Show Review, Photos: The Ghost Inside and Underoath Bring The Energy to San Francisco
The Ghost Inside
Underoath
w/ We Came As Romans, The Word Alive
August 18th, 2023
The Warfield
San Francisco, CA
Review and Photos by Jaime Schultz
On Friday, August 18th, 2023, four of metalcore’s finest acts got together for a night of heavy breakdowns and melodic choruses for the San Francisco stop of a co-headliner featuring none other than The Ghost Inside and Underoath. While both of the evening’s closing acts have been around for a great deal of time, We Came As Romans and The Word Alive – the support acts – have been doing it for just as long in this scene. You could feel the energy throughout the room all night, emanating from the stage all the way up to the balcony of San Francisco’s extravagant Warfield Theatre.
Arizona’s The Word Alive got this moving with an energetic set filled with tracks old and new, including fan favorites like “2012” and “Life Cycles”. While the venue wasn’t quite filled up yet, the band played as if they were headlining the room on their own, accentuating every song with liveliness and enthusiasm. Michigan’s We Came As Romans took the stage next, playing quite possibly the most energetic show I’ve ever seen them put on in over a decade of seeing them perform. Utilizing the layout of the entire venue, with vocalist Dave Stephens and bassist Andy Glass running into the crowd throughout the set, the crowd were beyond warmed up by the time they hit the last note of their set closer, “Black Hole”.
It is damn near impossible to sit still during an Underoath show; even when you think you’ve heard songs from albums like They’re Only Chasing Safety and Define The Great Line a thousand times over, it’s an entirely different experience watching them breath new life into these songs in a live setting. With a setlist that expanded upon those two albums, Lost In The Sound of Separation, their newest single “Lifeline (Drowning)”, and their most recent studio album Voyeurist, Underoath brought a wild energy to the San Francisco crowd, with some fans even managing to stage dive.
The Ghost Inside haven’t been back to the San Francisco Bay Area in quite some time; the years brought forth a great deal of adversity, when the band was involved in a serious bus accident back in November 2015. Despite these setbacks, they persevered and made their way back to the stage in 2019, and they’ve been doing it bigger and better ever since the release of their 2020 self-titled album. For a little over one hour, The Ghost Inside captivated the Bay Area crowd with a dynamic and aggressive performance. You could feel the balcony shaking as they made their way through an impressive set list that spanned their career.
All four of these bands put on outstanding performances throughout the night, and all we can do is hope that they announce a second leg of this tour in the future. There is no doubt in my mind that fans will turn right back up again to open up the pit.
The Ghost Inside Set List
Avalanche
The Outcast
Engine 45
Pressure Point
One Choice
Unspoken
Earn It
Mercy
The Great Unknown
Dark Horse
White Light
Dear Youth (Day 52)
Faith or Forgiveness
Aftermath
Underoath Set List
Take a Brerath
Writing On The Walls
Hallelujah
Breathing In A New Mentality
Lifeline (Drowning)
It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
Casting Such A Thin Shadow
You’re Ever So Inviting
Damn Excuses
Reinventing Your Exit
Cycle
A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White
