Concert Reviews

Concert Review: SEVENDUST with Tetrarch and Dead Poet Society – Kansas City

The Truman | Kansas City, MO | 25 March 2022

Sevendust kicked off their 2022 tour on March 4 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and will wrap up the first leg of the tour in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27. The band is celebrating the 21st anniversary of their 2001 album, Animosity, and are playing the album in its entirety on this tour. LA quartet Dead Poet Society are the opening act on this leg, while Atlanta, Georgia metal band Tetrarch are providing direct support to Sevendust.

Dead Poet Society
Dead Poet Society
Photo: Thomas Woroniak Photography

Up first were Dead Poet Society, a quartet out of Los Angeles that crashed into an energetic set with “.burymewhole,” a track off of their 2021 Spinefarm debut release, “-!-“ (known as the Exclamation album). The band formed at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2013, later moving to L.A.; however, their style is not the stereotypical proggy technicality often associated with Berklee alumni. Dead Poet Society’s songwriting spans multiple genres, like blues rock, alternative, punk, and metal. Although the crowd was still gathering inside the venue when the band started their set, after a few songs they were clearly winning over new fans in Kansas City. I look forward to seeing Dead Poet Society out on the road again soon. Check out the video for finale number “.CoDA” here.

Tetrach
Tetrach
Photo: Thomas Woroniak Photography

Next were Tetrarch, a four-piece metal outfit from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2007 by lead guitarist, Diamond Rowe, and vocalist/rhythm guitarist, Josh Fore, the band is currently touring in support of their 2021 Napalm Records release, Unstable. Starting off with “Stitch Me Up”, Josh Fore got the KC crowd jumping to the infectious groove that Tetrarch crafts so well. The remainder of the set consisted almost exclusively of tracks from the Unstable album, with heavy-hitting, low-end crunch on songs like, “Negative Noise”, “I’m Not Right”, “You Never Listen”, and title track “Unstable.” Throughout the set, lead guitarist Diamond Rowe showed us all her shredding skills as she stepped up front and center to rip through some lead guitar breaks.  


Sevendust launched into the Animosity set with “T.O.A.B.”, followed quickly by “Praise.” The crowd-surfers immediately began making their way over the heads of the audience toward the front of the stage. Judging by the deafening roar of approval from the near-capacity crowd, the KC fans gathered here tonight made it abundantly clear that they love this band. It was an emotional return to Kansas City for Sevendust, singer LaJon Witherspoon was visibly moved by the positive response from the audience as he looked with tearful eyes at the cheering fans; he is, after all, one of us, having moved with his family to Kansas City from Atlanta several years ago.

Sevendust
Sevendust
Photo: Thomas Woroniak Photogaphy

The band continued with crowd favorites “Trust”, “Xmas Day”, “Dead Set”, and “Shine.” With every song on the setlist, the audience responded with cheers, as the entire venue sang every lyric word-for-word. It was almost a perfect night of classic Sevendust songs and a flawless performance from the band. However, it was during Sevendust’s set that LaJon made the announcement regarding the untimely passing of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, casting a somber cloud over an otherwise incredible evening of live music. This sad news made songs like the well-loved ballad “Angel’s Son” even more impactful.

Although the first leg of the tour is over, there are plenty of dates coming up on the second part of the tour, starting on April 29th in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and continuing through to May 19th in Birmingham, Alabama. Check the full tour dates below, and do not hesitate to go see Sevendust if they stop at a venue near you. They never disappoint and hearing the full Animosity album live was a wonderful experience. Check out the photos from the show below!

Sevendust setlist:

  1. T.O.A.B.
  2. Praise
  3. Trust
  4. Xmas Day
  5. Dead Set
  6. Shine
  7. Follow
  8. Damaged
  9. Live Again
  10. Beautiful
  11. Redefine
  12. Angel’s Son
  13. Crucified

Encore:

  • Bitch
  • Face to Face

ANIMOSITY 21st (20th) Anniversary Tour

  • 03.04 – Oklahoma City OK – The Diamond Ballroom
  • 03.05 – Dallas TX – House of Blues
  • 03.07 – San Antonio TX – The Aztec Theatre
  • 03.08 – Houston TX – House of Blues
  • 03.11 – San Diego CA – SOMA
  • 03.12 – Sacramento CA – Ace of Spades
  • 03.13 – Santa Cruz CA – The Catalyst
  • 03.15 – Anaheim CA – House of Blues
  • 03.16 – Tempe AZ – Marquee Theater
  • 03.18 – Denver CO – The Oriental Theater
  • 03.19 – Denver CO – The Oriental Theater
  • 03.20 – Wichita KS – The Cotillion
  • 03.22 – Minneapolis MN – Skyway Theatre
  • 03.23 – Chicago IL – House of Blues
  • 03.25 – Kansas City MO – The Truman
  • 03.26 – St. Louis MO – The Factory
  • 03.27 – Nashville TN – Wildhorse Saloon

 

LEG TWO:

  • 04.29 – Grand Rapids MI – 20 Monroe
  • 04.30 – Detroit MI- The Fillmore
  • 05.01 – Cleveland OH – The Agora Theater
  • 05.03 – Pittsburgh PA – Roxian Theater
  • 05.04 – Syracuse NY – Sharkey’s
  • 05.06 – Long Island NY – The Paramount
  • 05.07 – Hampton Beach NH – Hampton Beach Casino
  • 05.08 – Hartford CT – The Webster Theater
  • 05.10 – Harrisburg PA – HMAC
  • 05.11 – Philadelphia PA – Theatre of the Living Arts
  • 05.13 – Baltimore MD – Rams Head Live
  • 05.14 – Charlotte NC – The Neighborhood Theatre
  • 05.15 – Charlotte NC – The Neighborhood Theatre
  • 05.17 – Fayetteville AR – George’s Majestic
  • 05.18 – Little Rock AR – Little Rock Music Hall
  • 05.19 – Birmingham AL – Iron City

Photos by Thomas Woroniak Photography


Thomas Woroniak

Owner/Editor/Photographer/Journalist at AntiHero Magazine -- Thomas is a concert photographer and writer living in the Kansas City, MO area. When he isn't elbowing people in the photo pit, he makes an actual living as a web developer and freelance motion graphics designer. He is also a guitarist and studied music composition at the University of Illinois at Chicago -- Author: Thomas Woroniak

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