From darkness to light, high-energy interaction streamed throughout The Nile Underground during Emarosa’s 2016 Fall Tour. The show opened with AZ Homegrown bands Mimelight and Never Let This Go, along with the touring band Cold Collective, and the Valley’s very own Anarbor followed by the headliner of the night, Emarosa.
The show opened up with the AZ Homegrown Indie Rock band Mimelight out of Mesa, AZ. Being the opener, their job was to get the audience relaxed and warmed up, in which they accomplished well. Although their set was short, Clifton Peotter (vocals/guitar) kept the audience engaged while the rest of the band members Dion Didomenico (guitar/vocals), Taylor Goodman (bass), and Jesse Palmer (drums), tuned their instruments. During Mimelight’s third song they passed out glow-sticks to illuminate the darkness of The Underground with multi-colored lights. Check out their merch.
YouTube | Hiroshima – Mimelight (Official Music Video)
The second opening local act was Never Let This Go, an Indie Pop-Rock band out of Tempe, AZ. They got the crowd dancing with their new single “Better” which was released on October 1 of this year and has since then been featured on two FM appearances on ALT AZ 93.3 – check out their merch. Make sure you catch Never Let This Go on their 2016 Winter Tour!
YouTube | Better – Never Let This Go
Following Never Let This Go, was Cold Collective. Cold Collective is a Rock band out of Boston, MA signed to Rise Records.This band played lots of new songs off their recent album “Bachelorette Party” released on May 13 of this year. Although Cold Collective stood out the most with their unique sound, the audience did not second guess. Tim Landers (vocals), Paul Debenedictis (drums), Gus Pesce (guitar), and Darren Sullo (bass) had everyone in the room clapping and dancing along to the beat.
YouTube | Through w/That – Cold Collective
After Cold Collective, was Arizona’s own beloved band Anarbor, a Pop-Rock band out of Phoenix, AZ. Despite the fact that they have not played a home state show in three years (since 2013 Warped), it was apparent they were comfortably at home with support from friends and family. Slade Echeverria (vocals/bass), Adam Juwig (guitar/vocals), and Greg Garrity (drums/vocals) had the audience in the palm of their hand with a full house. Their fans knew every lyric and danced the night away. Grab their limited vinyl LP Free Your Mind before it's gone!
YouTube | Freaking Out – Anarbor
The final set of the night was Emarosa, an Alt-Rock Post-Hardcore band from Lexington, KY. They are signed to Hopeless Records and have recently released their album 131, July 8 of this year. The band played many of their new songs such as “Helpless” and “Cloud 9” as well as their fans’ classic favorites such as “A Toast To The Future Kids” and more. Bradley Scott Walden (vocals) kept the everyone engaged by walking out into the middle of The Underground, encouraging pile-ups and crowd-surfing while ER White (guitar), Jordan Steward (keyboard), and Marcellus Wallace (guitar) along with touring members, Ryan Kienie (bass) and Brent Caltagirone (drums) kept the audience in sway. The room was filled with all the voices in sync with every melody; especially shouting out the chorus to “Young Lonely” while being moved to tears.
YouTube | Porcelain – Emarosa (Official Music Video)
The night was lit up by the comradery and energy exchanged among the audience and artists.
From my personal perspective, this was one of the most engaging shows – from start to finish – I have seen all year.