Lets….Make MistakesThe Fall of Troy has been a bucket list band of mine since I discovered them at 14 years old, playing Guitar Hero 3. Since I first played "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X", I fell in love with them. I listened to every release they put out. Watched for tours that came around me, but I never found one. Until now. I was so excited to see them come near me, and I'm honored for the opportunity to photograph them.
The night started with 2 bands from Asheville, North Carolina. The Welcoming (a fitting name to kick us off), and Seismic Sutra. The Welcoming blends rock grooves you’d hear in a band like "Wheel" or "A Perfect Circle" mixed with headbanging chaos that screams "Gojira". Their captivating stage presence enthralled the crowd. The flowing long hair, and dazzling guitar leads got our attention, and the pounding heavy drum fills kept us entertained. By the end of the performance, the crowd was fawning over James and even playing his guitar.
Next was Seismic Sutra, a reverb fueled psychedelic acid trip, lit in projected technicolor in exchange for the house lights. The venue lights went out, and they came onto a pitch black stage, which erupted into color as soon as they started playing. Think King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, with a lot more reverb. Seismic Sutra is a tapestry of sound. Seismic Sutra is a crescendo of color.
But we all came here for The Fall of Troy. I knew it, the crowd knew it, Thomas Erak knew it. A Single Word kicked us off, and despite the song’s dramatic, “Let’s make mistakes”, not a single mistake was made.The band’s chemistry was on display from the first note, all the way to Hendo’s final bow. At times it felt like we were getting a look behind the curtain into 3 masters jamming with each other for fun. At one point, drummer Andrew Forsman started playing the Police's "Roxanne”. After the titular "Roxanne" lyric, the crowd, as if rehearsed, responded with “...you don’t have to put on the red light!”
Midway through the show, the chaos that defined "Doppelganger" subsided, and Thomas gave a sincere thank you to his wife and his band. He praised their patience with him, and how much they meant to him. The love between the band, the craft, and the client was palpable. The calm was short lived however, as Thomas launched into Doppelganger's closing track Macauley Caulkin.
We all know how a show like this would end. Before playing the final song, Thomas simply said "We're not going to do an Encore, those are played out". Thomas' turned on his signature delay and reverb and played the famous three notes that defined F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X (real ones would recognize the slow variation as F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P. but I digress). When the rest of the band came in after the famous intro, the crowd erupted into a cataclysmic mosh pit that rattled the floor of Eulogy. True to their word, it was their final song, and no encore was played. Hendo took a bow, and with that, 14 year old me was happy to see The Fall of Troy come to his hometown.