REVIEW: Lorna Shore, Currents, Rivers of Nihil, Varials, Entheos at The Paramount | 12.21.2023

Show Reviews

Dec 28

Written By

‘Twas four nights before Christmas and all through The Paramount stood a sold out crowd with plenty to smile about. The five bands on the bill, they screamed and they shred, while the crowd that I mentioned was banging their heads –

Alright, alright, I’m done. I would go on but I’ll be honest, it was hard enough to put that together as it is. The holidays are exhausting and my creative energy is running on fumes at the moment. So, in a much less cheesy, sing-songy way let me set the scene: Lorna Shore, Currents, Rivers of Nihil, Varials, and Entheos. All in one night. Merry Christmas.

A clearly amazing lineup to anyone with eyes and ears, but the evening also held a few of points of personal significance. One year minus one week ago to the day of this show, Dangit Bee! covered its very first show, Killswitch Engage, at the very same venue. How full circle to kick off and close out the first year of this blog at one of my favorite venues, surrounded by warm vibes, metalheads, hard rock and soft pretzels.

Then there’s also the fact that I have already had the pleasure of covering these bands once before for Dangit Bee! over this past year, The night would therefore serve as an opportunity to revisit these awesome bands and to get to watch and shoot them again. I can’t think of a better way to wrap up 2023.

THE SHOW

The night began when Entheos flipped the vibe switch and the house music of Christmas classics was exchanged for blast beats and distortion. The band spread an abundance of Christmas cheer in the form of sonic brutality and the crowd was eager to revel in it.

Entheos’ album, Time Will Take Us All, was released earlier this year and has no shortage of bangers. The band showcased a few of the tracks including a personal favorite of mine, “In Purgatory.” Entheos also treated fans to a new track from a forthcoming EP to be released next year, the name of which I unsuccessfully relied on Setlist.fm to provide (I need to just write things down myself). Either way, the song was killer as was Entheos’ set as a whole.

Varials took the stage next. I remembered their set at The Meadows back in February as being heavy, but this set was a barrage of riffs and low end chest-rattling intensity that’s heaviness was undeniable.

Guitarist Shane Lyons accidentally cut his hand before the band went on, and you’d have never even known it had he not had to take a break mid-way through the set to re-wrap his hand. Lyons’ ability to play through the injury without issue is pretty hardcore; this comes as no surprise being that the band is from Philly, the birthplace of ECW.

Varials pulled songs from all three of their albums for their career-spanning setlist, as well as from their 2015 EP, Failure//Control, with “Stigmata” serving as the set closer.

It was a special thing to see Rivers of Nihil almost exactly one year after the last time, and at the same venue no less. Since the departure of vocalist Jacob Dieffenbach last year, the band has embarked on a new chapter. Their performance late last year was towards the beginning of that journey and now a year down the road, the path forward is clear.

Opening with their newest single, “Hellbirds”, Rivers of Nihil highlighted the evolution of their sound with bassist and lead vocalist Adam Biggs at the helm. It’s the same, but different; their signature technical progressive mastery with a slightly different flavor. The song is killer, and Biggs has a commanding charisma and confidence, fully embracing the role of frontman.

Rivers of Nihil’s set had old material too, including the set’s closer, “Where Owls Know My Name.” Dieffenbach’s absence is felt by familiarity but the band has definitely given these songs new life.

Currents brought us into the home stretch with a high-energy set that focused heavily on the band’s 2023 release, The Death We Seek. I mentioned this when I covered them earlier this year, but I was first introduced to the Currents by way of their single, “Remember Me,” the first song released from The Death We Seek. The song is but one of many great tracks on the album, and it was great to see the band again after becoming more familiar with their catalogue.

The pit had been active all night, but Currents brought it to the next level. Crowd surfers galore made their way toward the stage as vocalist Brian Wille darted back and forth from riser to riser, passionately delivering his lyrics as the fans sang along with equalled emotion. The band closed with “Unfamiliar” before turning things over to the Lorna Shore to bring us home.

In the moments prior to Lorna Shore taking the stage, machines on both sides of the stage started pumping out snow flurries and turned the stage into a literal winter wonderland. A blizzard of snow fell around the band as they opened with “Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer.” The epicness of the music mixed with the cinematic visual of them playing in a snowstorm was truly a sight to behold.

I slept on this band for too long, but after shooting their set when they opened for Mastodon and Gojira, I couldn’t help but dive in to their material. Will Ramos’ vocal talent is otherworldly; he finds ways to deliver his screams and growls that almost sound inhuman. It is super impressive.

Lorna Shore’s setlist drew primarily from their 2022 release, Pain Remains. The three-part musical journey of the album’s namesake served as a perfect encore and way to draw the evening to a close; a whirlwind of a night and one hell of a way to get into the Christmas spirit.

THE SHOOT

Well, here we are. One year and 141 performances later. That’s one hundred and forty one opportunities that I had this year to capture musicians in their element, doing what they love. With camera in hand I too am in my element, and I too am doing what I love.

To be able to share in that experience with them means a great deal to me; the bands that I listen to and look up to, as well as the ones I have yet to discover. And my hope is at the end of the day that I can shoot them in a way that epitomizes that meaning in a single frame.

Easier said than done, of course. Some shows you’ll feel like you nailed it; other shows, not so much. Either way, it’s a welcome opportunity when the band comes around again and you get to give it another shot. When it comes to these five bands, it’s a mixed bag. I have shots of Rivers of Nihil from past shows that I’m very proud of. For Varials, on the other hand, I didn’t feel like I nailed it the first time around (to be honest, I don’t think I did this time either).

Now I had this idea where I was going to compare the photos from past shows with this one for each band and talk about what was better or worse. I talked myself out of it, though; partially because I don’t know if I have the mental energy, but mostly because I don’t know if growth needs to be measured so granularly.

Do I feel that I’m a better concert photographer than I was when I started this blog one year ago? Yes, absolutely – and that’s all that matters. But if I reflect generally on shooting this show and thinking about this year, a few notes stand out in my mind.

First, I’ve tend to struggle with roaming vocalists. In their case, if you’re not ready to get the shot right in that moment; you‘ll probably miss it. There isn’t time to play with your composition or refocus a bunch of times, you just have to press the shutter and capture the moment before they’ve moved on.

The one moment that tends to be helpful is when the vocalist is doing a scream that is drawn out. They freeze in position while they hold out the note, and it gives you a moment to compose your shot. If nothing else, it can help you lock in your focus for when they start moving again. In the case of Currents, for example, the majority of the shots I have of Brian Wille are of him holding out notes. I had a harder time getting a shot of him while he was on the move.

Second, drummers are still a challenge for me. I’ve improved by if nothing else ensuring that I prioritize getting shots of the bands’ drummers – something I would at times abandon when the drummer was too hidden behind their kit. I get lots of shots where the drums directly in front of them are perfectly sharp, while the drummer is just out of focus. Those are the most annoying by far. But by making it a point to revisit the drummer multiple times while shooting, as well as increasing my shutter speed specifically when shooting drummers, I’m getting more results that I like. I’m not there just yet, but I’m making progress.

Progress is what this is all about, and I’m excited to continue in my quest for it. Whether this is your first time reading Dangit Bee! or you’ve been here since day one, I want to thank you sincerely for reading and helping me to keep this blog going this year.

Here’s to 2024 and beyond!