The Gothic Theater is over a hundred years old and in 1998 it was purchased and remodeled into the music venue it is today. Needless to say, it is one of my favorite venues, I love covering concerts here. When I read that Beast in Black was returning to the US, first I was excited for their return. I had missed them the last two tours through Colorado. And with their return, they were playing the Gothic Theater adding to my excitement to cover their show.
Arriving at the venue, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. I made my way to the pit and saw some friends on the rail and we talked music and tours till tonight's openers took the stage. Starting the night off was Dance With the Dead, a duo that formed in 2013. Their sound has been described as Synthwave, heavy metal and Instrumental. Their music is all instrumental with no vocals.
They started their set with their song, “Go” and their sound drew the crowd in. The first 15 minutes or so, one song flowed into another with no real break in between the songs. Guitarist Tony Kim was wowing the crowd with his fingers dancing across the strings and every now and then he would engage with the crowd getting everyone cheering. Justin Pointer would move back and forth from bass guitar and his keyboards while touring drummer John Terry rounded out their sound. Their set was about 50 minutes long and when they finished, the crowd cheered their appreciation for their music.
Dance With the Dead members:
Justin Pointer
Tony Kim
Tour drummer John Terry
Setlist:
Go!
Sledge 2022 Driven to Madness
Scar
Firebird
The Man Who Made a Monster
Riot 2016 The Shape
Into the Shadows
Hex
A New Fear
The Dawn
Become Wrath
Wyrm of Doom
Get Out
9:30 and the lights and music faded and soon drummer Atte Palokangas took to his kit with a deafening roar from their fans. As the other members made their way out onto the stage their fans got louder as the started their set with, “Blade Runner” from their 2021 album, Dark Connection and the roar continued when vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos walked out onto the stage in a long black trench coat and began to pour out his vocals to cheering crowd. The energy level shot out from the stage from the very first song and you had better catch your breath between songs because it only went higher!
For the first three songs we were allowed to shoot from the pit and I was the only photographer for this show. I had no clue what I was about to witness from the band on stage, but I found out real quick! Guitarists Anton Kabanen and Kasperi Heikkinen along with bassist Máté Molnár put on a show on stage not only with their skilled musicianship but with their interactions with each other and the crowd and me as well. (Check out the photo gallery.) The guys would get together and lean on each smiling pointing to the crowd then break and move around the stage and meet again.
Throughout their set of amazing music I moved back and forth in the pit with a giant smile on my face and capturing the sights that I was seeing on stage. Beast in Black moved through their set with songs, “Unlimited Sin”, “Crazy, Mad, Insane”, and “Dark New World”. Yannis’s vocals poured out through the venue and the energy level never let up. As I tried to move through the crowd to capture a few shots around the venue, I watched the band on stage, and was wondering where they get their energy to do this for 31 stops on this tour.
The band finished their night with, “One Night in Tokyo” and “End of the World”. Their fans wanted more but let Beast in Black know how grateful they were for an amazing show.
As I was walking out of the venue I said to myself, I'm tired! What a great show by Beast In Black! These guys blew me away with their music and a stage presence that was off the charts! And I want to thank the band for interacting with me. I had an awesome time. Can’t wait to do it again.
Beast In Black members:
Anton Kabanen – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
Yannis Papadopoulos – lead vocals
Kasperi Heikkinen – rhythm guitar
Máté Molnár – bass
Atte Palokangas - drums
Setlist:
Blade Runner
Eternal Fire 2017 Berserker
Die by the Blade
Revengeance Machine
Unlimited Sin 2019 From Hell with Love
True Believer
Moonlight Rendezvous
Crazy, Mad, Insane
Sweet True Lies
To the Last Drop of Blood
Oceandeep
Dark New World
Beast in Black
Hardcore
Born Again
Blind and Frozen
Cry Out for a Hero
One Night in Tokyo
End of the World
