In the course of being a music journalist, I am asked to attend countless shows to either do a review or live interview with many artists. I love music, obviously, so going to a concert is always a perk to this job. There are, however, some shows that I look forward to more than others. One such show was a recent Chiodos concert I attended last month. As always, they did not disappoint this writer.



As a little back story here, I was first introduced to Chiodos in March of 2007 on the Taste of Chaos tour. I was blown away by their performances over three days of covering that tour, and have been a big fan ever since. I've had the pleasure of interviewing nearly every member of the band since that time and seeing them on several occasions. All that being said, I obviously had a good amount of fond memories from prior performances to carry me into that night, and high expectations.



The night of this performance would be the first time I was going to see and hear Chiodos perform songs from their latest record, 'Bone Pallace Ballet.' This album is packed with great songs to perform and I was very much looking forward to experiencing them live, but I wondered if the standard opening to every Chiodos show I had ever seen would be altered. Anyone who has ever attended one of their concerts knows without question that the opening song has been 'The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined.' It has always set the tone for what the fans were about to experience, and part of me didn't want to see it replaced with a more recent tune.



After solid performances by openers PersonL, Hit The Lights and Motion City Soundtrack, the moment had arrived and the crowd braced themselves for what they knew would be unrelenting energy on stage. When the resounding opening riffs of 'The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined' were unleashed upon The Lincoln Theater, I felt the perfect blend of excitement and familiarity that I was hoping for. What followed was a great night of both old and new favorites, with Chiodos frontman Craig Owens engaging the crowd in between songs with sincerely friendly banter, often thanking them for the tremendous support they have shown over the years. While Craig mentioned being a bit under the weather, his performance did not suffer one inch as he delivered the incredible vocals we have come to expect from him. After having seen Chiodos many times now, another standout for me at this point is guitarist Jason Hale. Sometimes when a band is as forceful and talented collectively as Chiodos clearly is, individual performances (aside from the frontman) can get lost in the shuffle. Jason's guitar playing left me in awe that night, and made me want to take up playing myself again.



Chiodos has accomplished a great deal over the past seven years, and they have done it in such a way that has given them a strong foothold among their fans and the industry at large. With a recent re-release of 'Bone Pallace Ballet' last month that contains 7 additional tracks, it's clear that the masses have not nearly heard enough of this band. We look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Check out some photos from this show by following the link below.

Chiodos Photo Gallery