Anyone in the heavy music scene knows that Kentucky’s own Knocked Loose is a band on the rise. Coming off the heels of their brand new record, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, I was able to catch them on Friday night when they played in New York City. The record has been out for 3 weeks and the internet cannot stop talking about how much they love it. I knew it was going to be an energetic night.
Speed opened the show at Terminal 5 coming all the way from Australia. When I arrived at the venue, I could feel the energy coming off of the crowd. Their set was fantastic — complete with some violin, which is not something you would expect from a band that heavy.
Loathe took the stage next and the crowd was ready for them. Their band has a heavy, but layered sound that reminded me a little of Deftones. You could tell the crowd knew them well, singing along to the lyrics when they took small breaks from the circle pits — at times the crowd slowed down to a slow wave. The room clearly loved them, and Loathe put on an energetic set mixing in heavier songs to remind the crowd that they were there to get there room ready for Knocked Loose.
Show Me The Body were next — definitely an interesting trio. The set started with the singer Julian standing alone singing with a spot light shining down, a Palestinian flag draped on the amp behind him. Guitarist and keyboardist Harlen played slowly behind him while the energy slowly built. Towards the end of the song, Julian went to grab his instrument and someone behind me yelled, “Holy shit, that’s a fucking banjo!” (Indeed, it was.) Show Me The Body hails from NYC, but it would be really hard to categorize them. They have an unpredictable punk spirit, that the crowd seemed to really enjoy.
While the crew was getting the stage ready for Knocked Loose, a huge sheet covered the stage. You could feel the energy in the room the whole time it took them to get everything ready. By the time the lights dropped down and “Blinding Faith” started from behind the curtain, the mood was frantic. Eventually, the sheet dropped to show the stage — their signature lit up cross appeared surrounded by trees from their album cover. Singer Brian Garris’s screams pierced the air, setting fire to the mosh pit that took over the whole floor. Terminal 5 is a venue that goes up three levels, and top to bottom, front to back — no one stopped moving throughout the whole set.
The set list was pretty well-balanced, mixing old favorites with the new record, but the NYC crowd made it feel like every song was a favorite. Songs like “Trapped in the Grasp of Memory” and “Where Light Divides the Holler” had the audience screaming along while crowd surfers moved over the barricade continuously. Loathes’ Kadeem France joined the band for “Billy No Mates” and it looked like he was having as much fun as everyone else. That rolled right into “Counting Worms” and somehow the energy went up even more. I had a view later from up top — it was somehow both poetic and violent to see a couple thousand people moving in several giant circles.
The band gave it their all for their 16 song set, asking the crowd to do the same. NYC did not disappoint. The band has been growing exponentially in popularity over the past several months and it doesn’t seem like the momentum will slow down anytime soon. You can tell they are prepared to ride this wave as long and as far as they can. If you love the records and the energy, Knocked Loose translates that really well in a live setting. At times it feels like you’re in the middle of a car crash trying to not get hit by flying glass, but in the best way.
“Knocked Loose, Motherfucker!” — Indeed.
KNOCKED LOOSE – MAY 31, 2024 – TERMINAL 5 (NEW YORK CITY)
