The Arizona hardcore community turned up in droves for Knocked Loose’s Hive Mind Tour at Mesa Amphitheatre this week. The heavyweights were joined by Boundaries and Superheaven (and missing Denzel Curry due to a family emergency) as they turned the grassy steps of the amphitheatre into a roiling mass of bodies all night long.
Connecticut’s own Boundaries opened the show just as the sun disappeared, encouraging the growing audience to throw themselves into the set- and the fans were more than willing to follow those orders. Bodies started flying over the barricade early as the energy continued to amp up during “My Body is a Cage” and “Torn Wide Open”- the latter featuring piercing vocals from Knocked Loose guitarist Isaac Hale. The band provided the perfect gut punch to start the show, moving things right into Superheaven’s post-hardcore vibes. While their set was slower and included far less moshing, fans on the barricade were mesmerized at the band’s technical precision and stellar vocals. The balance they provided for such a rowdy lineup gave the crowd a moment to settle while also delivering excellence during songs like “Stare at the Void” and “In On It”.
The venue was now packed with thousands of black-clad fans buzzing with anticipation as Knocked Loose’s stage took shape. Under a layer of fog and blinding lights, the band emerged with a score to settle and immediately whipped the field into a frenzy for “Deep in the Willow” and the first breakdown on “Everything is Quiet Now”. The band was on a mission- one that included putting phones down and hands and feet up to keep everyone moving. Knocked Loose makes music that is inherently unsettling in a live environment, putting everyone on edge in a way that turns a passive audience into a teeming mass of aggression. This worked beautifully on songs like “Don’t Reach for Me” and “Billy No Mates”, as fans gave the same welcoming reception to music from all eras of the band’s impressive discography.
The band added more theatrical elements into this tour, including additional percussion on the outro to “Take Me Home” and their dark forest stage setup looming over the crowd while their signature giant cross lit up the whole venue. As the show coiled tighter towards the end of the set, Knocked Loose put even more energy into the final songs and with Denzel Curry absent for the evening, the fans took over on his verse for “Hive Mind” and shouted with gusto during “Suffocate” . It wouldn’t be a proper Knocked Loose show without a rousing chorus of barking on “Counting Worms” before the band re-emerged for one more wall of death to an encore of “Everything is Quiet Now”. Fans left the venue sweaty and smiling, thrilled to be part of another incredible evening spent with one of the most prolific bands in hardcore and a welcome staple in the Arizona community.
