Pop Break Live: Atreyu ’20th Anniversary Tour’ with White Chapel, He is Legend, Tempting Fate and Santa Cruz at Fillmore Silver Spring
Words & Photos by David Weaver
On 29 October, Atreyu — a metalcore band from California — performed at Fillmore Silver Spring. Atreyu, formed in 1998 and named after a character from Michael Ende’s novel The Neverending Story, are focusing this tour on celebrating their 20th anniversary. To celebrate their 20-year anniversary, Atreyu performed a 20 song set, where the songs were chosen by the fans. Atreyu, always focused on pushing their craft further, is performing the longest set ever performed during any of their previous tours. A truly impressive feat.
The tour features support from Whitechapel, He Is Legend, Tempting Fate, and Santa Cruz. Needless to say, with four opening bands, it felt less like a concert and more like a music festival. Throughout the night, you could sense a sort of electricity in the air that gradually grew more intense as the bands went through their sets. The moment Atreyu stepped onto the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers. The band opened up the concert with “The Time Is Now”–a song whose chorus sounded like a rallying cry as the fans sang along in unison:
“I can’t contain myself, I never felt so alive
(The time is now)
I’m past the breaking point, I set my soul on fire
The time is now”
Atreyu put their 20 years of performing experience on full display, never losing the momentum in their performance, and displaying some impressive showmanship. Whether it was guitarist Dan Jacobs drumming a beat that set the audiences soul afire; bassist Marc McKnight reaching over and playing Dan’s guitar mid-song; or Alex Varkatzas, vocalist, holding a mic out and getting the audience to sing along, it truly felt like a celebration from start to finish.
