“This night is for Riley Fucking Gale,” Chad Green, lead singer of Frozen Soul, announced as the band took the stage as the second opener for Power Trip’s concert Saturday night at The Factory in Deep Ellum. But this was no teary-eyed funeral party for Gale, who died in 2020. These bands, joined by Fleshrot, tore the house down with fast, intense music.
Many emotions go through your head at a hardcore show. There’s the adrenaline coursing through you, a touch of anxiety (Is that trash can going to land on my head?) and the rush of the bass telling you to bang your head and swing your arms.
It was also hard not to be a bit nostalgic for the band you fell in love with when Gale was the singer or to feel worried you won’t have the same emotional connection.
To start a new chapter, you have to finish the old one. It doesn’t mean to forget but to accept the passing of time, embrace the new and move forward.
And move forward Power Trip very much did.
Riley Gale was a one-of-a-kind frontman, but lead vocalist Seth Gilmore slipped into the role with ease.
Charles Farmer
Frozen Soul, the second opener, really woke the crowd up and got the pit moving. Green told the crowd to “make the biggest circle they’ve ever seen.” We can’t independently confirm that it was, but they certainly did try.
Right on time at 8:40, Ceremony came on and kept it right on. They started slow, giving the crowd a second to breathe. Just a second.
“Ceremony hates the police,” frontman Ross Farrar told the crowd. Just like that, the energy was back, and the crowd was chanting along without skipping a step.
Once they were done, it took about 30 minutes to reset the stage. The anticipation in the room was palpable, and as it got closer to 9:45 the crowd started chanting “Power Trip, Power Trip”
The openers were great, fantastic even. But the crowd never forgot who they were there to see. Power Trip led with “Soul Sacrifice,” “Executioner’s Tax” and “Firing Squad,” three gut punches that left everyone reeling, ears stinging and the photo pit full of crowd surfers running to jump back into the fray.
Bass guitarist Chris Whetzel, guitarist Blake Ibanez, drummer Chris Ulsh and guitarist Nick Stewart slipped right back in the saddle. The music felt mature, as if it had grown with us over the four years since Gale’s passing. It felt comfortable, like rediscovering an iPod full of songs you might have forgotten about but still love.
It’s important to note at this point that nobody could fill the void left by Gale. Nobody can match his charisma, charm and stage presence. As lead vocalist Seth Gilmore put it toward the end of the show, “Riley was a one-of-a-kind frontman and a wonderful human being.”
Power Trip's bass guitarist Chris Whetzel and his fellow band members slipped right back into the groove.
Charles Farmer
His voice is stellar, and his low growls slid right into place with the familiar Power Trip hits. You couldn’t ask for a better successor.
Two-thirds of the way in, the band took us back to 2011 with “Suffer No Fools,” which, for lack of better, more technical writing, fucking hit just right. It felt nostalgic, but current; if the song dropped today it would still be a hit. Gilmore’s growls felt at home with the music.
Was it different from before? Of course. But that didn’t stop the raging, the headbanging or the sea of black T-shirts shoving, dancing and crushing each other.
It’s never going to be the same as it was, but the music still garners an emotional response like before. Comparing today's Power Trip to Gale's is not the point.
The point is, we have a new beautiful chapter of Power Trip that tickles the same part of the brain and punches the same buttons.
The band closed with “Crossbreaker” before an encore. Then they took a selfie on the stage and walked off with more Power Trip chants filling the room.
The show gave the hardcore scene something rare: it gave the band a second chance after such a loss. It was never going to be an easy task to fill Gale’s spot, and to do it with such grace, talent and momentum gave us some real excitement, and more importantly, hope going forward.
