Asking Alexandria @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville
October 2nd, 2024: Asking Alexandria, Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive, and Archers @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY
English metalcore/hard rock band Asking Alexandria brought their All My Friends US 2024 Tour to Mercury Ballroom on October 2nd to a nearly sold-out crowd! The venue was packed, with fans filling the floor and balcony, ready for a fun night. Opening the show this evening was the Wisconsin rock/metalcore band Archers. The band emerged in 2015 and has been growing its fan base over the past few years. Singer/guitarist Ben Koehler told the crowd how good it felt to be back in Louisville, with the band then proceeding to blow through their 30-minute set at a furious and energetic pace. The crowd kept pace with them, matching the band’s energy! Towards the end of their set, he told the crowd “Again, we are a band called Archers from Wisconsin. No need to cheer for that! Ok…we do have beer and cheese!”. Going on to express gratitude for being a part of this tour and to the crowd for making it possible to dream and be a part of something like this, Koehler said “We have one song left and are going to do our best to melt your faces off with it!”. Near the end of the song, bassist/backing vocalist Oscar Porter stood at the barricade and played amongst the fans! It was a fun way to end their set and get the crowd warmed up!
Next up was the Arizona metalcore band The Word Alive. Performing a set that included “The Hounds of Anubis”, “Nocturnal Future”, and Life Cycles”, the band was full of fun energy and had fun with the crowd! Singer Tyler Smith was very engaging with the crowd, telling them “I believe live music is the best thing on earth! Ya’ll are killing it tonight, more than any other show so far, and understand what the scene is about!”. He went on to say “I think we need to come back to KY more often! Thank you so much!”. Finishing their set, they told everyone to come see them at the merch table after the set. Next up was the Texas metalcore band Memphis May Fire. Telling the crowd early on how the band has been playing Louisville for a long time and we’d given them a chance and had never let the band down, singer Matty Mullins got the crowd engaged and moshing in no time! With a set list that included “Necessary Evil”, “Bleed Me Dry”, “Vices”, and “Make Believe”. The band released their latest EP Infection in September and performed songs from the EP this evening, with Mullins telling the crowd, “What a beautiful crowd! Thank you! We’ve been playing some new songs. DO you like what you hear?”, with the crowd cheering as a yes! As they finished their set, the band took a photo from the stage with the crowd behind them. “Our band loves this city and I promise we’ll be back!”.
Closing out the evening was Asking Alexandria. With metal platforms lining the entire length of the front of the stage, the band spent a lot of time standing on the platforms to engage better with the crowd. The band released their latest album Where Do We Go From Here? last year and will be releasing Where Do We Go From Here? The Remixes EP on October 18th. Starting things off with “Welcome”, “Dear Insanity”, and “Down To Hell”, the band played a mix of older and newer songs, with singer Danny Warsnop commenting that making the set list for this tour was a challenge. The crowd was full of energy throughout the set, singing, moshing, head-banging, and crowd-surfing! Towards the middle of the set, Warsnop performed “Someone, Somewhere” solo and acoustic, before the band came back out. Playing a few more songs, including “I Don’t Need You”, “Moving On”, and “A Prophecy”, the band finished the set with “The Final Episode (Let’s Change The Channel)”, with Warsnop having a bit of fun with the crowd before the song. He told everyone how the band would just be standing right over there (pointing to the stairs near the back side of the stage), everyone would clap and cheer, and then the band would come back out for an encore. “We’re literally just going to be right there! You can see us!” he joked. The band then left the stage after the song and came back out shortly for two more songs- “Don’t Pray For Me” and “Alone In A Room”. The band was very high-energy and engaging throughout their set this evening, with the fans loving every minute of it!
Memphis May Fire
The Word Alive
Archers