the crowd cheered as the first cords of “Sail” started. The fans in the pit area were crowd surfing and the rest of the fans were dancing along. As the song was coming to an end, Aaron made sure the crowd knew all the band members by pausing to introduce them before the final chorus of the song. They continued by playing an extended instrumental ending to the song, which was a great end to the evening.
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