Spiritbox rides the wave of 'Tsunami Sea' in sold-out Pittsburgh concert
Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea tour proved to be aptly named, as the Canadian band unleashed wave after wave of crushing guitar and heavy-hitting metalcore Saturday night.
The Grammy-nominated band played their first headline show in Pittsburgh, selling out the UPMC Events Center in Moon, on the strength of their “Tsunami Sea” album, which just came out March 7.
Led by the husband-and-wife team of guitarist Mike Stringer and singer Courtney LaPlante, Spiritbox powered through 90 minutes, showcasing eight songs off the new album, as well as three from 2021’s “Eternal Blue,” three from the 2022 EP “Rotoscope” and two from the 2023 EP “The Fear of Fear.”
LaPlante said it was gratifying “to be celebrating with you all these songs that we wrote when we were feeling very alone and we were feeling very isolated. It’s the same feeling that Michael and I grew up having, because we lived on an island. We thought we’d never be able to do this because we were so far away from you. And here we are.”
A stage configuration with a highly elevated drum set provided different platforms and levels for LaPlante, Stringer and bassist Josh Gilbert to traverse, with a multitude of lights and video projections in the rear offering ambience and atmosphere. The audience appeared to be receptive, creating big mosh pits, sending crowd surfers over the barriers and bouncing or waving their hands as commanded.
LaPlante attracted plenty of attention for her presence, both physically and vocally. Dressed in silver and draped in chains, she swaggered across the stage, shimmying, dancing and throwing leg kicks. Vocally, LaPlante showed her range, gliding from deep growls to pure singing and everything in between.
On songs like “Tsunami Sea” and “Secret Garden,” LaPlante showed off her “clean” vocals, while tracks like “Jaded” and “Circle With Me” showcased her powerful screams.
Drummer Zev Rosenberg propelled the band, getting a chance in the spotlight with a solo on the intro for “Crystal Roses,” with Stringer dropping crunchy riffs all night and Gilbert holding steady on bass and offering complementary vocals.
The ever-evolving group could go from the danceable “Rotoscope,” which wouldn’t have been out of place on a 1990s Garbage album, to the crushing breakdowns of “Hysteria,” which had heavy screaming amid a strobe light freakout. Introducing one of the night’s highlights, “Soft Spine,” LaPlante said, “this goes out to every one I hate.”
While a lot of new songs were played, Spiritbox made sure to hit favorites like “Holy Roller” and play up to the crowd.
“I think Pittsburgh’s gonna be the best one on the East Coast. And don’t watch any other shows on YouTube because I might say it at the next show as well. But I mean it here,” LaPlante said. “We love playing our new songs for you so much. It’s so rewarding. But I can’t lie. There’s something very satisfying when we play you an old song that you know very well.”
The heavy “Holy Roller” had the pit churning with a frenetic burst of crowd surfers, before they closed with two newer songs — “Crystal Roses” and “Ride the Wave” — to end the night on another liquid moment.
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Loathe, an experimental metalcore band out of Liverpool, England, served as direct support for Spiritbox. They’ve often drawn comparisons to Code Orange, the Pittsburgh metalcore band that’s twice been nominated for Grammys.
So it was fitting that Code Orange singer Jami Morgan, who’s collaborated with Loathe singer Kadeem France in the past, made an appearance, hitting the stage for Loathe’s finale, an unreleased track. Even LaPlante was caught off guard by the appearance, asking later, “Why did nobody tell me? I wanted to see that.”
Jami Morgan of Code Orange joins Loathe on stage at RMU’s UPMC Events Center, with Spiritbox on the way
— Mike Palm (@mikepalm.bsky.social) April 12, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Before that, Loathe delivered an expansive, atmospheric set, swirling and shifting tempos, with a more Deftones-esque on songs like “Is It Really You?” They showed they were just as comfortable going heavy, with France also ably shifting between growling and clean crooning.
Dying Wish, a melodic metalcore band out of Portland, Oregon, opened the show with a pummeling, energetic 30-minute set.
“I need you on your worst behavior,” said singer Emma Boster, who roared through songs with a throat-shredding growl.
The socially conscious band, who gave a shoutout to the Preserving venue in New Kensington, included five songs from their latest release, “Symptoms of Survival,” as well as “I Brought You My Soul (Your World Brought Me Despair,” off their in-progress next album.
Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.
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