I was actually lucky enough to be one of the very first North American journalists to interview The Warning back in 2015, when they had only just released their EP, Escape the Mind via their iTunes store (see that interview link below).

And having seen, along with the world, their meteoric rise to musical stardom over the past near decade, to watch them perform live, without the aid of a video retake safety net, has since been a definitive Bucket List wish for me.

Tonight that wish was crossed off as The Warning came to town and for 80 solid minutes, ensured their ever-growing reputation as one of the most entertaining, hard rocking bands of a new era was firmly upheld, with yet another powerhaus, and flawless live rock show performance.

Cometh the nine o’clock hour, cometh the band, and with the house lights turned off, the neon white glow of strategically placed white stage lights now illuminated, a low slung, foreboding sound was piped in, the upper main stage lights suddenly bathed the stage in blood red, the ladies came on, and within seconds the propulsive S!ck was brought forth to an already feverish crowd.

Complete with an infectiously rhythmic bass line from Ale, up next is the pulsating Z which, and after Dany screams “Detroit, let’s get the party started,” is itself backed by her own quiet (before the storm) solo guitar intro to Choke. “We’re really happy to be with you here tonight,” Dany says, adding “and we came all the way from Monterrey, Mexico, and so this is a special song we would like to now play for you.” And with that we are suddenly knee deep into Qué Más Quieres (What More Do You Want), a song that you really don’t even need to know the words of to totally rock out to.

With the crowd pumped from the very start, all be they a distinctively middle-aged audience, predominately men, who stood relatively statuesque for the night, and barely a camera phone held up for too long a time, the sold-out venue was just perfect for the band to interact with us all.

We are next brought forth the engaging Satisfied and the song that Pau herself calls their Halloween song, the melodic alt-pop of Escapism, and then comes the indie-rock vibed Burnout, before Dany shouts out “Thank you very much, Detroit, are you ready for more,” and we are greeted by some impellent Dany guitar playing on the high quality rocker More.

“I see three baby sharks already,” Dany excitedly screams, adding that she loves them all, and then after a technician has to come on to fix the drum broken by Pau, we get one of my own personal favorites of theirs, the funky pop-rock bounce that flows throughout Consume, which is then followed by a “Muchas Gracias” from Dany, before they launch into the expediently catchy Disciple.

“OK, Detroit, let’s see if you know this one,” screams Dany, as they launch into everybody’s favorite live track, the bass line-fed, Pau-sung Sharks, the angst-pop-rocker Hell You Call A Dream backing it, the set now bathed in a yellow light, at first, latterly a burning red glow for the brilliant Automatic Sun, and as Dany reveals “Thank you, Detroit, we have one more song for you,” we are finally treated to the cruelly underrated Martirio.

Returning after only 40 seconds or so for a two-song encore, it is once again Pau’s turn back in the vocal spotlight, as she takes control of the effective sing-along Narcisista, and after she reveals “It truly is a pleasure to be back in Detroit as it has been one of the most fun shows on the tour so far, so thank you all,” the band bring the evening to a close on the powerfully raw emotions that drive Evolve.

In closing, and for those interested, speaking with Rudy (if you know, you know) after the show, he kindly answered a couple of fan-asked questions:

Will Ale ever sing lead on an album? “Not if she has her way,” he smiles, adding “but you never know.”

Will there ever be a Warning Christmas album? “No, I wouldn’t think so,” he quickly replies, before contemplating and adding, “but it could happen, yes.”

Review by: Russell A. Trunk

Live Photo #1 by: Sanjeev Nagi

Other Live Photos by: Lynn Cetrone

The Warning [Exclusive Interview 2015]

www.thewarningband.com

The Warning @ Facebook