August Burns Red Tears Up The Culture Room
A Hot Night of Cool Riffs… the “Cool Riffs” absolutely did not do this show any justice.
The veteran metal core legends continue to impress as they navigate their third decade together at a sold-out and incredibly intimate show at The Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The venue, tucked into the corner of a shopping plaza, seems a little out of place for the absolute mayhem that goes on behind its doors.
August Burn Red’s only South Florida show of the year did not disappoint as they made this show happen before they embarked on the Emo’s Not Dead cruise at the nearby Fort Lauderdale Seaport. This show was so highly anticipated that the band designed two show-specific tee shirts and a hoodie. The Miami Vice-inspired design was particularly irresistible, prompting even myself to snag one upon entry.
The night opened with local acts Further Within and We’re Wolves to warm up the crowd. The two openers show plenty of promise for the future as they kept the energy up throughout their sets.
After the two opening acts finished their set, you could feel the anticipation in the crowd as each microphone was sound checked, each drum tom, and cymbal slapped with Matthew Greiner’s signature sticks. “Chop Suey” poured out of the speakers as the crowd cheered and sang along to each lyric of the hit by System of a Down perfectly… let’s be real, we’ve known this song since it was released and we actually watched the music video back when MTV once played music.
The band wasted no time after they rushed the stage to cheers and chants of “ABR,” and the first note of “Thirty and Seven” sent the concertgoers into a frenzy. Lead singer Jake Luhrs’ command of the stage is unmatched. The heart and soul he puts into the performance is one that I cannot comprehend even as I’ve seen them a dozen times.
The rest of the band deserves the same praise as guitarists JB and Brent's chemistry on stage with each other is hypnotic; the way they move from one side of the stage to the other effortlessly and it never seems like they are rushing to fill a spot or to catch up on a note… it’s flawless. Even mid-set, a fan tossed their extremely cruise-appropriate straw hat to JB and he wore it for a song.
Dustin, the band’s extremely talented bassist has never been better. How tight his work sounds and how he easily he shreds his notes while simultaneously nailing the backing vocals during my favorite track on the album, “Indonesia," is something to be admired. Then there’s Matthew Greiner; the man behind the wall of toms and cymbals, with some of the best posture I could ever imagine on a drummer, smiling as he chops his pedals and crushes that china during crowd favorites like “Composure,” which the band came out and played as an encore after they finished “Constellations.”
ABR showed exactly why they are at the top of the metal core scene as their tight-knit playing style is to be admired and respected. Despite the intimate venue with the crowd right up against the stage, their sound mirrors their studio albums and it’s absolutely beautiful to experience.
All good things must come to an end, but these guys don’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon.
See full show gallery here.