Neurosis at Royale Boston
photo by Ben Stas

Neurosis, Converge & Amenra went on tour (pics, setlists from Boston)

The amazing triple bill of Neurosis, Converge and Amenra wrapped up their tour in Philly last night (8/7). The tour included two stops in Brooklyn (8/4 & 8/5 at Warsaw), followed by a Boston show at Royale. We’ve got pictures of the Boston show are in the gallery above. Here’s an excerpt of Invisible Oranges’ review of the Chicago show:

“Hello. We’re Converge, we’ve been a band for 6,000 years”. A slight exaggeration from singer Jacob Bannon, but one that provided an important reminder; for a band that sounds like two velociraptors getting into a heated argument over a malfunctioning woodchipper, Converge do have a sense of humor. In between songs about betrayal, loss, and desperation, Bannon was quick to crack jokes at overly enthusiastic members of the crowd and deflated the tension while guitarist Kurt Ballou dealt with technical issues. With those minor hiccups out of the way, Converge tore through a set that was balanced slower numbers likely to appeal to Neurosis fans (“You Fail Me”, “Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast”, “Predatory Glow”, “Jane Doe”) with the blisteringly fast songs that they’ve built their career off of (“Eagles Become Vultures”, “Concubine”). As is often the case, drummer Ben Koller stole the show. Koller, fresh off a stint with Mutoid Man was in full hair metal mode, grinning like a loon and swinging his sticks behind his back to hit his hi-hat and Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder’s kit.

…[Neurosis’] set was understandably focused on material from last year’s Fires Within Fires. Those tracks, while not Neurosis’s best on record, soared in a live setting, their deep, rumbling riffs bouncing off Thalia Hall’s high ceilings. The rest of their set was less predictable. Neurosis leapt across their vast discography to give fans a broadened perspective on their evolution. Fan favorites like “Locust Star” and “The Doorway” sat comfortably next to deep cuts like “Takeahnase”. Outside of “At The End Of The Road” from 2007’s Given To The Rising, a tune that Neurosis seem to hold in high regard but doesn’t quite work live, it was remarkable how well these songs complemented each other. The techniques used may differ from decade to decade, but the goal was the same; each track pushed the listener beyond their state of comfort and shook the air around them.

Read the rest of IO’s review HERE.

Converge will be back in NYC for a one-off with Gojira in September, and they also play Texas festival Sound on Sound. Their new album will be out later this year, but first they just released a new two-song single.

Neurosis will play the Psycho Las Vegas festival later this month.

Check out setlists from the Boston show:

Neurosis at Royale Boston – 8/6/17 Setlist (via)
Lost
The Web
A Shadow Memory
Locust Star
Fire Is the End Lesson
Water Is Not Enough
Broken Ground
Bending Light
The Doorway
Stones from the Sky

Converge at Royale Boston – 8/6/17 Setlist (via)
Dark Horse
Aimless Arrow
Under Duress
Trespasses
All We Love We Leave Behind
Predatory Glow
Reap What You Sow
Cutter
Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast
Eve
I Can Tell You About Pain
Eagles Become Vultures
Concubine
Jane Doe

photos by Ben Stas