Pop Punk turned Alternative Rock band Grayscale played in Tucson this past Monday with supporting bands Girlfriends and Cemetery Sun for their Umbra tour. This tour highlights Grayscale's newest album Umbra which released this year. While their older music featured more Pop Punk vibes, this new album turned in a new direction and seems to have more of an aesthetic vibe to dance around to, which the audience at 191 Toole wholeheartedly agreed with. Umbra is the fourth album released by Grayscale and it was produced by Courtney Ballard who has worked with artists such as Good Charlotte, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Waterparks in the past. Umbra is not an album to be missed and it has received lots of praise from the artist's fans upon its release.
The Umbra Tour features Grayscale as the headliner with support from Girlfriends, Young Culture, who were unfortunately not at the Tucson show, and Cemetery Sun. On November 15th the tour reached Tucson where Cemetery Sun opened the show with a lively set, getting the crowd off their feet with their mix of Pop Punk and Rock.
Following, Girlfriends brought a whole lot of energy to 191 Toole, with their set, including a tribute Lil Peep. With songs like Jessica and Tattoo the audience couldn't help but to sing along as Girlfriends played an amazing supporting set.
Not even 30 minutes later, Grayscale took the stage clouded by smoke and strobe lights as they opened with the first song from Umbra, Without You. The Umbra Tour lived up to its name as Grayscale played their entire 2021 album through the night including hits like Dirty Bombs and Dreamcatcher where the band, led by lead singer Collin Walsh, invited a lively atmosphere, which the audience fed off of, some even taking the opportunity to crowd surf to the front of the venue to the tune of Grayscale's newest Alternative Rock album.
As opposed to Grayscale's previous album, Umbra deviates from the Pop Punk genre, featuring groovier basslines from bassist Nick Ventimiglia and softer vocals. However Monday night's performance wouldn't be the same without incredible guitar and drums from lead guitarist Andrew Kyne, rhythm guitarist Dallas Molster, and drummer Nick Veno.
Of course, the show didn't end with the last song off Umbra, Grayscale continued on to play a collection of their hits from previous albums such as Forever Yours, In Violet, and Fever Dream. With faster paced music and encouragement from the band, 191 Toole seemed to be electrified as the tail end of Grayscale's set was accompanied by mosh pits and crowdsurfing and it seemed the entire audience was getting involved.
The night came to a close with Grayscale's final song, Atlantic, one of their most popular songs from their second studio album Adornment. The crowd kept up the same energy as before, making sure to shake the venue to its core before the end of the set.
All Photos Taken by CeeCee Hill