Knocked Loose is a band that has played arenas and stadiums around the world, but that doesn’t mean they started there. This is a band straight out of Kentucky who planted their roots playing basement shows and bars and tiny rooms. The only differences from then to now? The amount of people in the room and in the size of the stage. One thing that hasn’t changed, though? The amount of energy, chaos, and heart that goes into every set they play.
Wednesday night in the pouring, Chicago rain on a frigid fall night, fans were lucky enough to pile in to the Salt Shed’s Fairgrounds and see Knocked Loose perform a hell of a set, something that is the complete norm for them.
When the weather forecast came out for the day, it was easy to assume that the show not might have as great of a turnout as it would otherwise, but it appears that the band’s fanbase is one that will always rally to see them, sunshine or downpour, 100 degrees or 60 degrees. Starting out the night was Boundaries, a metalcore band from Connecticut that has been playing Chicago for years, albeit probably not on this large of a stage. Even as they began their set and the rain was just soaking everyone, the crowd was already filling in astronomically. For those who were at the final Tinley Park Warped Tour, it felt very reminiscent of that day… And for those who weren’t, let’s just say it was pretty damned wet, very rainy, and amplified the energy in the space by a thousand percent. Following Boundaries was a shift in genre with the band Superheaven. Superheaven is more of a shoegazey emo band – definitely the furthest thing from Knocked Loose – but the glory of a mixed genre bill is that it pulls folks from every direction in every space to come together and enjoy each other’s taste in music… And that’s exactly what happened when all of the kids who were moshing 20 minutes before for Boundaries were swaying and head nodding to Superheaven, and then half an hour later bouncing and rapping back every word for Denzel Curry’s set.. . Denzel Curry’s set. Yes, the mixed genres of the bill continue!
The co-headliner of the night, Denzel Curry is not new to mixed bill shows – he’s been playing them for years. Touring with Billie Eilish and Deftones, among others, he’s always been a rapper who appeals to anyone and everyone he comes in contact with. The way he holds the crowd with his stare onstage, the way he moves, his body language – all of it says he’s running the show. And everyone loves it. From the second he hits the stage with his DJ, the crowd is bouncing, nodding, moving to every song, and they can’t take their eyes off him as he strides across the stage. He kicked off his set with “Hit the Floor” which had everyone grooving in seconds, and then he gave them a solid hour straight of bar after bar, beat after beat, and no one stopped moving for a minute. He tied up his set with a fantastic Rage Against the Machine cover (“Killing in the Name”/”Bulls On Parade”), and left the crowd completely on fire.
And then when his friends in Knocked Loose hit the stage right afterwards… there are hardly words to truly describe it.
Chicago has been a home away from home for Knocked Loose for quite some time, a big part of that being because the band is from the Midwest, and Chicago is a sort-of hub for hardcore bands in the region. In 2016, they were opening at the Beat Kitchen, and their set went so crazy that people were throwing garbage cans across the pit. A band with the capability of bringing that kind of energy to a 300 cap room as an opener has the potential to do insane things headlining a 5,500 cap space – and that’s exactly what they did on Wednesday night.
Coming out onto a stage covered in misting fog, with a glowing neon cross as the only light, these guys know how to build up hype. From the second the first riff hit, it felt like lightning bolts bouncing from person to person with the amount of electricity in the venue. They kicked off the night with the breakdown from “Killing You” (unreleased), before running straight through “Deep In the Willow,” “Everything is Quiet Now,” and “Don’t Reach For Me.” With columns of fire shooting through the air around them, blinding strobes, and dirty, sludgy guitars, this band is made for a stage, just as much as they were when they were playing 50 and 100 cap rooms.
During their set, Bryan Garris [vocalist] made a few remarks about the band’s relationship with the city, even dedicating “Billy No Mates” to the people who “used to see us at Beat Kitchen, Metro,” which got plenty of hooting and hollering. Another comment got a much louder response, though, was when Garris mosh-called with a good “Free Palestine!” which left everyone smiling, cheering, and continuing to go absolutely insane. Bands who stand for something mean more than anything to their fans, and the response from the crowd was a testament to that.
The band played a great variety of tracks off of their last five releases, and it seemed like everyone in the crowd was getting rowdy to every single one of ’em. During the encore, the word “rowdy” would be putting it lightly, though. When the band brought out Denzel to do guest vocals for “Hive Mind,” there were so many mosh pits open that an aerial photo would’ve shown a crowd that looked like a piece of swiss cheese – holes everywhere (but made up of people beating the hell out of each other, within reason). Bryan dedicated the next song, “Suffocate,” to Harm’s Way, with a strong “For Bo” [in honor of Chicago’s own Bo Lueders, who passed away tragically earlier this year], before encouraging fans to create the biggest wall of death they’ve ever seen.
Wrapping up the night with “Counting Worms,” the band ended the show on a high note, and everyone in the audience was over the moon about it. It turns out maybe a cold, rainy night in Chicago isn’t have bad for a gig, after all.
