Seether: Poison The Parish Tour

The dirty, dense opening riffs of “Stoke the Fire” are unmistakable. What they carry in recognizability they double in infectiousness. Seether began their show at the House of Blues in Houston on Sunday, July 22, 2018 with this staple track off of the Poison the Parish album. Even for a Sunday, the crowd was massive and as the lights changed to purple and pink and the song began, heads began to groove with the infectious riffs. The vibe and energy from the song on this tour differed from the first touring circuit of this album as the absence of Sevendust guitarist, Clint Lowery, was noted. However, his brother and bassist and back up vocalist of Saint Asonia, Corey Lowery, brought his own unique power and energy to the stage. Lowery is interactive, enthusiastic and plays well off of bassist, Dale Stewart. The guys bent knees and played head to head several times.

Vocalist, Shaun Morgan, seemed a bit more talkative than normal. In addition to his normal “thank you” and melancholic growl, he shared that they were premiering a song for the first time live. It seemed that he mumbled, “Hopefully, we don’t f*ck this up.” And they did not.  The guys played their new single “Against the Wall.” Morgan’s voice shines in this song. The bridge in particular imparts a feeling of warmness in contrast to the darker lyrics in the verses. Throughout the outro, concert goers had closed eyes and swaying heads as Morgan sang, “Can’t be broken down.” The video for the acoustic version of this track recently came out on June 5^th and has approximately 360,000 views. Sirius XM’s Octane has also been showing some love for the new single.

Catalog and fan favorite tracks were not forgotten. The band played the 2002 hit, previously featuring Amy Lee, “Broken.” One girl yelled, “I’ve been waiting all night for this song!” She clearly was not alone as Morgan said, “C’mon,” early in the track and allowed the audience to fill in the blanks as they sang along. Stewart seemed to have a similar feeling when they began “Fine Again.” The bassist closed his fists and eyes and tapped his chest as his head dropped to the beat at the onset of the song. To see the joy and excitement from the band for a song that is approximately 18 years old is truly a special feeling; especially from a band that tours as much as Seether. The experience illuminates a unique intimacy of a song that binds the band and the listener.

Fun moments of the show include Morgan’s performing  in The Dead Deads’ glasses (a moment Meta Dead captured when she came through the audience – video below) and skatting during the breakdown in “Fake It.” He threw in a “skiddy bop” (if that is even an accurate qualification of the noise) that brought out a laugh from Stewart.

The high energy and good vibes between the guys carried throughout the entire set. They ended with “Remedy.” The tour resumes Tuesday, July 24th in Dallas, Texas. Joining them will be the openers from the Houston show, 10 Years and the The Dead Deads. All three bands have appeared multiple years on ShipRocked, a popular rock cruise near and dear to ZRock’s heart.  The remaining tour dates are below. Drop a comment with which show you’ll be attending and don’t forget to tag #zrockworldtour in your pics on Instagram.