If asked to describe Indianapolis’s music scene, you’d likely first mention the innumerable country artists that pass through the larger venues of the city. Some, myself included, who regularly attend shows for local bands in smaller buildings, might also reference the pop punk and metalcore crowds, two subgenres as populous in Indy as casinos in Las Vegas. Carefully falling between the cracks of it all, however, lies a large group progressive metal fans who are constantly yearning for someone – anyone – to make a stop at a local venue and satisfy their hunger for jazz-infused, polymetric metal goodness. Sadly, Indiana is almost always passed up by such bands, who instead often play in locations like Chicago, IL or Louisville, KY. Prog favorite Between the Buried and Me realized this, addressed the issue with a lengthy Facebook announcement, and marked a date for Indianapolis. And so our journey begins.
Fast-forward to the day of the show; Friday, June 13. It’s a warm and sunny day in quaint Irvington, the historic suburb in which the events of the night take place. A sizable tour bus sits outside of the Irving Theater, parked by the defunct Lazy Daze Coffee House, which now serves mainly as a resting place for bands before their set. We arrived early in the day with plenty of time to kill, but thankfully there’s a good amount of distractions in Irvington, so Devin and I strolled to the Wyliepalooza Ice Cream Emporium for some air conditioning and boba tea. After cooling off, we headed back to the theater and watched as others arrived, regrouped, and started to form a line. First individuals, then small groups, then… As the day progressed, the line outside of the Irving continued growing, as did the anticipation of everyone within it, until finally, an hour behind schedule, the proverbial floodgates (read: door) opened and the fun was ready to be had.
Once everybody had gotten settled into the building and situated around the merch booths, pews, and stage, opening band Refractions began setting up their equipment to kick off the show. They seemed a bit cramped on stage, having to sort themselves in front of the main act’s gear, but the four-man crew didn’t let that get in their way as they put on a stellar performance for an unwitting audience. A few progressive metal songs later, and it was time for a satisfied crowd to wave goodbye to Refractions, and welcome the second act Cast From Perfection to the stage. This… Didn’t go over as well. Whereas Refractions was mixed reasonably well, the instruments making up Cast From Perfection were nearly indistinguishable – that is, except for the bass, which was so overwhelming in the mix that many showgoers were physically knocked back during their set, some even having to momentarily step out the building entirely. While poor mixing is at no fault of the band itself, it affects the show regardless, and was incredibly hard to overlook. Those who could, however, didn’t seem particularly impressed with the performance either, with a much more metalcore feel – one that perhaps would’ve been better welcomed at the Gwen Stacy show the following night. Nevertheless, it was enough to get a small group in the crowd moving, and the rest antsy for what was to come.
“How’d you like the opening bands?” “What’s your favorite BTBAM album?” “What do you think they’re gonna play?” An anxious crowd chatted amongst itself while gear was being moved on and off of the stage. I admittedly wasn’t paying close attention to the stage during setup; most of my friends were finding their way towards the front lines, and we began striking up the same conversations. Throughout the frantic chatter, eyes from all across the room were shifting around the stage, peeking at backdrops behind the drumkit, and the large bar lights carefully arranged around speakers, pedal boards, and mic stands. Eventually, the stagehands finished soundcheck and setup, and walked off of the stage. All there was left to do was wait. After some short time, the lights dimmed, and any conversations being had were immediately dropped, a roaring cheer in their place. Between the Buried and Me had taken the stage.
Wasting no time, the band jumped right into its top crowd-pleaser “White Walls,” and before I knew it, I had been jammed into the flailing arms and sides of everyone around me as 700 people moved as one force straight to the front of the room. This wasn’t a crowd nor a band that needed warming up. Immediately, crowd surfers were abundant, starting a trend that would continue for the rest of the night. Fists and horns were being thrown in the air in conjunction with the music, and there wasn’t a single member of the audience that wasn’t screaming every word of every song back at the band. Looking around the room, Indiana’s usual golf clappers and arm crossers were nowhere to be found, and the only reason anybody had their phone out was to capture what was happening in front of them; the energy being put out during the show was incredible. This was definitely aided by the fact that, from “Lay Your Ghosts To Rest” to “Fossil Genera” and “Ants Of The Sky,” each and every song on the setlist was a fan favorite. Sadly, an unfortunate side effect to playing in the Irving Theater is lighting that leaves much to be desired, though as with the mixing for Cast From Perfection earlier in the night, this is beyond the control of the band. Luckily, Between the Buried and Me brought with them an excellent technician who made do with what was available and managed as good a duo-chromatic light show as they come.
After an hour of moshing, moving, and music (And only five songs, holding true to the running joke of progressive metal!), the band exited the stage, leaving in their wake a roaring crowd chanting “BTBAM!” like clockwork. Of course, nobody likes to leave their fans holding out, so they soon reemerged with their instruments in hand for two final songs. It’s worth noting that every song played was prefaced with at least a dozen shouting “This is my favorite song!”, but never was the remark so frequent than immediately following the opening notes of “Silent Flight Parliament,” the epic penultimate track of the group’s most recent album The Parallax II: Future Sequence. Hands were held high and tears were shed with the final notes of the night sounding off, and to everyone’s dismay, the night had finally come to an end. Between the Buried and Me gave a gracious ‘thank you’ to the audience, and the audience back to them, and the hundreds of people brought together that day began making their ways home from a night they won’t soon forget.
Footnote: I can’t begin to thank Dustie Waring, Blake Richardson, and the rest of Between the Buried and Me enough for not only putting on an incredible show, but also for allowing me onstage after their set to propose to Devin, my girlfriend of five years. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we’re sincerely grateful to have had the chance to share that moment with the people and the music that we love. Cheers.
Photos by: Devin Barnes (See more photos from this show at: SmileyFaceMode) Review by: Hayato Huseman
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Support and Purchase Between The Buried and Me albums:
Snapshot: Between the Buried and Me – Between the Buried and Me
The Parallax II: Future Sequence – Between the Buried and Me
Colors – Between the Buried and Me
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues – EP – Between the Buried and Me
Alaska – Between the Buried and Me
The Great Misdirect – Between the Buried and Me
The Anatomy Of – Between the Buried and Me
The Silent Circus – Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me – Between the Buried and Me
The Best of Between the Buried and Me – Between the Buried and Me
