Richmond, VA – What do you get when you take 1,300 or so of your best friends you have never met, but them in a music venue, and have four bands deliver a metalcore night that will be remembered for a long time? The answer is straight forward… you could say black and white. You get Asking Alexandria’s All My Friends Tour, complete with, you guessed it, their friends, NERV, The Word Alive, and Memphis May Fire. On April 23, 2024, everyone at the National in Richmond became part of this circle of friends.
The night started with NERV, an up and coming band hailing from Sacramento, CA. Their set was a harbinger of things to come as their powerful vocals got everyone moving. Songs performed included “Bad Nature“, “Demons“, and “Low“. The night was off to a solid start, just between friends.
After a short break, The Word Alive, from Phoenix, AZ took the stage. The style was similar, but I found their music had a melodic twist thrown in with the metalcore. I was impressed. Their songs included “2012“, “New Reality“, and “One of Us“.
The final friend gathering leading up to Asking Alexandria was Memphis May Fire out of Denton, TX. Keeping with a no holding back among friends theme, they let it all out, giving the audience a fresh dose of big Texas style metalcore, including “Make Believe“, “The Sinner“, and “Blood & Water“.
Friend’s Gallery
To this point, the story had been pretty black and white. It was a friendly, straight forward, metalcore, face melting night. All was good!! It was now time for the friendliest of friends, Asking Alexandria. The question was, would they add a little color to the mix? Something told me they would.
Danny Worsnop (vocal, guitar), James Cassells (drums), Cameron Liddell (guitar), Sam Bettley (bass), and Paul Bartolome (guitar) emerged to a roar in the near sold out National. Getting right into it, they ironically opened with “Closure” from their 2011 album, Reckless and Relentless.
Now good friends always talk with the other friends in the room. Danny had about 1,300 friends to speak with. He engaged the audience quite well throughout the night, especially with those who were lucky enough to be at the barrier.
Next, they shared another great song, “Alone Again”, then there was some “Bad Blood”, followed by “Down to Hell” and “Into the Fire”. We were on a wild journey and everyone was riding shotgun… it was getting hot in the National!!
As I said, I expected a little color to be added to the black and white metalcore night, and I was right. Getting into an acoustic mood, Danny had a little fun with a cover of the Backstreet Boys’, “I Want It That Way“. Continuing with a colorful acoustic theme, we were treated to “Someone Somewhere” before going into “Moving On“.
Finishing up the night, the band delivered more of what these friends had gathered for, rounding out the night with “Let Go“, “To the Stage“, “A Prophecy“, and “The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel)“. A great way to end a perfectly delish metalcore gathering…. or was it? It is always hard for friends to leave, so there had to be an encore… “Alone in a Room“.
Asking Alexandria Gallery
As I left for the night, amongst all my new friends, I realized the perfect friendship involves a black and white, straight forward, trusting in each other and giving as needed. This performance was that perfect mix with some colorful moments thrown in for good measure. All in all, it was a blast. Looking forward to the next time we get 1,300 or so best friends together again for the very first time!
Asking Alexandria Setlist
Closure
Alone Again
Bad Blood
Down to Hell
Into the Fire
Where Did It Go?
Dark Void
I Want It That Way
Someone, Somewhere
Moving On
The Violence
Let Go
To the Stage
A Prophecy
The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel)
Encore:
Alone in a Room
Show Date: April 23, 2024
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