Jul 20

Jul 20 Show Review: Memphis May Fire are 'Remade In Misery' with Pop-Up Show in Roseville

Memphis May Fire
w/ Rain City Drive, Cemetery Sun, Wolves at the Gate
Goldfield Roseville
Roseville, CA
July 17th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Sometimes, spontaneity can be a great thing. While scary at times, it can lead to great memories and unforgettable experiences. Metalcore act Memphis May Fire were initially scheduled to perform on their “Remade In Misery” tour (in support of their album of the same name) on Sunday night at Berkeley’s UC Theatre, but the show was cancelled “due to unforeseen circumstances”. At this point, the band could easily just head to the next city. On with the tour. Well, the band decided to book a pop-up show featuring themselves, along with every other band on the tour, at Goldfield Trading Post in Roseville, just twenty minutes away from Sacramento proper. At $5 a ticket, not only was it a far cheaper show than the Berkeley performance, but fans in attendance would get a chance to see one of the genre’s fastest rising acts in an intimate setting. Adding to that, vocalist Matty Mullins fell off stage a few shows prior, breaking several ribs but continuing to perform. This could have been something amazing, or a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, it was the former as the four-piece act played to a packed house this past Sunday in Northern California with a crushingly impressive performance that left fans happy, caked in sweat, and probably sore the next day from so much moshing.

The show was opened by Wolves at the Gate, a longtime feature in the Christian metalcore and post-hardcore scene. The Solid State Records five-piece has been around since 2008 and has shown no signs of slowing down, and they kicked off the show with a great set filled with heavy breakdowns and impassioned vocals. The standout opening act of the evening, however, was Cemetery Sun. I was thoroughly impressed by the performance from the Sacramento natives, who blended elements of pop, metalcore, and alternative into an impressive half-hour performance. They easily got one of the biggest reactions out of the crowd that evening, and they’re definitely worth your time. The band are actually gearing up to head out on a co-headlining tour this fall with Lil Lotus, and will be returning to Goldfield Roseville on October 2nd. (Tickets go on sale this Friday).

The main support act on the “Remade In Misery” tour came from Rain City Drive, previously known as Slaves. The band are currently on the road promoting their self-titled album (which was released this year), their first under the new band name. Much like Cemetery Sun, they blend elements of pop with some of the grittier elements of metalcore, accented by the stylings of vocalist Matt McAndrew. He’s a talented vocalist, bringing elements of pop, soul, and R&B into each song. It’s a mix that has worked well in the past with bands in this genre, and the crowd enthusiastically fed off the band’s energy.

Memphis May Fire took the stage for a high voltage performance that found the band sounding better than ever. They still have a fierce rhythm section backed by drummer Jake Garland and bassist Cory Elder, and Kellen McGregor still delivers razor-sharp riffs and breakdowns in song after song. Despite having a set of broken ribs, vocalist Matty Mullins delivered every note in the thirteen-song set with ease. Mullins is still recovering, so he wasn’t as active on stage this time around, but whenever he turned the microphone to the crowd, they sang every word right back to him.

One of the most impressive things to me about this show was how not only there was a great deal of material from the band’s new album, but how receptive the fans were to it. I’ve found that within metalcore, you’ll find a lot of fans wanting to hear only the hits, the songs that initially got them interested in the music in the first place, so the band builds their setlist around these hits while only incorporating a few newer songs into the fold. Memphis May Firefilled the majority of their set with songs from Remade in Misery, and the crowd loved it. There was a lot of singing, a lot of screaming, and a lot of moshing that happened over the course of that hour.

And of course, who could forget those hits? “No Ordinary Love” from Unconditional made an appearance, while tracks from their incredible Challenger and The Hollow were interspersed throughout. After an hour of sweating it out in Goldfield, Memphis May Fire closed with the absolutely vicious, “The Sinner”, a track that has become a staple in the band’s live catalogue since its inception. This is a band that is harnessing the best material they’ve produced in years, and they fully know it. Even with a cancelled show and a diversion in the road, Memphis May Fire still came out on top with a fantastic performance.