Asking Alexandria•The Hu•October 4, 2023•The Union
Reviewed and Photographed by Colton Kresser
(October 4th, 2023) Asking Alexandria ripped through The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City on their Co-headliner tour with The Hu and opening support from Zero 9:36.
Overall, it was an excellent show to attend but for me, Asking Alexandria absolutely stole the night. The crowd was completely engaged throughout their entire setlist that ranged from brand new never played tracks from their latest and 8th studio album “Where Did It Go?” released August 25th, as well as classics from their debut album “Stand Up And Scream” released in 2009 and a healthy mixture of popular tracks over the years to fill in the gaps.
It seemed it didn’t matter if it was from the 1st album of their latest, fans new and old were screaming all the words at the top of their lungs. Frontman Danny Worsnop had fans, old and new jumping up and down during “Where Did It Go?”, splitting the crowd down the middle for a wall of death and later a massive circle pit engulfing most of the crowd for their new song “Bad Blood”.
The energy wasn’t just high for the crowd, even after 15 years of touring the whole band seemed to have been just as engaged as the crowd. You could see each member giving their best performance as if it was their first gig. Plenty of headbanging, jumping, even playing little pranks on each other during their set. After all the band has been through, at the end of the day it’s a group of brothers on stage doing what they love.
About halfway through the set, Danny paused to have a quick word with the fans. He went on about how he remembers their “first tour ever”, how they came to Salt Lake City, and as he recalls, “it was one of the best shows on that tour”. He continued to thank the crowd for all their continuous support over the past 15 years and even went as far as to promise the crowd that “the next 15 years are going to be f**king sick!”. Frankly, I’d have to say he’s right. You can tell by their performance you’re watching a group of professionals who all care about putting on the best show possible. Live the whole band sounds tight, the front of the house is perfectly mixed, and Danny’s vocals sound the best I’ve ever heard them. He belts each note with so much drive, power, and passion behind all the lyrics.
Towards the end of their set, Danny took another minute to again thank the crowd for all their continuous support over the years. He then said that to preserve the moment he would like to take a quick Polaroid photo of the crowd that would later be signed by the band and available at the merch table as a limited one of one print. Saying that “one lucky fan will get to own this piece of AA history”.
It’s easy to make music, put out an album, go on tour, play your songs, make money, and do it all over again. To me, Asking Alexandria is a band that truly cares for their fans and knows how vital a role fans play in any band’s success. Showing genuine appreciation during their set by thanking fans and sharing memories of our city, being as engaged and energetic as possible so everyone got their money’s worth out of their ticket isn’t something that is done regularly in this industry.
I know that Asking Alexandria stole the show for me, however, do not be mistaken, The Hu absolutely brought an incredible performance. Traveling all the way from Mongolia to a country where they hardly know the language to play their music in front of hundreds of people? I can’t think of anything more rock n’ roll than that. Personally, I had never listened to any of their music. Only really hearing about them in passing from friends or recommended YouTube videos. When The Hu took the stage, it was if the entire crowd was transported straight to Mongolia and watched a live concert full of culture right from their homeland. In between each song the crowd would chant “HU! HU! HU! HU!”. It sounded as if they were all faithful warriors of the Hu army getting hyped to take on the enemy.
The Hu consists of 8 total members, each of them with their own unique talents and instruments that form their diverse and unique sound. They even went as far as playing a couple Metallica covers during their set, ending it with “Sad But True”. The crowd erupted when the beginning guitar riff started. Such a fun band and talented group of musicians to watch perform their music with instruments I had never seen or heard of before. I heard a quote somewhere and I can’t remember who said it but it goes like this, “Music is the one language the whole world speaks.” The Hu absolutely took that point and drove it home. All the way from Mongolia, across the world to Salt Lake City in a room full of people, all speaking the same language. Music.
The night was a complete success not just for me but for anyone who attended the show. It seems as if not just the fans, but the bands all made memories that night. After lockdown a few years ago, I hope everyone who attends a show in the future can remember how lucky we are that bands from across the world or bands that have been playing for 15 years are still coming to our city. I’ve been to plenty of concerts in my days and if there is one thing that I know it’s that many bands have great things to say about us.