For some reason, midweek shows tend to hit a little differently and on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 I was able to go to see POISON THE WELL with Converge. Let’s take a look………..
Much like The Palladium, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad show at The Belasco and last night was definitely no exception. Up first was a band called The Armed and what a great way to kick things off. I mean seriously talk about a band with high energy and volume!! I mean seriously in terms of loudness they’re right up there with bands like Meshuggah and Gojira. I don’t think I’ve seen too many bands that play this kind of music with a saxophone player either. Once the house lights went down, they immediately kick things off with “All Futures” and then launched into “The Music Becomes A Skull.” They’re definitely the kind of band that brought that old-school high energy, jumping into the crowd type of performance and I have to say it was pretty entertaining. Honestly, if you have not seen this band live next time they roll through your neck of the woods be sure to catch them because you will be in for a great time!!
Up next was Converge and it’s been about three years since I’ve seen this band so it was definitely time for a refresh. Once they hit the stage, they kicked things off with “Love Is Not Enough” followed immediately by “Bad Faith” to “Eagles Become Vultures.” It was definitely the perfect 1-2-3 knockout punch to get things going and one thing that I forgot was how much energy this band has. Much like Poison The Well, they were touring behind their newest album Love Is Not Enough and a good portion of the set was songs from that album. They also have another album set to be released in June called Hum Of Hurt and they did play a couple songs from that album too. I love it when bands play songs from an upcoming album because it’s a great preview of what’s to come. They absolutely crushed it and I definitely will be catching them again next time they are on tour.
Now it’s time for the main event Poison The Well and this band is always a good time. They opened with one of my favorite songs “Botchla” then went right into “Zombies Are Good For Your Health.” Now that is how you open your set!! Of course they played their Setlist classics like “Ghostchant” and “Slice Paper Wrists” and it’s always great to see those songs live . Hearing songs from the new album Peace In Place was great and they played one of my favorites “Thoroughbreds.” Peace In Place is one of those quintessential comeback, albums and seeing them tour behind this album just goes to show that you can come back even stronger. Definitely give that album a listen because from start to finish it is just so damn good. Their set was a good mix of new and old and that’s the way it should be. Again, another one of those bands that you definitely need to see live!!
As I said, seeing a concert in the middle of the week, hits differently as opposed to a Friday or Saturday show. The fact that it was a packed house in the middle of the week also proves that this type of music is alive and well. All the bands that night did a great job and I will definitely be seeing them again. If you were not able to attend, I can honestly say that you definitely missed out!!
Final Grade: B+
The Armed Is:
Meghan O-Voice
Patrick Shiroishi- Saxophone and Guitar
Derek Coburn- Bass
Max Frank- Guitar
Leonard Hubbard- Voice
Michael Blume- Drums
The Armed Setlist:
- All Futures
- Everything’s Glitter
- Grace Obscure
- I Steal What I Want
- Night City Aliens
- Fortune’s Daughter
- Liar
- BIG SHELL
Converge is:
Ben Koller- Drums
Kurt Ballou- guitar
Nate Newton- bass
Jacob Bannon- voice
Converge Setlist:
- Love Is Not Enough
- Bad Faith
- Eagles Become Vultures
- Dark Horses
- Under Duress
- Conduit
- Hum Of Hurt
- Amon Amok
- Distract And Divide
- To Feel Something
- Doom In Bloom
- The Broken Vow
- We Were Never The Same
- I Can Tell You About Pain
- Concubine
Poison The Well Is:
Chris Hornbrook- drums
Ryan Primack- guitar
Jeffrey Moreira- voice
Vadim Taver- guitar
Noah Harmon- bass
Poison The Well Setlist:
- Botchla
- Zombies Are Good For Your Health
- Slice Paper Wrists
- Thoroughbreds
- A Wish For Things That Work
- For A Bandaged Iris
- Everything Hurts
- 12/23/93
- Letter Thing
- Ghostchant
- Parks And What You Meant To Me
- Crystal Lake
- Artist’s Rendering Of Me
- Loved Ones (Excerpts From Speeches Of How Great You Were, And Will Never Be Again)
- Nerdy
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