Dayseeker Dances With The Devil In The Pale Moonlight in Sayreville

Keith Timper
May 7
4 min read

Tonight we’re back at Starland Ballroom for a completely sold-out show: “The Pale Moonlight Tour” featuring Dayseeker, Northlane, Wind Walkers, and Sace6. The venue was still buzzing from the high of the previous night’s surprise Foo Fighters show, so with this also being a massive sellout, it felt like we were in store for something special.

Sace6

A hometown show, if you will, for Sumerian Records newest acquisition. The New Jersey/New York-born duo, now based in LA, carries a certain dichotomy. The lights went out before pulsing back on as stark white lights flushed the stage, devoid of color — it felt like seeing everything in black and white. Guitarist Noah Thomas immediately took hold of the crowd, screaming and flailing across the stage, while his counterpart Sace remained more reserved with smooth R&B-style vocal runs and a calmer demeanor.

They opened with an unreleased track, “Nepenthe.” When “Allured” began to play, Sace asked the crowd to turn on their cellphone lights while haunting guitar notes rang through the venue. By the breakdown, it seemed second nature for Noah Thomas to spin and kick his way through the rest of the set. The duality of this band is something remarkable. Don’t be surprised if they blow up within the next three to six months.

Sace6 Setlist

Nepenthe (Unreleased)

Ego

Allured

Covet

Devotion

Perfidy

Sace6 is:

Sace: Vocals

Noah Thomas: Guitars

Wind Walkers

The Wind Walkers logo shined brightly on the LED screen behind the stage, illuminating each member’s silhouette as they walked out. Opening with “The Overlook” from the album ‘What If I Break’, they immediately hooked the audience in. Vocalist Trevor Borg’s seamless transitions between clean and harsh vocals were on full display, while bassist Craig Morgan brought relentless energy to the stage.

The band continued with several tracks from the more recent ‘I Don’t Belong Here’ EP via Fearless Records, leaning further into an alt-metal sound with softer clean vocals and pop-driven choruses while still maintaining crushing breakdowns. Especially on “Eating My Heart Out.” Borg’s emotionally charged performance truly shined here, particularly because the lyrics clearly hit close to home for him mentally and emotionally.

Wind Walkers Setlist

The Overlook

The End Aesthetic

Silk & Static

Eating My Heart Out

Drowning Hymns

Dead Talk

Bodybag

Hangfire

Wind Walkers are:

Trevor Borg: Vocals

Timothy Comeau: Guitars

Neil Comeau: Guitars

Craig Martin: Bass

Ethan Cheesman: Drums

Northlane

The gaps in the crowd shrank even tighter as smaller groups of fans were pulled toward the center floor like magnets in anticipation of the next band. A soundscape of synths and atmosphere emanated from the stage before Northlane finally emerged.

To the untrained eye, each member looked like they belonged in a completely different band: a cloaked drummer, a bassist with glowing red cyborg-like eyes triggering synth pads, a casually dressed guitarist, and a sharply dressed vocalist who could give Harry Styles a run for his money. Quickly proving they were a cohesive unit, they launched into “Carbonized.” Halfway through the set they played “Evian,” which had only been released a week prior to the show. Vocalist Marcus Bridge invited the crowd to sing along if they already knew it and if not, to simply have fun with it. Rounding out the set was “Clockwork,” a standout single from ‘Obsidian’.

Northlane Setlist

Carbonized

Talking Heads

Evian (Live Debut)

Bloodline

Dante

Welcome to The Industry

Worldeater / Dispossession / Solar

Clockwork

Northlane is:

Marcus Bridge: Vocals

Josh Smith: Guitar

John Deiley: bass / programming

Nic Peterson: Drums

Dayseeker

The air grew thick as atmosphere billowed across the stage. Darkness engulfed the venue before a bluish-purple hue took over. The notes of “Pale Moonlight” reverberated throughout Starland Ballroom as vocalist Rory Rodriguez stepped into the spotlight and began the first verse: “Made a deal with the Devil.” As the rest of the band took their places, the screen flashed the lyrics “Dance with the Devil, slave till the end” while the crowd screamed every word back. Picking up the pace, they launched into “Shapeshift,” which immediately sparked a wave of crowd surfers.

Slowing things down, Rodriguez introduced the next song “Homesick” as a happier track written during the period when his father passed away and someone helped him through it. Keeping that emotional momentum going, He stepped behind the keyboard for a cover of My Chemical Romance’s “Ghost of You” and remained there for “Forgotten Ghost.” Bringing fresh energy back into the already electric crowd, the band debuted “Nocturnal Remedy.” Its upbeat groove, driven by drummer Zac Mayfield, immediately got the crowd moving and surfing again.

Closing out the night, Dayseeker finished with the title track from their latest album, “Creature in the Black Night,” before ending strong with “Sleep Talk” and “Neon Graves” , two personal favorites of mine. The crowd exited the building appropriately enough beneath a near full moon.