Man, Oh! man, was tonight special in Charlotte, North Carolina. After what seemed like an eternity, Parkway Drive have returned to the Queen City. The Underdogs themselves who have been trying to return to the states for almost 3 years finally made it! This time in support of their latest album “Darker Still”. Wrapping up in just 2 days the “Darker Still Tour” kicked off Jan 22 on Shiprocked and trekked across the US hitting cities like LA, Houston, Nashville and now tonight in Charlotte North Carolina. Alongside Parkway Drive are metal-core juggernauts Memphis May Fire and the Connecticut Progressive Metal outfit Currents.
Currents
Currents kicked things off with a bang, rocking a 7 song set list featuring tracks all the way back to their 2018 release “I let the devil in”. Their set was full of energy and vocalist Brian Wille kept the crowd on their feet the entire time! Check out the live video of Better Days
Currents Photo Gallery
Following Currents was a band that is also no stranger to the Queen City, Memphis May Fire! Matty Mullins and the boys in MMF seem to always stop in Charlotte when on tour and the crowd shows it! Kicking things off with their single “Blood & Water” off their 2022 release “Remade In Misery” Memphis May Fire, hit that stage running and didn’t stop, and the crowd gave it right back to them. Playing a 10 song set you would have thought this was a headlining tour with the energy felt on stage. Check out our gallery and live video of Misery from the show.
Finally the moment came. It was time, Parkway Drive were mere moments from taking the stage. If you’re a regular at The Fillmore you can tell this without even looking at your watch. See first you hear Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” which kicks the sold out crowd into karaoke mode, followed by Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The music fades, the lights start to dim and the crowd goes NUTS. Then the chants begin “Parkway Drive! Parkway Drive! Parkway Drive!” the moment everyone including the band had been waiting for, for almost 3 years Parkway Drive is BACK! Then that familiar riffs of Glitch fill the venue. As the stage lights begin to flash more and more, you can see vocalist Winston McCall, and he has the biggest grin across his face. This grin did not leave his face the entire night, you can actually see it in a few pics below. I spoke with fans later who had a chance to meet him after the show and talked about it. Parkway Drive is a band that will come out at 200mph and will crank it up harder and harder as the show goes on. It’s like the band takes the energy they get from the crowd and gives it back 10 fold. The Darker Still Tour maybe coming to a close this weekend in Orlando Florida at Heart Support, but by the look on Winston’s face you would have thought it was night 1 of tour. The boy’s brought an incredible stage show to the venue, even without their “Full Production” even with technical issues guitarist Jeff Ling had toward the beginning of the set didn’t seem to phase the band and their energy output. It amazing to see the guys grow, from seeing them playing early in the day on Vans Warped Tour, to Mid Afternoon Festival slots, to now headliners. The future is only going to get brighter for them. In their documentary “Viva The Underdogs” a statement is made “Who will be the next face of Metal” well, it’s safe to say Parkway Drive will be that face and will be ranked up there with the greats. These boys have gone from just a bunch of surf rats from Byron Bay to metal giants who’s name is recognized all over the world. The Darker Still tour will be wrapping up this weekend in Orlando Florida, at Heart Support Festival, so if you get a chance to get out to the festival make sure you do so, you will not be disappointed. Till next time “Viva The Underdogs!”
