Oct 33 min read

Badflower brings their No Place Like Home Tour to Denver, Colorado’s Fillmore Auditorium Oct 1st 2024

I always enjoy covering shows at the Fillmore Auditorium, it’s a really nice venue with a solid sound system, and a roomy pit to shoot from. I was asked to cover the opening band, Missio by their pr people. This is always a treat for me when I am asked to cover a show. I was not familiar with Missio and I checked out their music before the show and really liked what I heard.

Missio kicked the night off by starting their set with, “The Higher You Climb” from their 2024 newly released album, I Am Cinco and they captured the crowd's attention right away with their energy which only grew throughout their set. Their music has been described as Alternative/Indie, Rock but also, I would add electronic and Industrial in the mix of their music. This is what I found so interesting as they moved through their set. The crowd was really into them as many would be dancing and moving about. Matthew and David moved about the stage keeping the energy alive with the crowd. 5 out of the 8 songs they played were from their new album and they topped off the set with “Good Vibrations” from the album. The crowd reacted to their set with loud enthusiastic cheering and I thought it was a great start to the evening.

Missio are: Matthew Brue – vocalist/songwriter/producer (2015–present)

David Butler – songwriter/producer (2016–present)

Setlist:

The Higher You Climb new album I Am Cinco

Twisted

Fuck It

Aztec Death Whistle

Everybody Gets High

Fall Into A Black Hole

Sing To Me

Good Vibrations

The way the Fillmore had the stage set up for the 3 bands, made it easy for them to prepare for each band. Slothrust was another band I was not familiar with and checking them out I found sound having some grunge mixed into their alternative/indie sound. Opening their set with “Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone” from their 2016 album, Everyone Else. Leah Wellbaum vocals sounded meditative, thoughtful and her guitar work was something to hear and watching her play could be mesmerizing.

Throughout their set you see the crowd swaying back and forth like they were getting lost in the music and her vocals. Leah would sing and at times step to the side so you clearly see her work her magic on the guitar. But, touring bassist Annie Hoffman was on the move jumping, spinning around in contrast to Leah being a little more reserved. It was fun though watching Annie. Slothrust finished their set with "Crackpot” which the audience really enjoyed. A different contrast in the 2 opening bands but I really enjoyed them both.

Slothrust members:

Leah Wellbaum – lead vocals; guitar

Will Gorin – drums

Annie Hoffman – bass (touring, 2022–present)

Setlist:

Intro @Info[From their 2012 album "Feels Your Pain"]

Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone

The Next Curse

Double Down

Baby One More Time @Cover

Cranium

Planetarium

Once More for the Ocean

Pony @Cover

Crockpot

The energy was about to reach a fever pitch as Badflower took the stage and opened their set with “Teacher Has a Gun”, their new single which was released this past June that had their fans screaming, cheering, and jumping. The stage was filled with fog and the lights changed colors for each song to start. From green to yellow to purple and add the red flood lights from along the back of drummer Anthony Sonetti. Lead singer Josh Katz was pouring out his emotions throughout each song with raw intensity. Throughout their show, bassist Joey Morrow and guitarist Alex Espiritu along with Josh would move about the stage interacting with each other and their fans. It’s always fun to watch when band members interact with their fans and to see the reactions from both going back and forth.

In between songs Josh thanked the fans for their support and shared moments of reflections that were heartfelt. Badflower closed out their night with a 3 song encore featuring, “Detroit”, “30”, and “Girlfriend”.

This was a fun night for me because I was seeing these bands for the first time and it was a really good time. The only sad part was, it wasn’t a big crowd but, it was a very enthusiastic crowd.