Bullet for My Valentine in Worcester, MA – October 10, 2023

Concert goers were lined up down the street and around the corner of the Worcester Palladium on Tuesday evening, anxiously awaiting the doors to open for the sold out show with support from Of Mice & Men and Vended. Before the opener, Vended, even played their first note, the Palladium was absolutely jam packed with fans. 

Vended

Vended is from Des Moines, Iowa, and consists of Griffin Taylor (Vocals), Simon Crahan (Drums), Cole Espeland (Lead Guitar), Jeremiah Pugh (Bass), and Connor Grodzicki (Guitar). Both Griffin and Simon are sons of two members of Slipknot, Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan. From their first song, “Ded to Me”, Griffin asked for a mosh pit to open up in front of the stage. The crowd was packed in tightly, but that did not stop a pit from forming right away. Vended continued with “Am I the Only One”, followed by “Overall”. Their intense energy and engagement with the crowd caught a lot of fans off guard while watching Vended for the first time. Griffin made sure to thank every person in the audience for spending their time and showing up early to watch their set. They left their mark on the Palladium and said proudly, “we will be back here!”

Of Mice & Men

Of Mice & Men (OM&M) is from Costa Mesa, California and consists of Aaron Pauley (Vocals & Bass), Valentino Arteaga (Drums), Phil Manansala (Lead Guitar), and Alan Ashby (Guitar). OM&M opened with “Bones Exposed” from their 2014 album Restoring Force. With the mosh pit gaining strength, OM&M started their second song, “Would You Still Be There”, from the same album. The next song they played, “Castaway”, is from their most recent 2023 album Tether. This album was released only four days before the show at the Palladium. OM&M has a very loyal fan base that makes their presence known at any live show and this show was no exception.

Bullet For My Valentine

Bullet for My Valentine (BFMV) is from the United Kingdom and consists of Matthew Tuck (Vocals & Guitar), Jason Bowld (Drums), Michael Paget (Lead Guitar), and Jamie Mathias (Bass). After playing two sold out shows back-to-back (Montreal, Canada and Quebec, Canada), this show was the third of the tour, and was also the first in the United States. Everyone in attendance at The Palladium was in for a treat as BFMV opened their set with “Knives” from the 2021 self-titled album Bullet for My Valentine. With the crowd warmed up, BFMV started their second song, “Over It”, from their 2018 album Gravity. Many fans traveled a great distance to hear their third song, “Your Betrayal”, from their 2010 album Fever. Towards the end of their set, front man Matthew Tuck let the audience know the band plans to spend 2024 in the recording studio making brand new music and putting together a new album. He also let all the fans in attendance know that BFMV plans to return to the United States in 2025. If you have not seen BFMV in person, you are definitely missing out and can hopefully catch them on their return to the United States in the no so distant future.