Erra Delivers A High-Energy Sold Out Performance at The Observatory Santa Ana
SIANVAR
Post-hardcore quintet, Sianvar, are a busy bunch. With members bringing in talent from their roles in additional bands such as Hail the Sun, A Lot Like Birds, and Stolas, it’s not uncommon for a member to play a double-set when on tour. This time around, it was guitarist, Will Swan (Sianvar and Dance Gavin Dance), who wowed the audience with a stellar opening and headlining performance.
Sianvar as a collective unit, bring a special type of spunk and wild fun energy to the stage. Lead vocalist, Donovan Melero, and guitarist, Sergio Medina, were easily some of the most energetic performers of the night. Between Melero vaulting his microphone and mic stand above his head mid-vocals and Medina down on both knees pumping out guitar riffs with his head almost touching the stage floor, the audience couldn’t help but feed off the band’s energy. With all this excitement, Sianvar’s set was a perfect way to open the night.
ERRA
Consisting of JT Cavey (unclean vocals), Alex Ballew (drums), Conor Hesse (bass), Sean Price (guitar), and Jesse Cash (guitar & clean vocals), Alabama-based metalcore group, Erra, delivered a memorable performance to the packed crowd at The Observatory Santa Ana. Starring as the second opening act for post-hardcore band, Dance Gavin Dance, the quintet’s powerful and high-energy performance was a perfect way to spend a night full of smiles and head-banging dance moves.
With their namesake drawing reference to Akkadian mythology and representing mayhem, it came as little surprise that Erra had no problem commanding the stage and rowdy crowd. Even amidst the audience’s wild, but good-spirited antics and crowd-surfing tendencies, fans couldn’t help but feel entranced by the catchy guitar riffs and dynamic contrast between clean and unclean vocal patterns.
Working their way through a strong setlist, Erra not only performed songs such as “Luminesce” and “Hourglass” off their 2016 album, Drift, but decided to spice things up with some exciting new material. Released late June, the group’s new single, “Dissaray” was a clear fan favorite and acted as an exciting preview of what the has in store for with their upcoming album, Neon (out Aug 10 via Sumerian Records).
Overall, between their dynamic stage presence and refreshingly punchy progressive-metal sound, Erra is a band that fans will want to keep on their radar for the foreseeable future.
Can’t get enough of Erra’s live performance? Catch them on the Summer Slaughter Tour alongside Veil of Maya and Between the Buried and Me, and more! (July 13 - Aug 19).
For Pre-Orders of Neon and merchandise bundles click here.
I SEE STARS
Following Erra was Michigan-based group, I See Stars. With a unique sound that mixes genres such as post and electronic-hardcore music, I See Stars had no problem bringing people to their feet with brilliant dance-inducing electronic beats and pop-rock-tinged vocals. The band’s custom on-stage platforms also scored bonus points in the showmanship category as members jumped on and off the additional stands and added further layers of excitement to the set. Finally, as if the band’s performance couldn’t get any better, lead vocalist, Devin Oliver, brought yet another fun aspect to the show; fashion. Donning the same white sweatshirt from the band’s 2016 music video for their track, “Calm Snow”, Oliver’s addition of black vinyl pants and combat boots ensured that I See Stars rocked the stage with runway-worthy style.
DANCE GAVIN DANCE
Next up was headliner, Dance Gavin Dance. Fresh off the release of their latest album (Artificial Selection out June 8 via Rise Records), the California quintet has enjoyed a mountain of success in 2018. With over eleven million streams in the first week alone, Artificial Selection has been the band’s most successful album release to date. Capitalizing on this momentum, the Spring 2018 Tour has, likewise, been a record breaking one for the post-hardcore outfit. With all but four of twenty two sold out shows and each of these four boasting over 90% sold, the Spring headline run has been Dance Gavin Dance’s most impressive showing as of yet.
Performing songs ranging from the most recent Artificial Selection to tracks off the band’s very first album “Downtown Battle Mountain”, Dance Gavin Dance’s set was packed with opportunities to sing and, let’s be honest, shout the lyrics along with vocalists Tilian Pearson (clean vocals) and Jon Mess (unclean vocals). In other words, between the great music and electric atmosphere, fans were guaranteed to have the time of their lives.
Coverage by Jessica Nakamoto
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