REVIEW: Knocked Loose Brings It Back to Basics at Midnight Masquerade Show
The group's Shaky Knees late-night set was a crazy, high-speed gift for ATL fans
“It’s 1 o’clock in the f—king morning,” yells Bryan Garris, lead singer of Louisville’s Knocked Loose, in a sold-out, sweat-dripping room at The Masquerade’s Heaven stage. Lining up all the way to the back of the venue’s parking garage, the half mud-covered, half storm-soaked crowd cheers as the group rips through their decade-long catalog in honor of Shaky Knees weekend.
The poster-children of modern hardcore still carry a love for the scene rarely seen at this high of status in the industry. Knocked Loose brought along Atlanta HXC legends Foundation as openers, with the local rockers admitting that they had never played to this many people with a barricade so far away from the stage. This didn’t stop vocalist Tomas Pearson from often jumping in the crowd, leading them up to surf and reach for his arms and microphone.
When Knocked Loose hit the stage, you could feel the electricity enter the room. This may be the smallest room they’ll play in Atlanta for a good while, since they’ve recently packed out venues like The Eastern and Coca-Cola Roxy. Knocked Loose announced to fans that it had been too long since they’d had performed here, saying they owed it to the crowd to not only play our premier rock festival, but a bonus show for their Masquerade family as well.
For all the snobs in the scene who may think their rise to stardom has led them astray from the values of the scene, I’d beg to differ. In my (truthfully, less experienced) eyes from the alternative spaces I’ve encountered, the band brings a positively sensationalized and heightened sound of hardcore which allows them to take everything in their audiences to 11. You want crowdsurfers? Expect hundreds. You want unhinged moshpit moves? Watch out. You want chants? Arf Arf.
Also, whether you like them or not, Knocked Loose invites concertgoers to seek out similarly chaotic shows in their own backyard. Leaving the venue, a handful of local independent promoters (namely Chophouse Booking) handed out flyers on how to get involved in building your DIY hardcore scene. Maybe in protest, maybe in encouragement, the mainstream success of Knocked Loose arguably serves as a catalyst for listeners to engage and connect with what could become their favorite band, underground venue, or crazy Waffle House show experience.
As these faces of today’s national hardcore soundtrack gear up to tour with Denzel Curry, Boundaries, and Superheaven, I implore you to check out what Knocked Loose has in store. Even if it’s not as raw or intimate as this back-to-basics late night festival afterparty, you should still go and enjoy the band’s live presence on a highly-elevated scale.
Honestly, I don’t know as much about the hardcore scene as I should (especially to write a dedicated analysis of its Atlanta sector). However, I was not only an observer of faces in the crowd I recognized from the local shows I regularly attend, but those I’ve never seen before, smiling at the barricade, shouting back the lyrics to each and every song on the setlist. Even if Knocked Loose might have allegedly broken from the rudimentary hardcore textbook, they’re still Knocked Loose: here to stay and not forgetting those who made them the band that let them hop on rap-crossover tracks, open for the likes of Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon, and scare parents with a wild Jimmy Kimmel performance. Whatever they’ve got going on, I respect it.
Article and photos by Mikey Smith. Please credit @mts2.photo or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
