Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Hits Houston House of Blues!

Tyler Carter of Issues Photo by: Sarah Hofman

Words by: Bethany Polson

The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour brought their lineup to Houston, Texas this week. The House of Blues was full of scream-emo aficionados who came out on a Monday night to support their love affair.

Douglas Robinson of Night Verses

Night Verses started out the night with a high energy performance. Front man Douglas Robinson owned the stage for 5 songs, switching between singing and screaming with little to no effort. He announced that the band would release a new album this summer before playing their first single off the new album. In general, the crowd seemed unfamiliar with their work though there were a few exceptions. Based on their performance, I’d say this Night Verses was a perfect addition to this lineup.

Douglas Robinson of Night Verses

Takahiro Moriuchi of ONE OK ROCK

Differently, ONE OK ROCK drew a huge following to venue. The crowd knew their discography and weren’t afraid to show it. Tyler Carter of Issues even joined the band for a duet that the crowd went wild for. The lead singer, Takahiro Moriuchi, affectionately known as “Taka,” encouraged a circle pit, which only excited their fans more. A large number of fans seemingly disappeared when the band stepped off stage after chanting “one more song,” words that are rarely heard after the set of an opening band. ONE OK ROCK was probably the odd band out on this tour since their genre is the rockiest of the four, but that certainly doesn’t change how well received their set was.

Andrew Velasquez of Crown the Empire

Crown The Empire preformed to a highly anticipate crowd that clung to every word. Their stage set up included two risers on which their vocalists preformed. The two were bouncing off the walls almost literally while trading between new and old songs alike. Unsurprisingly, this band also drew a large mass of people. Though Crown The Empire’s performances have evolved over time, they’ve had no problem keeping their fan base entertained.

Michael Bohn of Issues

After three bands and almost three hours, Issues finally made their way out. The remaining crowd was ecstatic when the familiar sound of their guitars rang loud and clear. After a small moment of technical difficulty, during which lead vocalist Tyler Carter joked, “They don’t call us Issues for nothing.” The band continued on to go through, what seemed like a quick 55 minutes set. Issues’ set design featured a graffiti covered shed in the background with a ladder that several members of the band used to get on top of the shed and preform. There was an elevated area for the drum set that was only a tiny bit shorter than the shed itself.

During their set, Issues announced that their new album titled Headspace was due to come out on May 20 and preformed a new song from that album about police brutality. The fans were treated to a small acoustic set so the band could perform some songs off of their acoustic album entitled Diamond Dreams. Lastly, the Issues said goodbye and was chanted back on stage for an encore of “Hooligans” and “Disappear.” Altogether, this tour was timely, well designed, and highly entertaining. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for all of the artists featured that night.

By Sarah Hoffman