Mar 1

Mar 1 Show Review: Underoath Bring Spectacular Headlining Show to San Francisco

Underoath
w/ Spiritbox, Bad Omens, Stray From The Path
The Warfield
San Francisco, CA
February 26th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

I have yet to see Underoath give a “less than incredible” performance. I’ve seen this band countless times over the last ten years, when they came onto my radar during the Define The Great Line era. I know that some bands give “okay” performances, “good” performances, even “great” performances. Two of my favorite bands of all time have even had off nights. I’ve yet to see Underoath pull off a show that isn’t incredible. They are, without a doubt, one of the best live bands to exist in this scene, and it was wonderful to see them take the stage at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater on Saturday for a headlining show in support of their newest album, Voyeurist (which was released earlier this year on Fearless Records).

A tour like this also deserves openers that can bring spectacular performances, and every single band on this lineup brought their A-game. The original opening slot was originally to be held by Every Time I Die, who unfortunately broke up back in December. Their slot was filled by two acts, the first being Stray From The Path, who brought an intense and ferocious performance that blended hardcore, punk, and metal altogether into an in-your-face opening set. A highlight came before the third song, when the band made it clear that they opposed two things: racism and fascism, before diving into the bludgeoning track “Goodnight, Alt-Right” (please go and listen to it, it’s amazing).

The second opener to join the tour was Bad Omens, a four-piece whose mix of theatricality and metalcore brought one of the more unique performances I’ve seen from an opener in the past several years. Entirely backlit, the band pivoted through epic choruses and guttural verses as vocalist Noah Sebastian commanded the crowd with each song. One of the more unique things about this show is that everyone in attendance seemed to know the openers, and the crowds were just as crazy at the beginning of the show as they were at the end.

I could tell you that just after watching their first song, I could immediately sense that Spiritbox are going to be huge. I don’t know when and where, but I know it, and it was exciting to watch them that night. You can tell both from their performance and the crowd reaction that there is something incredibly unique about them. Husband and wife duo Mike Stringer (guitarist) and Courtney LaPlante (vocalist) put this band together back in 2017, and it’s only been in recent years that we’ve started to hear about them. Their songs pull from so many different influences and layers of metal and rock, it’s hard to explain exactly what I was watching and hearing. But it was exciting. They’re on the verge of greatness, and it was great seeing them on their way to the top.

I pretty much told you how I felt about Underoath at the beginning of this recap, and it still stands true. The band launched headfirst into three of their heaviest songs: “Damn Excuses”, “Breathing In A New Mentality”, and “On My Teeth”. Without hitting the brakes, they drove straight into “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” and “In Regards to Myself”. It was the most energetic crowd at a show I’ve seen all week, and each song reminded why I love watching this band so much. There are six people in Underoath, and they’re each playing like it’s the last time they’ll ever take the stage. Vocalist Spencer Chamberlain even noted during the show that they felt renewed, and that they weren’t taking any of this for granted ever again. He didn’t even need to say it; you could feel it in the room throughout the night.

The band played for a little over an hour before returning to the stage for a two song encore that featured “Thorn”, a hard-hitting track from Voyeurist, and the fan-favorite “Writing on the Walls”. And there you have it: the perfect end to one of the best shows of the year.

Underoath Set List
Damn Excuses
Breathing In A New Mentality
On My Teeth
It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
In Regards To Myself
Hallelujah
No Frame
Reinventing Your Exit
A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine
There Could Be Nothing After This
Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear
A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White
Pneumonia

Encore:
Thorn
Writing on the Walls