December 7th is such an important date in history, but Sunday night turned into another important date. Despite all odds, If Not For Me, Nevertel, Rain City Drive, and Memphis May Fire took Spokane by storm. Plagued by motor accidents for three of the four vans on the way to Spokane, that never stopped any of them from giving the show of a lifetime.
The Knitting Factory was shaken to its foundation right from the start. The energy of everyone was near palpable, and it was such an amazing thing to witness, and a great way for me to usher out 2025.
First for the night was If Not For Me, a band I’ve seen a handful of times and I love them more and more every time I see them. A post-metalcore band out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania fronted by Patty Glover on vocals, Hayden Calhoun on guitar, Zac Allen on bass, and Cody Frain on the drumkit. For their debut album, they teamed up with Atrum Audio who have worked with some of the biggest names in the genre such as Erra, From Ashes to New, and Polaris.
Opening up the night with Demons, one of the first songs that I ever heard from them was such an amazing feeling to catch on camera. Seeing the way the crowd reacted to the catchy choruses and huge breakdowns got everyone pumped up and on their feet. While it may have been a shorter set, they didn’t slow down for anything. In the blink of an eye, I heard the oh-so familiar beats of one of my favorite songs hit the air. Closing the night out with Feel Me Now had me juggling both my camera and my phone as I was neck deep in the throng of excitement. I will never tire of hearing that song live, and it’s a whole new experience every time.
SOCIALS: https://www.facebook.com/IfNotForMe/ & https://www.instagram.com/ifnotforme
Nevertel took the stage next, and I have to admit that this was my first time hearing them and I was definitely not disappointed. They have such an eclectic mix of sounds in their music from metalcore to hip-hop and EDM, it was so refreshing to hear. Rapper and rhythm guitarist Raul Lopez burst from side stage like a shot and he was building the already loud energy even higher. With Jeremy Michael on vocals, Alec Davis on lead guitar, and Kevin Marks on drums, they quickly became one of my new favorites on my playlist.
Starting their set with Did It All and Break the Silence, the way they mingled different sounds and styles into their music was something I’ve never seen before. Standing out amongst others in the genre, there was an infectious energy that came from both Jeremy and Raul. It had me jumping from the back of the venue while in the crowd.
SOCIALS: https://www.instagram.com/nevertelofficial/
Rain City Drive is a band that I had the unbelievable opportunity to see live last year, and ever since I have wanted to see them again. Palm Coast, Florida’s own rose from the ashes of the post-hardcore band Slaves with Matt McAndrew on vocals, Weston Richmond on lead guitar, Felipe Sanchez on rhythm guitar, and Colin Vieira on the drum kit. In 2021, they emerged as Rain City which was a reference to where the band first met; Manchester, England. They released two singles this year; Easy Exit and Ride or Die, with one being a collaboration with Sace6.
It was such a joy to photograph them, and even better that I knew more songs by them that I thought I did. Their music is so catchy and it’s hard not to memorize the lyrics and want to listen to them over and over again. They started with Over Me and they ended with Medicate Me, and I can’t help but feel like this was wholly intentional. Medicate Me is one of my favorite songs ( and they collaborate with Dayseeker on the album track )
Also being able to see some of my good friends rock out and enjoy the one band she had to finish her bucket list bands to see was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears of the night.
SOCIALS: https://www.instagram.com/raincitydrive & https://www.facebook.com/raincitydrive/ & https://twitter.com/raincitydrive
And to round out the night was the always amazing, always entertaining Memphis May Fire. This show was so much more special than most. Some may not know that Matty Mullins is from Spokane. So, this was a hometown show for him and I even had the amazing opportunity to see him and his wife exploring before the show. He mentioned that he had showed her some of his haunts from when he was younger.
It always feels so personal when I have the opportunity to capture a hometown show; even if it is only the lead singers hometown. There’s that extra spark to see family and friends and seeing them put just that little bit extra into an already phenomenal performance.
I know that they, along with two of the other bands on the docket were met with some difficulties on this leg of the tour and were in a couple of bad accidents that effected some of their gear and production. However, if there was anything lacking from their production… I couldn’t see it at all. Everything was so well put together and made for an even more amazing show.
The Denton, Texas formed band started out in 2006 and they have released seven studio albums and two EP’s since with their fourth studio album, Unconditional debuted at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200 and atop the Alternative Albums chart. With Matty Mullins on vocals, Cory Elder on the bass, Jake Garland on the drum kit, and Kellen McGregor on lead guitar, they are better than ever and so enthusiastic to see live.
Their whole set was just outright amazing ( I know that I’ve said that so so much, but it’s true ). Of course, I may be partial to Make Believe and Hell is Empty myself, but there is not one song that is a skip on this list. But the night wasn’t without a little bit of technical difficulties. During Make Believe, there was a moment where everything cut out and Matty was left looking confused on stage. But, he made the most of it and when the mics went back on, he gave us a story time about his time back in his hometown.
Ending the night with Chaotic and a blast of cooling cryo, this night meant the most to me. It was a great way for me to end the year as it is my last big show of 2025, and what a way to go out.
