Better Lovers / Soul Blind / Johnny Booth / Hong Kong Fuck You
: Better Lovers
FOR FANS OF: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Converge, Knocked Loose, Loathe, Narrow Head, Superheaven, Fleshwater, Vein.fm, Botch, The Chariot, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Portrayal of Guilt, Weekend Nachos, Magrudergrind, Incendiary, Drug Church, Glassjaw, Code Orange, Dealer, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL!, Haggus, Callous Douboys, Greyhaven, END, Many Eyes, Boundaries, 156/Silence, Vianova
December 3, 2025 at A&R Music Bar in Columbus, OH
I walk in and realize this is a nice little place, about the size of the newer Foundry on Pearl. I get excited because I prefer smaller shows when it comes to seeing bands I really like. The last time I saw Johnny Booth, they opened for After the Burial, Currents and We Came as Romans and the show was huge in comparison.
I chat it up with the merch guy for Johnny Booth and he sees my cameras. He said he’s their photographer and we start nerding out on gear and lenses. I hear some quick sound checking and head over to get closer to the stage, despite the fact the crowd is pretty minimal at this point.
The vocalist for Hong Kong Fuck You opens up a suitcase on stage. It features a bright light and some pedals to run the vocal chain through. I had no idea what to expect. As soon as they started, I realized how cool of a photo opportunity this band presents. The vocalist puts the whole microphone in his mouth and starts absolutely screaming away while distorting his vocals via pedals in the suitcase. He is spitting, spraying water on the first few rows, jumping on every inch of the stage and demanded attention from the crowd. The music itself was heavy and almost sloppy but in an intentional way. Very punk, very fast, super high energy and I would love to see them again just for their stage presence.
Next up, the reason I came to this show. Johnny Booth. This band makes me so mad in the happiest way. It’s intense and Andrew Herman’s vocals are PERFECT for this genre of music (metalcore, powerviolence). Coming from Long Island, NY, they’ve made their way into the scene with a punch. Everyone I talk to that has listened to them absolutely loves them. They start their first song, 2040, then Herman screams his famous beginning-of-set-phrase, “ WHATS UP WE’RE JOHNNY FUCKING BOOOOOOTH!” Their set was incredible, playing a diverse set of songs like Get Well Soon, Collapse in the Key of Fireworks, and the first song I ever heard from them, Asymmetrical (which they didn’t play last time I saw them). It was incredibly hard to photograph the show because I just wanted to mosh and fight the crowd (in a fun way). Herman during their last song jumped into the crowd and surfed. I tried my absolute best to get a good shot of it but the house lights were only backlighting the stage and there were no front lights (and I didn’t bring a flash) so I didn’t get a shot I was proud of. I was surprised at how still the floor was considering this is a band if I heard, even for the first time, I would be absolutely losing it in the pit. Scott’s drumming is so hard yet precise. Nick’s headless bass sat perfectly in the mix, doubling the complex and unique rhythms of the guitarist, Adam. For some reason, their other guitarist wasn’t there for this show. It took away from the width of the mix a little bit but wasn’t noticeable enough to be any bit upset about it. After all, I know they have other jobs than this band so I understand when things like that change. If you take away anything from reading this article, go listen to fuckin’ BOOOOTHHH.
Next up was Soul Blind from Hudson Valley, NY. I didn’t know much of their music but I’d definitely heard of them before. When they started, they calmed the room down with their calm demeanor and shoegaze 90’s rock vibes. The vocalist/guitarist kept it pretty clean and simple with his range of vocals and playing style but it worked great with the band as a whole. They had the vibe of Deftones mixed with Failure and 90’s Alternative Rock. Their sound was pretty massive with grunge distortion and fuzz spreading out the guitar mix greatly. I was surprised this band was on a show that had such an otherwise heavy lineup but it was a nice change of pace. It made the crowd even more lively once Better Lovers came on.
Better Lovers was the band that seemed to have brought the crowd for this show. People were packing into the stage and the crowd was much more filled out at this point. It makes sense when you consider they feature members from Every Time I Die, Dillinger Escape Plan and Fit For an Autopsy. Their vocalist, Greg Puciato, came from Dillinger and someone at the show said he’s the Henry Rollins of this generation which is a huge compliment. The vocals did have a great range of screams and cleans. The guitarist, Jordan Buckley, is responsible for a lot of the sound that came from ETID, and he brought a lot of great presence to the stage, jumping and kicking around. Will Putney, their other guitarist was in END and is quite sought after as a producer in the metal scene. He worked with bands like Knocked Loose, Body Count and Fit for an Autopsy. Steve McCiche on Bass is known for his work with ETID and sets a great tone base for working with the ever-changing rhythms. The drummer, Clayton Holyoak AKA “Goose,” also came from ETID and also played in Orbs. This band feels like metalcore powerhouse members got bored with their current projects and created something entirely new just to see what happens. The crowd was more lively for this set yet there was still no brutal moshing, I was surprised. Fantastic show and fantastic set.
Follow these bands at @betterloversband @soulblind @johnnyboothny and @hongkongfuckedyou to stay up to date on their next shows.
Images shot by Shane McNicholas @elsephoto with a Canon R5 and R6ii and a RF 85 1.2 DS and an RF 14-35 F4
UPCOMING SHOWS
STAY UPDATED
*Submit bands or concerts you think are worth covering in the Contact tab at the top of this website.
