A New Disease Takes Over Big Night Live On 11/5

All Photos By Leah Feder

It’s the middle of the week, in the busiest area of Boston. Tonight, FROM ASHES TO NEW is taking over Big Night Live. The band brings the “New Disease” Tour to the city, with MAGNOLIA PARK, UNTIL I WAKE and NOT ENOLUGH SPACE. The venue is located right outside of TD Garden, a relatively difficult place to navigate. Unfortunately for me, there also happened to be a Celtics game tonight, so the surrounding area was packed, and the streets were busy. It took me over an hour, including a train and an uber, to get there.

I was feeling anxious all day about this show, luckily my nerves calmed down once I got settled into the venue and ran into one of my friends. The venue was easy to move around and I led myself towards the narrow photo pit. They played good music while the crowd filed in, including “The Diary of Jane” by BREAKING BENJAMIN, “Just Like You” by THREE DAYS GRACE and multiple songs by NICKELBACK. One of the first things I noticed about the crowd was how fun everyone looked. All of the people on the barricade had a different neon hair color.

Doors opened at six with the show starting at seven. While the crowd was coming in, NOT ENOUGH SPACE had a pink electronic backdrop with their name in white lettering. I didn’t expect the first opener of the night to be so high in energy, they were also heavier than I expected. Almost everyone in the room had their phones out and recording. For one song the band managed to get the whole room to clap with them, there was tons of crowd engagement tonight. for the last song one of the vocalists got down into the crowd. I even had an awkward moment where a guitar pick was being handed out above my head. I know I say it basically every review but I truly love finding new music to listen to. NOT ENOUGH SPACE is a band to check out. I actually ended up with a guitar pick from them that someone found on the ground and gave to me.

At seven-forty the lights dropped and on came “Welcome to the Black Parade” by MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. After the song concluded, UNTIL I WAKE took stage. This is a band I was looking forward to seeing because I’ve seen their name over and over again. At one point vocalist Cody Jamison asked everybody to turn their flashlights on, which looked super cool in such a small, intimate venue. The people reacted enthusiastically when asked “How are we doing tonight, Boston?” The question was then followed up by asking how many of us had work tomorrow morning. The majority of the audience raised their hands to which we were told, “[F] that, we’re here to have a great time!”. Until I Wake had tons of bright, strobe lights that were flashy enough to disorient you. They followed suit by getting everybody to put their hands together and clap. Finally, during their last song, they attempted a wall of death.

MAGNOLIA PARK came out at eight twenty-five. There was a slight issue with security taking up the right side of the photo pit, which made it difficult to move around. I saw more crowd engagement in this set, than I have so far the whole night. The fans were extremely into their music, and loudly sang every lyric. The band opened a pit, to which one of the guitarists jumped in. The vocalist Joshua Roberts was amazing to listen to. MAGNOLIA PARK’s entire sound was amazing, but with the vocals sounded magical. I took the time after their set to grab (and chug) a Redbull.

The time was now nine-thirty and it was time for FROM ASHES TO NEW to hit the stage. I have seen them perform twice before, on “The Dark Horizon Tour”. When they opened for a duel headliner between MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and IN THIS MOMENT. I enjoyed seeing them then, and was psyched to see them now. I already knew I loved the energy of this band, and I was looking forward to seeing what they brought this time around. The lights faded out, and THE BACKSTREET BOYS “Everybody (Backstreets Back)” started playing. I could feel the floor underneath me shaking as everyone bounced around. There was not a single person standing still. The band played a stacked set, and I got to hear one of my favorite songs from them, “Heartache”. All of the bands, especially FROM ASHES TO NEW were very interactive with the crowd. Even photographing them, the boys would pose for the camera. Guitarist Lance Dowdle changed his mask several times throughout their set. After my allotted time in the photo pit, I stood to the side of the stage and started taking notes. While I was doing this, vocalist Matt Brandyberry, came down and first bumped me. That alone is probably one of the coolest things to happen while working a show.

I really loved watching everyone have a good time, there were people headbanging on the barricade, and couples dancing in the back. No matter what, live music brings us together. Wanted to catch this tour? Lucky for you, there are still a few remaining dates!

November 9th in Baltimore, MD
November 11th in Atlanta, GA
November 12th in Charlotte, NC
November 14th in FT. Lauderdale, FL

Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Leah Feder