We Came As Romans with The Devil Wears Prada and Dayseeker
To Plant A Seed 10 Year Anniversary Tour
Warsaw
Brooklyn, NY
October 1st, 2021
Photos and Review by Jess Williams
On October 1st, Michigan based metalcore band, We Came As Romans stormed through Brooklyn with a sold out show at Greenpoint’s Warsaw. The “To Plant A Seed 10 Year Anniversary Tour” was in commemoration of the band’s debut album that changed both their lives, and their fans’ lives, for the better! This being the final time the band would play the album live, they brought along powerhouse bands The Devil Wears Prada and Dayseeker to kick off the show.
Hailing from Orange County, California, the post-hardcore band, Dayseeker, took the stage first. Bathed in a deep red light, lead singer Rory Rodriguez dived into the first song. This being my first time seeing the band, I was taken aback by his stunning vocals and the rest of the bands high energy performance. Despite their short set time, Dayseeker managed to connect with fans in a way that I haven’t seen in a long time. Mid set, Rory showed the crowd a moment of vulnerability, explaining that the last year was the best and worst year of his life. After welcoming his first child into the world in January2021, he lost his best friend, his father, to cancer in July. I felt for him in that moment, and the emotion really shined through for the remainder of their performance. I was strongly impressed with the performance Dayseeker put on that evening.
Up next to the stage was the Ohio metalcore band, The Devil Wears Prada. Now, this was not my first time seeing The Devil Wears Prada (TDWP) perform, and I was anticipating a high energy and deeply emotive set and they gave me just that. Opening their 10 song set with “Nightfall”, lead vocalist Mike Hranica was wasting no time. The crowd was going wild throughout their set. I watched as crowd surfers flung themselves into the air and across the barricade into the arms of the burly security guard standing at the front. A group of dedicated fans along the barricade held their handmade sign that welcomed TDWP back to Brooklyn. Smiling in between breakdowns, it was clear to see that the band was having the time of their lives and just happy to be back, performing live music again. Just when I thought the energy couldn’t get any better, mid-set, during “Sacrifice”, a wall of death occurred during the final breakdown. My adrenaline was rushing — this is what hardcore music is all about! TDWP, as always, put on a show for the books and I’m already looking forward to the next time I get to see them.
The lights went dark and the LCD screens on stage began to light up with the We Came As Romans logo. The excitement in the room was tangible as the main event was about to kick off. Suddenly, each member of the band’s face popped up on the screen and a short video commenced, in which each band member talked about what To Plant A Seed meant for them and their careers. The band took to the stage and immediately dove into the title track.
Deep down inside, the high school version of me was living their biggest dream. I was finally seeing one of my favorite bands live, right before my eyes — and they were so freaking good! The energy was contagious, almost immediately, crowd surfers began flowing over the barricade. We Came As Romans played a lengthy hour and a half long 19 song setlist that featured the entirety of To Plant A Seed, as well as some favorites from other albums.
“This one didn’t even make the album the first time around. This was a bonus track”, lead vocalist Dave Stephens said. Immediately the entire crowd knew what was coming and the band ripped into the hit song “To Move On Is To Grow.” I was thoroughly impressed with the performance that We Came As Romans put on that evening. The crowd was loving it and it was clear to see that the band was feeding off the energy of the crowd.Given everything that the band has been through as a band, losing their lead singer to an accidental overdose in 2018, it is truly amazing to see them on stage now, still kicking ass! We Came As Romans provided all of us with an escape for just one night and the crowd was loving it. The To Plant A Seed tour has only just begun and it is one for the books, I promise you that!
Dayseeker
The Devil Wears Prada
We Came As Romans
