In This Moment, Nothing More, Sleep Token, Cherry Bombs
Blood 1983 Tour
October 18th, 2022
The Admiral
Omaha, Nebraska
There are very few bands that Omaha loves as much as In This Moment. The Blood 1983 tour would mark the 15th time the band has played Omaha since their first show in 2007. A lot has changed in the past 15 years but the band’s energy remains unrivaled. As excited as the crowd was for In This Moment, there was just as much excitement for the opening acts.
For their first time in Omaha, Las Vegas burlesque troupe Cherry Bombs dazzled the fans with a highly choreographed stage show that included fire dancing, suspension, and even a machinist’s grinder. While these amazingly talented women did their best to entertain the crowd, the burlesque style seemed to be lost on the majority of those in attendance. I guess the classic burlesque style isn’t for everyone?
The ladies would later join In This Moment on stage during their headlining set as the band’s Blood Goddesses.
Continuing a night of firsts, England’s Sleep Token, the band I was most excited to see, would also be making their Omaha debut. I’ve been intrigued by the band since the early days of the Pandemic. Sleep Token had a small U.S. tour at the end of 2019 before they were forced to cancel their 2020 tour, and used the time off of touring to write and record the band’s sophomore album. The members of Sleep Token are a masked, anonymous collective of musicians said to be united in their worship of an ancient deity identified by them as “Sleep”. Sleep appeared to the band’s lead singer, “Vessel”, in a dream. Sleep Token aren’t just another enigmatic, masked band though. These dudes have an incredible command while on stage. The lights were dimmed to heighten the mysterious mood. While the guitarist, drummer, and bassist were each dressed in solid black, Vessel wore a hooded long sleeved cloak that further masked his black grease painted body.
It may have taken a few minutes for the crowd to warm up to Sleep Token but once the initial confusion faded, the fans were completely enthralled by the band. I’ve been telling people about this band for a few years and it was wonderful to see so many people singing along with the band. The greater opinion from fans that I spoke with was that their 6 song set was not nearly long enough. Hopefully the next tour of the U.S. will be a headlining set.
Nothing More are no stranger to Nebraska, having played our state four other times since 2013 but this would be their first time in Omaha. While the acrobatics of the show were toned down a bit, the energy was unmatched. Nothing More know how to bring the party to their fans. The band shook the rafters of The Admiral for nearly an hour. Their 11 song set was split almost evenly between their 2014 s/t release, 2017’s The Stories We Tell Ourselves, and this year’s SPIRITS, and highlighted not just fan favorites but their heaviest cuts. Vocalist Jonny Hawkins was visibly in pain at several points during the show but seemed to push past the discomfort, not wanting to disappoint the crowd for their first time in Omaha.
If anyone were to ever suggest that Nothing More isn’t “metal” enough for the Genre, remind them that vocalist Jonny Hawkins performed a full 11 song set with a wrapped chest due to multiple broken/bruised ribs. Hawkins is such a maniac on stage that his antics likely exacerbated injuries he sustained from Jujitsu in 2017.
Sadly, In This Moment continues to deny all media requests to photograph their tours, including their current 8 song headlining set.
