Converge, 4 Dead, Cry Murder @Fowler's Live, (23/03/07)

Sun 25th Mar, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Cry Murder kicked the night off with a strong set of songs off their EP released last year.
And while the band’s sound wasn’t ideally suited to appear as the support for a band like Converge,
their live act was tight and was acknowledged by the support from the crowd. Set
highlights included The Blissful Coma and Saviourself.

Up next was 4 Dead, who were much more suited to being on the same
bill as a non-classifiable band like Converge. 4 Dead’s music was based mainly
on technical principles and more Jacob Bannon-like vocals.

The anticipation for Boston’s Converge was mammoth. It was a long time coming for
both veteran and the younger ‘new age’ Converge fans. The reason for this can be
attributed to the impact and influence Converge have had on the modern hardcore/metal scene. Converge
appeared on stage to soundcheck – a true sign of professionalism in my eyes
before the rest of the members left Kurt Ballou in front of the crowd
alone, allowing him to rip into Plagues on his guitar. This sent to crowd into
a frenzy and predictably kicktarted a frenzied pit. It was epic sight watching Kurt slam out that riff on guitar
while waiting for the rest of the band to return to stage in preparation to rip Fowlers Live
apart.

This was just an amazing performance that you know at the time will stick with you for the rest of your life. Converge followed this intro with the single off
the No Heroes album of the same name. Singer Jacob Bannon was an enigma onstage and knows how to put his whole body into a live show, while he was offstage in between the encore he was on the ground coughing up spit. His screams were brutal and sounded more aggressive live then on record.
He was also very thankful to the crowd for their support and took time out to
talk about some of the songs in a way that was motivational.


Bassist Nate Newtown was a great live performer and displayed strong backup vocals.
He was great at getting the crowd fired up – at times reminiscent of Dave Grohl’s
motivational techniques. The breakdowns in this set where huge and got the whole of the pit moving. They played a mixture of songs from there long career with a focus from
No Heroes, You Fail Me and Jane Doe. Some of the best songs from the set included Eagles Become Vultures, Fault And Fracture, Heartache, Black Cloud
and Last Light. Converge finished off there set with Concubine which was the crowd favourite and was a perfect set closer.
The band then came on for an encore and Nate gave the crowd a choice between The Saddest Day or
Conduit as a last song with the crowd choosing the former. Before they
started the song Jacob turned to crowd and told them “When you are born into this world you are alone, without friends of family, and when you die in the world you are alone, without friends or family. What you do with the time in-between that is completely up to you.”

Then when the opening guitar riff was played it was the start to a perfect seven minute finale that was one of the most memorable songs of the night. When Converge finished Jacob stayed onstage and shook and thanked everyone who went up to him personally.
It was truly great to look up at this genius and shake his hand and him looking down at you
and being genuinely thankful -a true sign of humbleness. It was amazing seeing Converge as I will probably never see them again, this truly was an amazing gig to be at
and one to remember for years to come. Converge are an amazing band and a one in a million live band that truly breaks the boundary’s of music and human emotion.

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