Heartist and Kansas Locals Pack the Aftershock
Wednesday, June 24th packed quite the crowd into the Aftershock in Merriam, Kansas. Talented locals By This Time Tomorrow, A Complete Mess, and Lost In The City reeled in the crowd to support Heartist on one of their final cross country tour dates.
By This Time Tomorrow started the night by beckoning the lingering crowd to the middle of the floor. The group was full of plenty of banter back and forth, beginning with the line, “We’re not bad guys. We play pop punk.” The band offered a slight variation from the rest of the night’s acts, and certainly knew how to work a stage. By This Time Tomorrow provided a solid start to the evening with upbeat numbers like “These Sticky Notes Don’t Get You Wet Anymore” and “Stay Away”.
A Complete Mess, a six-piece group from Olathe, Kansas was up next and brought personality and energy to the stage. The smaller venue certainly welcomed swinging from rafters. With a notable amount of interaction from the crowd, A Complete Mess’ set was definitely able to keep up. The band served up friendly discussion and even a back story before their song “Late Night Walks”, which led into the final song of their set, “Inner Demons”.
Lost In The City was third on the bill. Delivering a great performance through and through. The group didn’t hesitate for a second in an all-inclusive round of positivity. Lost in the City is expecting a new album towards the end of July, and seemed very at home in front of this crowd, especially when expertly closing out their set with their song “Bottles”
Heartist finished the night and made sure to not leave a soul in the room disappointed. Even with the end of the tour being just a show away, every band member brought a lively performance. Their set included fan favorites like “Where Did I Go Wrong?” and “Pressure Point.” It was a rare moment to catch the floor standing still, especially when everyone began to get warmed up with the band’s lead single “Demons”. Heartist was hardly able to get off the stage before the chant for an encore began, and oh, did they deliver. At the crowd’s request, the night was finished off with “Rhinestone.” The band stayed even later into the evening, laughing and joking with the fans that had chosen to hang around afterward, even leaving behind words of praise for some of the local openers. Heartist’s most recent tour might be over, but By the Barricade recommends catching the band next time they blow through your town.
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