Chevelle are currently on the road on their summer headline tour. The band brought along opening acts, Tigercub and Return To Dust for all dates. We were absolutely stoked to catch this tour this week when the bands rolled into Rabbit Rabbit in Asheville, NC on July 30th.
Rabbit Rabbit is a fully outdoor concert venue located in the heart of downtown Asheville, NC. When we arrived at the venue well before gates were set to open, there was already a huge line of fans eagerly awaiting to get inside. The downside is, as is an issue with a lot of outdoor summer concerts, there was a storm brewing and fans were urged to take cover quickly. So the gates took a little longer to open, but no problem, these fans were actually pretty content on waiting a little while for an awesome night of music to take place.
The skies cleared soon enough and gates opened just in time for openers Return To Dust to take the stage. The band only just released their full length debut earlier this year and it absolutely rocks. (Stream it here: https://tr.ee/fvGu7YbSEG) They had no issues winning over fans with a fully energized set and I’m actually really excited to see this band again, they are definitely one to watch.
Up next, Tigercub took the stage. Tigercub is a 3 piece rock band out of Brighton, UK. The band released their 3rd studio album The Perfume of Decay in 2023. We actually only got to catch one song by Tigercub this night and definitely enjoyed it, but sadly another storm was on the way. They were interrupted at the beginning of their 2nd song to evacuate. The band joked about it being the shortest show ever, but still urged fans to seek shelter to ride out this storm.
I’m gonna be honest here, I was genuinely concerned at this point. This can’t happen twice and the show still go on. Can it? Actually, it turned out awesome. While the rain did continue, there weren’t any lingering storm clouds filled with lightning in the area anymore, so the gates did reopen and fans piled back in to the venue. Now this is the part I actually really love about my job. Stuff happens, everything doesn’t go perfectly, but people still pull together.
Everyone was excited when Chevelle finally hit the stage. The band jumped straight into “Young Wicked” off of 2016’s The North Corridor. I immediately heard singing from the crowd. I have a habit of while I’m photographing forgetting what’s going on around me, being just fully enthused watching the band in front of me. I knew when I came in there was still a crowd. But it’d been a rough night. I’m thinking maybe some didn’t stick around, maybe the crowd will be a little lighter than earlier. It was pouring rain after all, but I turned around to see thousands of people have gathered behind me at this point. Some wearing their ponchos, many just don’t even care and are still singing and dancing no matter what. This place was filled from the front all the way to the back with people just fully enjoying themselves. That’s what great music does, Chevelle still has that and I absolutely love it.
I’m Music Magazine Associate Editor/Photographer Daphne McKinney
Return To Dust
Tigercub
Connect with Chevelle:
