I Die Every Time I See Them — Music Crush Monday

Every Time I Die / March 29th, 2018 / Durty Nellies - Palatine, IL

You know how sometimes when you go to a concert of a band that you just love? There is a buzz in the air for sure and you can just feel the tension building up. I will say one of the worst moments in just about any concert is watching the equipment get set up and sound checked of the band you want to see most that night. It always feels like it takes FOREVER for the drum tech to keep kicking the drum and hitting the snare until the sound guy is satisfied with the levels, that is until they move on to the next drum in the set.

This was my first time seeing a show at Durty Nellies and overall I feel like it is a great venue! My only slight gripe was since it was an all ages show you had to go upstairs to get to the bar. It wasn't the easiest to navigate up there and back down. We did not see the first band due to eating dinner at the restaurant next to Durty Nellies. We listened but did not watch the second band because we were up in the bar and you can't really see the stage from up there unless you are near the balcony area. Then it was time for Every Time I Die to hit the stage which was great because it didn't feel like we had to wait all night for us to get to this point. We decided to stay up in the bar area for the start of their set.

One of my favorite things about this band is they just hit the stage and kill it. There is no gimmick or shtick, it is just 5 normal guys that play music. Keith Buckley just grabs the mic with a simple greeting, "We are Every Time I Die from Buffalo, NY" and they get moving. They opened the show with the song "Roman Holiday" and getting the overhead view of the crowd just going off was just as entertaining to see as the band on stage doing the same thing. Then to my surprise the next song they went into was "The New Black" which is probably considered a "hit" song for them if there is one but it just set the mood that we were in for a fun evening. We watched probably 3 or 4 songs upstairs in the bar before we decided to go downstairs.

As soon as we went down turned the corner to the main floor area it was like someone turned the volume up to 12! I didn't expect the sound to be that much different from the upstairs to the downstairs. What was fun was if you are a fan of the band it was impossible NOT to be into what was going on. The pits were huge and active, it was loud, and SO many people were singing/screaming along.

They just kept rolling through the music playing personal favorites such as "Pigs Is Pigs", "Petal", "It Remembers", "Floater", and more! Every song played always started with me saying, "Yes!" like "Oh I love this song!" Keith made a comment on how great the venue is, how wonderful the staff was, and how you know its a good show when even the Security Guards are rocking out in front of the stage. It made me think about when you go to shows like that where everything is smooth and respectful it makes the experience that much better. When you are in a crowd of people especially when there are mosh pits, circle pits, and crowd surfers it can get tense. There always seems to be those one or two people that just want to hurt others and it can ruin a night or show depending on how severe it can get. This show felt like everyone was there for the music and the good times. Everyone around me was extremely polite and what was cool is it was known we were all there for the same reason. During one of the songs I was singing along and the guy next to me was doing the same thing and when another song started he would be just as excited for the song and give me a fist bump. There was also a point in the show where instead of a beach ball getting tossed around (which is generally what you think with a "rock concert"), it was a garbage can. Yes, a full sized garbage can getting tossed around like it was a beach ball. Then at one point the guitar player threw a mic stand in the crowd which that also got tossed around for a bit. I realize the two do not go together, everyone being cool and respectful but then throwing dangerous things around the crowd. It was all fun I promise... When they got to their last song I couldn't help but feel "That is it?!" but after checking out the setlist it turns out they played 21 songs!

After the show my wife Sara and I were hanging out at the bar and we look down by the stage and Keith Buckley is hanging out with some fans so we rushed down there to meet him. Right when we got to him he said he had to go so I missed the chance of meeting him. I did get to meet and talk with the Bassist Steve Micciche which was awesome. He was incredibly friendly and even took a quick picture with me.

Every Time I Die has been around for quite some time that they not only "Still Have It" but they are still killing the live show. I would highly recommend that you go see them in concert if at all possible. They are on the entire Warped Tour in 2018 which I am hoping I can catch them this year and you should too! Overall I will put this concert at one of my favorites that I've been to. It was just a solid show all around and these guys never seem to disappoint. The crowd participation and the band playing out of their mind made it such a great time. There is a reason ETID has been around this long and you can certainly tell when you see a seasoned vet hit the stage, it is very refreshing to witness.