Hardcore tours are winning this fall and the co-headlining jaunt by Dying Wish and Pain of Truth is one of the best lineups to catch. Joined by Outta Pocket, the Nile Theater was full of two-stepping moshers for a rowdy Friday night.
Bay Area hardcore group Outta Pocket immediately captured the room’s attention with their stage presence. They played with an easy confidence, getting the room moving and pushing the microphone towards the crowd so they could be part of the show. The only issue with their set is that it simply wasn’t long enough and they left their audience absolutely wanting more.
Pain of Truth took things up a brutal notch, pulling the crowd into a constantly roiling mosh pit throughout their set. Opening with “Blood on Your Hands”, the tone was set immediately. The fans were thrilled to be part of the band’s set as well, with bodies flying through the air and off the stage into a pit that was barely able to keep themselves upright in all the chaos. As with most heavy shows, the set was a dead sprint to the finish line to make way for the headliner.
Vocalist Emma Boster filled the gap at the start of Dying Wish’s set, shouting that the Nile is the band’s favorite venue in the country while the group worked through some early technical issues. Once their guitars were up and shredding, the band launched into another sprint of a set to a very excited group of fans. As with the previous performances, fans threw themselves from the stage while Boster two-stepped right alongside them to “Watch My Promise Die” and “Prey for Me”. After a wild night in Mesa, the band closed out with “Lost in the Fall” and “Innate Thirst”- a victory for hardcore on the road at the tail end of this year and a tour worth catching at every turn.
