With the release of a new album, it’s only fitting that a band goes on tour to celebrate it. On September 14th, fans gathered inside the House of Blues in Orlando Florida to witness Nothing More‘s Carnal North American Tour. The Texas band supported by three other bands: Post Profit, From Ashes To New, and Set It Off.
The first band of the night was Post Profit, an angsty young band from Texas with enough energy that the energizer bunny would be jealous. Their seven song set-list letting the audience know their range: from pop-punk to post hardcore, this band can do it all.
Second was From Ashes To New, who was welcomed with screams and even a few barks. Their stage presence can only be described as spooky and sexy (and yes they definitely know it). When breaks between songs occurred it was not just applause from fans, but call-outs from fans to their favorite member. Their eight song set-list took the audience through their whole discography, a single from their first album, “My Name” to their breakout hit “Nightmare”.
Rounding out the openers was Florida’s own Set It Off. To describe them would be to say imagine the colors of a kaleidoscope, and the atmosphere of the circus: full of light, energy, and exuberance. It was hard to not dance along with the band while in the photo pit, Cody Carson’s energy contagious as he lead the crowd to clap, sway, and scream along. They captured hearts of old and new fans with a great range of songs in their thirteen song set-list.
The clock struck 9:00 as Nothing More took the stage to a sold out crowd. The intro of Carnal playing over the speakers as one by one members of the band appeared on stage. The track one interlude led seamlessly into “House on Sand” as leadsinger Jonny Hawkins appeared on stage, greeting the crowd shirtless, his chest covered in a mix of gold, red, and black paint. It seems energy is a big factor to be on this tour, and Nothing More has plenty of it, whether it came in the form of drum solos, jumping down to the barricade to interact with fans, or jumping off risers on stage. Their set-list started off with prioritizing the new album, and evolved over time to honor the past albums. It was only fitting that they ended the night by paying homage to their iconic self titled album, playing “This Is The Time (Ballast).” Indeed this is the time and I am lucky to have experienced it.
