In front of a packed house of hysterical fans, Escape The Fate launched their “This World Is Ours” tour at The Town Ballroom in downtown Buffalo, NY this past Thursday night. Proclaiming Buffalo as one of his favorite places to play, lead singer Craig Mabbitt said they were gonna start off with something heavy.
Opening with “Choose Your Fate,” the crowd went insane. I have never witnessed so much crowd surfing at the beginning of a set. As the frantic teenagers in attendance poured over the barricade, I did my best to avoid them, taking my share of kicks, punches, and head butts. There just wasn’t enough security guards to catch them all.
Keeping up the energy and the crowd completely involved, Mabbitt and the other members of the band went to the edge of the stage frequently throughout the set, giving hi-fives and handing out guitar picks to lucky fans. At one point during “Day Of Wreckoning,” Mabbitt backed up to the drum riser, ran towards the crowd, and lept out head first into the fray. He was immediately engulfed by the frantic mass, and emerged after a few minutes. When back on stage, he announced he was missing a gauge from his right ear, and asked that it be returned. When a young lady named Courtlyn came forward and handed it over, he invited her up on stage with the band, at which point Mabbitt dedicated their next song “You Are So Beautiful” to her.
Finishing up their set with “The Aftermath (The Guillotine Part III),” bassist T.J. Bell was not to be outdone by Mabbitt, and jumped into the crowd with his bass, pounding out the last song of the night, while they held him up.
Despite the crowd’s chant of “one more song”, ETF did not return for an encore. In the short time they were on stage, they delivered enough energy to satisfy them, as they quickly dispersed when the house lights came up.
ETF deivers a high intensity, crowd oriented performance. I hope for the rest of the fans on this tour, they can keep this energy level up, because it makes them an absolute must see.
Set List:
Choose Your Fate
Massacre
Issues
10 Miles Wide
Something
Bad Blood
Day Of Wreckoning You Are So Beautiful
Ashley
Gorgeous Nightmare
This War Is Ours (The Guillotine Part II)
The Aftermath (The Guillotine Part III)
We would like to thank Keith Hagan of SKH Music for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
