By chloe boozer | march 20, 2025
In the heart of Lawrence, Kansas, hundreds of people are out celebrating a beautiful St. Patrick’s Day. Massachusetts street is buzzing with life, the sun is out, and green decorations line the streets.
Meanwhile, a line of people forms outside The Granada Theatre, the sign above the entrance reading 3.17 COUNTERPARTS. Counterparts, a melodic hardcore band from Hamilton, Ontario, brought their Heaven Let Them Die tour to Lawrence following the release of their EP of the same title.
Opener Foreign Hands started the night off, showcasing their catchy choruses and vicious breakdowns. They called for the crowd to mosh and stage dive, and the crowd happily obliged. Malevolence followed suit, delivering technical riffs and keeping the crowd moving. The venue erupted into chaos as hardcore powerhouse Pain of Truth came on. Moshing, crowd killing, two-stepping, mic-grabbing, front flip stage diving–you name it–Pain of Truth facilitated it all.
At 9:25 PM, the lights dimmed and all eyes turned to the blood red lights illuminating the lancet windows and rows of wax candles decorating the stage. The tone began to set with loud, ominous humming paired with red and white lights rhythmically flickering, immersing the whole theatre in an eerie atmosphere laced with religious imagery. At 9:30, Counterparts walked on, welcomed with cheers and applause. Guitar feedback rang throughout the whole theatre, abruptly cut off by a snare hit, beginning their opening song, A Martyr Left Alive. The theatre erupted into a storm of rapid drumming, frantic riffs, melodic leads, and flashing lights.
Counterparts had infectious energy and were clearly excited to perform, their setlist blending new releases and older fan favorites. Vocalist Brendan Murphy mentioned the band’s history of performing in Lawrence, and expressed gratitude that each time they return, the crowd is larger. There was absolutely no shortage of crowd interaction, with fans stage diving over other fans throwing their hands up and screaming lyrics into the microphone. With no barricade, crowd surfers continued to float in the sea of hands, some getting lifted up to the elevated, outer ring of the theatre. One fan even crowd surfed a whole U shape around the whole venue. Brendan commanded hardcore fans to dance with “side to side, front to back” and “show me your style”. During the lethal ending breakdown of No Lamb Was Lost a fan climbed up on stage and pulled off an immaculate front flip into the crowd.
After the brutal ending of Heaven Let Them Die, the lights went dark, and Brendan thanked everyone for attending. It didn’t take long for the theatre to fill with chants of “one more song!” The chanting continued until the lights came back on, and the band came back out to play fan favorite Love Me. They then closed out with Whispers of Your Death, a song Brendan wrote dedicated to his late cat, Kuma. Fans screamed lyrics in unison, “make your cancer mine”, as the microphone was held upside down above their heads. It was a flawless blend of sentiment, crowd interaction, and haunting instrumentals to end the unforgettable night.
Chloe Boozer is a freelance photographer for Majestic Music Magazine. See more of her work here.
