Aug 9, 20235 min read

Better Lovers, We Came As Romans, The Ghost Inside & Underoath swing harder in Myrtle Beach

August 1st 2023 post-hardcore legends Underoath & The Ghost Inside brought their co-headlining tour to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With fellow legends We Came As Romans & new supergroup Better Lovers as tour support, this show was bound to be a raucous display of the heavier side of post-hardcore.

Within the recent resurgence in the Myrtle Beach live music scene over the past few years, the very clear line between House Of Blues level shows & smaller local & regional shows; it seems as the general consensus is that the scene wants these lines blurred. Meaning, more large packages like this but with 2-3 bands, and a local/regional support band rather than pre-booked & pre packaged shows of the same level. Almost 1 year ago to this show's date, South Carolina hardcore emo/punk band Aim High supported Senses Fail & Rise Against in a sold out House of Blues Myrtle Beach show. The show went well, and locals began to question if this would set a precedence for more local/regional support acts to work in collaboration with local/regional Live Nation Reps to provide (pretty much the only truly large capacity music venue in Myrtle Beach) the region with more opportunity to come to these shows and feel good about supporting up-&-coming acts. Since that show, its seems as if the community wishes were all but ignored, as all of the shows this year at the HOB have been pre-packaged with support, even further distancing the common local show-goer from the show-goer that simply wants to see the headlining act. Seemingly detrimental to both side's bottom line, the anticipation for this clear example of a fully pre-packaged tour was up in the air. Would nobody show, would everybody show? Lets dive in.

Yes, people showed up and showed out. Speaking to attendees, some claimed to drive long distances to attend the show, and it was a very large turnout. When I asked around, I got the majority response that many were not aware of who the first opener(Better Lovers) were, but they know they weren't a local or regional band. Half seemed to care, half seemed to not; most seemed to enjoy their set, regardless.

Now you may be asking yourself "how does a supergroup composed of some of the biggest names in the scene not be known by everybody?" After pondering for some time, I came to the simple conclusion that name equity works with bands, but not the individuals within those bands. I think its safe to assume that every single person at that show has either: heard a record Will Putney has produced/had a hand in, heard of Dillenger Escape Plan or Every Time I Die....at least once before. In theory & on paper this band should be bigger than they currently are. It's simply time, and sound. While this band doesn't deliver the most commercially digestible "core" music, it makes sense why this band would be some people's favorites, and others, not so much. Personally, I listened to their EP and I liked it, but it didn't hit me as hard as I (probably subliminally) wanted it to. Their live show changed my perspective on this band. This is definitely a group that needs to be seen live before fully judged. While the niche sound may not be for everyone, nobody can deny this group is full of some of the most talented people in the game. I do believe they will find their demographic and rise at an appropriate speed for what is being called a "supergroup." Watching their band live was a very good experience, personally, and I am absolutely stoked to see what they have in store next.

We Came As Romans

Metalcore vets We Came As Romans took to the stage next. I remember first discovering this band at Warped Tour (#imold) and thinking "this band will go on to do great things.' Lo & behold, currently sitting at 2.13 Million monthly listeners on Spotify; its clear WCAR have cemented their spot in the scene. Since the untimely overdose death of bandmate Kyle Pavone(Rest in Peace) it would be completely understandable for this band to slow down. After the re-release of 'Darkbloom' its clear no slowing is in their future. 5/5 show every time i've ever seen them live, this time was no exception.

The Ghost Inside

"Life's swinging hard, but i'm swinging harder"

The infamous callout line did this tour justice, as the crowd absolutely exploded upon the intro of the song 'Mercy.' Despite coming in at less than half the monthly listeners as their direct support, its clear TGI has an extremely dedicated & loyal fanbase.

I'd like to place a spotlight on their drummer, because this dude is nuts live. Andrew Tkaczyk is a true testament to resilience and determination. Andrew lost one of his legs in a tragic accident in 2015; which could have easily put an end to his drumming career. After the accident, Andrew underwent intensive rehab & showed determination to get back behind the drum kit. He worked hard with prosthetics and adapted his drumming technique to accommodate his new situation. Thats right, this guy does complete metalcore shows with one real and one prosthetic leg. He tours every night with this setup, and if this isn't a testament to how passionate he, and the whole band is regarding their music, i don't know what would be. Great show, great crowd interaction. 5/5

Underoath

I've personally seen Underoath live roughly 10 times; every single time they put on a good show. Not always the most proficient show in regards to setup, but always amazing in regards to energy & band's stage presence. Coming out of Tampa, FL concepting in 1997, this band really found its traction in 2004 with the release of "They're Only Chasing Safety." Ever since then, it seems like this band has been on the up and up. Not many bands who started out in the 2000s "Christian-core" circut are even around anymore, much less thriving. This is not the case for Underoath who have now embraced and rejected their original religious roots, and they speak about it in their music. Ballsy move, but they pulled it off and are still here to tell about it. Drummer & vocalist Aaron Gillespie is nearly what "makes" this band. He is inarguably one of the best drummers in the scene, and has been doing it for a long time. Whats odd is it seems like he's only getting better, still. Underoath is the type of band that'll be able to pull of headlining tours for some years to come. They definitely rocked, but I still feel like The Ghost Inside stole the show. Great thing its a co-headliner and if one does well, it means the entire tour does.