The Orange Peel’s lights faded and the sold-out audience transitioned from singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” to lending all eyes and ears to In This Moment. Blue and white strobe lights, positioned center stage flared and panned the crowd, provoking deafening cheers. After a moment of suspense, front-woman Maria Brink sauntered into the spotlight. She was draped in black, resembling a witch on October’s spookiest night. Wind machines blasted Brink’s long, curly, platinum blonde hair as the eerie intro led into “Sick Like Me.”
There’s few bands in the scene today that truly embody the term “performance,” however In This Moment is certainly one of them. Led by Brink, the front woman carries herself in a magical way, too unique for comparison.
The vocals contrast well. The clean notes are effortless and bewitching while the screams soar and pierce the hypnotic trance the crowd periodically falls into. Between each track, Brink and her dancers scamper into a red tent positioned center stage to drastically change their appearance. Costume changes are customary and give each song their own brand.
Suddenly, a television advert depicting the danger a black widow spider possesses breaks the silence and Brink’s dancers crawl out from behind the red curtain. The front woman follows, wearing an elaborate, naughty nurse costume. The band’s choreography steals the shows as the dancers creepily cavort their bodies back and forth while Brink reaches out into the audience, pulling even more enthusiasm from their souls.
Brink’s band mates line her to the left and right donning their own respective Halloween-like costumes. Guitarist Chris Howorth whips his dreadlocks through the air while hiding his face behind a menacing mask. The instrumentalists break into a rock medley highlighting their own talents which are typically overshadowed by Brink’s dramatics. The ease at which the musicians carry the stage without the front woman beg to question why they only receive the spotlight between the middle acts and grand finale.
“Big Bad Wolf,” the second single off Black Widow initiates the grand finale and reclaims the crowd’s undivided attention. The track is a banger and visually stunning. An oversized cage traps Brink as she bends the bars away from her face and protrudes through the space emphasizing that “even in these chains you can’t stop me.”
A flawless rendition of “Whore” which sees Brink sit atop a red stool while wearing a pure white dunce cap with the word ‘whore’ inscribed on it caps off the night and pulls the audience together as one with their singing voices. White smoke pulsates up from behind Brink as she swings back and forth on the stool while she sings about rising above people’s perceptions. The track is powerful and the passion behind the vocals and screams is felt from wall-to-wall, not only from Brink’s voice, but the audience’s as well.
The performance further highlights In This Moment’s dedication to their craft and creativity. The production is alluring and stunning, rare to any city outside Las Vegas. It’s unlike any other concert around today due to its visual presentation, yet it remains pleasing to the ear. In This Moment’s live show is worthy of a gold medal for memorability and certainly a tantalizing sight worth seeing wherever on the map.
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