In the run up to this year’s Slam Dunk festival, Beartooth headed out across the UK to do a few warmup shows. It’s unusual for a band with any sort of recognition to come to Carlisle so when I found out Beartooth would be headlining it was essential for me to go. Supported by Dead Harts and The Color Morale (both of which are also playing Slam Dunk) it was definitely going to be one of The Brickyard’s most memorable nights.
Kicking off the night was Dead Harts from Sheffield. Although the room was almost empty it didn’t stop them trying their best to get the people who were there going, even if the crowd did seem less than enthusiastic about their set. They took an interesting approach to entertaining the room, Bax (vocals) actually walked into the crowd to sing a few songs in an attempt to encourage mosh pits and circle pits throughout every song. Overall the crowd made it difficult for Dead Harts to put on a proper show but they brought a lot of energy to the stage nonetheless.
As the night progressed the room began to slowly full up, but it was still only about half full by the time The Color Morale hit the stage. There was a much more positive response to their set and it finally seemed like the crowd were getting warmed up. Garret (vocals) made a special effort in between songs to interact with the crowd in an almost inspirational way, demonstrating how music pulls people together and creates communities by asking the people who have been influenced by music to raise their hand – this obviously sparked a positive reaction from the crowd. People seemed to be a lot more engaged to The Color Morale’s set and there seemed to be considerable more people who were singing along. It was definitely a good job they were there to warm the crowd up.
Finally it was Beartooth’s time on the stage, although it was a rather short set and they didn’t include an encore they certainly made the most of the time they had. The gig didn’t sell out but the turnout was still impressive for a metalcore band at The Brickyard. The majority of the songs were off their debut album Disgusting and they started off with ‘Relapsing’ and made their way through some of the most popular songs like ‘The Lines’ and ‘Beaten in Lips’– the energy was electric and the room was taken over by mosh pits- there was even a couple of crowd surfers. What seemed to be the crowd’s favourite song was ‘Body Bag’ which they played last. Crowd participation was also really important to Beartooth and they thanked the crowd for allowing them to do a tour across the UK. It was nice to see a band being appreciated in such a small city in (what seems like) an unknown part of England but it’s also nice being appreciated by the band themselves. There are enough good bands that play at Carlisle and if we’re lucky, other bands might follow in Beartooth’s footsteps. Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of Beartooth and they’ll head back this way soon.