HAIL THE SUN @ THE VOLTAGE LOUNGE
WRITTEN BY: CHARLEY PARKER
The Voltage Lounge, one of North 7th street’s iconic music venues is an essential part of the Philly music scene. Located right next to the Electric Factory, it houses bands multiple times a week and never fails to put on a show. On June 8 Hail The Sun made its way to Philly to play the venue.
Philly local punk band Entropy started the night off with an energy that would be sustained throughout the rest of the night. Songs like “Mayflower” and “Highway” showed off the band’s powerful emotional capabilities. With a guitarist eerily reminiscent of Kurt Cobain, a high energy bassist, and a hard-hitting drummer, Entropy grabbed the crowd’s attention and held it for the entirety of its set. Its interaction with the crowd also set a precedent that would continue with the bands to come later in the night.
Next up is Limbs, kicking off Hail The Sun’s summer tour. At the beginning of its set, they asked for all the house lights to be turned off and brought out their own set of lights to be placed behind the drummer. The strobing of the lights synchronized with the screamed vocals and the shredding guitar riffs set up an intense atmosphere for the entire crowd to begin jumping and moshing to the rhythm. Limbs used the entire venue to its advantage, refusing to be contained by just the stage. As a finale, the lead guitarist leaned into the crowd and had the captivated audience hold him up as he played the final song of their set.
The next to take the stage is a five piece band all the way from Utah: Eidola. Having just released a new album, Eidola played both new and old material and had the crowd singing along to every word. With a mixture of their crooning lead singer and a guitarist backing him up with screamed lyrics, Eidola brought a change of pace while not failing to keep the interest and attention of the crowd. Eidola closed Its set with a track from their second album, called Omega: Third Temple, and 8 minute epic that served as a thrilling conclusion, getting everyone in the mood for the next crew to take the stage.
San Diego post-hardcore band Capsize is the next up, and immediately gets the crowd moving, Capsize never fails to put on an amazing show and this time they carried on the tradition. Another blend of traditional singing and screaming, Capsize brings the anger and aggression back to the stage with songs like Favorite Secret about an untold love, and Tear Me Apart about lead singer Daniel Wand’s tumultuous relationship with his father. To close off the set, Wand descended the stage and joined the crowd on the floor as they enveloped him and sang the words to the final song in unison.
As headliners Hail the Sun take the stage, the crown has grown immensely from the beginning of the night. The set starts off by the band’s new touring drummer being introduced, and Hail the Sun immediately jump into their set, fast and energetic. Everybody in the room seemed to be singing along their words and moshers started the movement in the center of the floor. People fall but get picked back up by their fellow concert-goers. Donovan Melero, the lead vocalist impressed me by taking up the drums in the middle of the set and continuing to sing at the same time with no drop in quality. Hail the sun delivered and incredibly emotional and high energy performance that will surely not be forgotten anytime soon by me or any of the others in attendance.
Hail the sun Setlist:
Anti-Eulogy (I Hope You Stay Dead)
Will They Blame Me If You Go Disappearing?
Burn Nice and Slow (The Formative Years)
Doing the Same Thing and Expecting Different Results
Encore:
Ow! (Splidao!) [I Like It, Though]
