As I drove into Belfast city centre last night, I was met with a slightly ominous scene. No cars around and eerily empty streets, except for the PSNI blocking off most of the roads with their tank like vans and redirecting any stray traffic away from the city centre. At first I wasn’t sure what has happening, perhaps maybe some sort of zombie outbreak, but as I finally found a route through and got parked, I emerged right into the middle of a march down the main street.
I followed it around to the Telegraph Building, where the sea of people slowly merged with and changed into a different sea of people, all there to see Breaking Benjamin kick off their European tour.
I couldn’t help but think that the choice of building, with is historic industrial pressroom, was an apt venue for the gig. It’s rare that you will see Breaking Benjamin doing a European tour, and it seemed that all of their fans knew this, as the show had completely sold out.
LA based upstarts Return to Dust opened the show, but due to the aforementioned situation outside I arrived to the stage minutes too late to shoot them.
They were, however, an excellent band to open the night. Their relentless energy and heavy harmonies and even heavier riffs got everyone in the room warmed up more than the current heatwave, and they even stopped one of their last songs to ‘walk it back’ as not everyone in the crowd was jumping up and down like they asked. This seemed to create a shared mindset with the crowd, where everyone seemed to realise they were all fans in this together. (This was then solidified after the set with a collective singalong to Chop Suey and Duality where everyone gave themselves a round of applause).
Personally, I’ve been a fan of Chavelle since the 00’s and I never thought I’d get to see them play live, let alone shoot them. By the time they stepped out, the venue was a solid mass of bodies all chomping at the bit for more riffs, and they definitely weren’t disappointed. When Pete Loeffler said ‘hey Belfast, we heard you like the heavy shit’ it was music to my ears. They then launched into a punishing but slightly swift 30 min set that peaked with the iconic The Red (and the entire crowd singing it back) and Send the Pain Below. The Chicago trio managed to fill the entire venue with their heavy groove and massive sound, and my only gripes would be it felt like they weren’t on long enough, and I didn’t get to hear my favourite song Hats off to the Bull played live. Judging by the amount of Chavelle fans there, I’m sure it would’ve been a fantastic way to finish their set and blow the roof off.
At around 9:00 PM, the lights plunged the warehouse into darkness. When the menacing opening chords of I Will Not Bow kicked in, the venue collectively erupted.
Benjamin Burnley looked incredibly energized, his vocals hitting with pristine clarity. He also brought along his young son Ben for the tour, who was also helping out with vocals and guitar. What makes Breaking Benjamin’s live setup so formidable is their vocal depth, guitarist Keith Wallen and bassist Aaron Bruch provided seamless, massive harmonies that elevated anthems like Breath and Failure to soaring heights.
They are also the type of band who clearly put a lot of effort into getting a perfect live sound, with every note from every instrument perfectly mixed and the entire gig sounding absolutely massive no matter what part of the venue you were standing in. (Which was great because every inch of the place was occupied).
The band closed the night with The Diary of Jane, leaving the crowd screaming every lyric back to the stage. It was a masterclass in post-grunge, proving that even after decades, the band has lost none of their emotional weight or sonic power.
In a flawless, high-octane celebration of heavy rock, Breaking Benjamin matched the gritty, historic energy of the Telegraph Building note for note.
If last night was anything to go by, it’s gonna be a hell of a tour.
Chavelle photos:
Breaking Benjanin photos & set-list:
Set-list:
I Will Not Bow
Until the End
Evil Angel
Crawl
Red Cold River
Blow Me Away
Follow
Angels Fall
You
So Cold
Polyamorous
Dear Agony
Something Wicked
Breath
Failure
Awaken
Dance With the Devil
The Diary of Jane
Photos & Words – David McEneaney @experimentzero