I Prevail Gramarcy Theater Concert Review: Stellar

I Prevail, a post-hardcore band from Detroit, made a quick stop in New York City during their “Strike The Match Tour 2016” and brought Gramercy Theatre’s roof down on August 2, on their path to promote their upcoming debut album, “Lifelines,” which is set for an October release.

The band, famous for their unruly, hardcore rock cover of “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift, was joined by three bands in the same vein of music: My Enemies and I, The White Noise and Bad Seed Rising.

Disguised as misunderstood “scene” teens in bleached tee shirts, snapback hats, face piercings and tattoos, I Prevail was created, not in the image of God, but in the image of their audience which donned similar clothes that could be found in Hot Topic, Zumiez and Spencer’s.

The lead vocalists, Brian Burkheiser and Eric Vanlerberghe, often exchanged lines, finding some common ground between their very unique voices and contrasting appearances. Eric, a stocky and red-headed, hairy man, scream-sang, taking lead in many of more hardcore offerings like “Already Dead” and “Heart vs. Mind.” Brian, on the other head, a well put-together and almost clean-shaven guy, sang in a smoother tone gaining his spotlight during “Blank Space” and “My Heart I Surrender.” Together they sounded best on the opening song, “Scars,” which was released on July 1 as the lead single off their new album.

The band and the audience fed off of each other’s energy during songs like “Face Your Demons,” which Vanlerberghe briefly dedicated to rapists and pedophiles before dismissing them as “pieces of shit.” Political correctness isn’t often associated with screamo music and the hardcore music scene, but it’s always a refreshing dichotomy.

The exchange of energy remained just as strong even when the songs got soft and sappy. “My Heart I Surrender,” which was originally an acoustic ballad, sounded even better as an improvised rendition since the band failed to bring along their acoustic instruments.

By the seventh song, God said, “Let There be a Mosh Pit,” and there was a mosh pit. The audience members circled in numbers at the center of the standing-only section as the band performed a medley of songs like “One Step Closer” by Linkin Park and “Killing In the Name” by Rage Against The Machine. After that, they performed what has become a staple in their career, their cover of “Blank Space.”

The only thing this band has trouble doing is topping a cover of a song that isn’t theirs. Fortunately for them, they only have an EP out and a new album that could make their third year together as a band a charm for future mainstream success.

With “Blank Space,” they were afforded a few things: A catchy hook, generic lyrics and star power via Taylor Swift. If they can carry these things over into their new album while remaining as original as possible, they’ll have a chart-topping album under their belt and they’ll be selling out arenas instead of small theaters.

And of course, any music artist’s goal should be to bring out thousands of fans rather than hundreds, but for this band, and for now, theaters seem like home. The chemistry between the band and their fans could be at stake if they were to book Madison Square Garden or the Staples Center, which are much less intimate settings.

In the end, though the band does prevail as the hardcore music scene’s fresh-faced newcomer, unafraid to tackle pop songs and to record some ballads, even that isn’t enough for some to forget that Gramercy Theatre is a PokéStop. But that isn’t a reflection of the band, just someone’s desperate need of high CP-leveled Pokémon.

Photo by Artan Ljukovic