All photos by Erlinda Sanchez
We don’t know about you, but when we think about Parkway Drive a piece of us immediately traces back to the very first time we witnessed Winston McCall, Luke Kilpatrick, Jeff Ling, Ben Gordon and Jia O'Connor live in concert.
It was a dark fall night here in Los Angeles – possibly about a year ago – and we were headed to the historic Wiltern Theater. Not necessarily knowing what to expect as we heard Parkway Drive shows are some of the best around, we eagerly pushed passed a gaggle of long-haired Thor-wannabes and got right to the front of the stage thinking we could handle whatever life threw at us that evening.
Bad idea.
As soon as Parkway took the stage, we were immediately hit with a force of energy we have never felt before. It was as if we were shoved inside the trunk of a Cadillac squished between massive subwoofers. The sound was fierce and the lack of oxygen was terrifying, to say the least. But as for the enthusiasm exuding from the five band members and the thousands in attendance, that was, well, next level.
Throughout the night, an endless supply of crowd surfers flew over different barricades (seriously, from the standing room, to the pit, to the stage) scratching and clawing at any opportunity to sing along with McCall as he erupted into the anthemic fan-favorites “Vice Grip” and “Wild Eyes.” Not to mention, in addition to the flying fanatics, countless beams of light flooded the venue with color coinciding with co2 bursts at every song’s breakdown. To put it mildly, it was chaos.
That night, thankfully with the help of the Pit Gods, we were somehow able to survive with only a few scratches. Most importantly, though, we were able to walk away with memories we will never forget – memories we will quickly look to recreate when the Australian five-some roll through town on the Unbreakable Tour with We Came As Romans and Counterparts.
Now, just in case that story of survival didn’t entice you to see Parkway Drive live later this year (or you’d like to relive your own story), we’ve provided some photos from the band’s recent stop in San Antonio, Texas below. After checking them out, along with additional photos of Counterparts and We Came As Romans, feel free to see Parkway’s remaining 2016 tour dates here.
Counterparts:
We Came As Romans:
Parkway Drive:
