Concert Recap: Waking Tera - "The Haunting at Hooligans," Jacksonville, NC (October 28, 2022)
Local six-piece metal band Waking Tera and the team at Hooligans Music Hall get fans ready for Halloween with their local heavy metal spookshow
It was quite literally a dark and stormy night as Jacksonville, NC's own Waking Tera took the stage for their headlining Halloween concert at Hooligans Music Hall on Friday, October 28. Marketed as "The Haunting at Hooligans," the venue was decked out from head to toe in cobwebs, ghosts, spiders and more. Fans in attendance clearly understood the assignment, with many attendees embracing the Halloween spirit by arriving in costumes ranging from Ghostface to Michael Myers. Additionally, the heavy metal hometown heroes stacked their bill with support from Wilmington metalcore act The Day We Confess and Pink Hill-based deathcore group Defile the Crown.
Truth be told, I wasn't inside the venue for the support bands' sets because I was outside filming an interview with Waking Tera vocalist KP and guitarist Zach Robinson (guitarist Dustin Varner and Hooligans manager Johnny Cutt made appearances as well). In all honesty, it was a miracle we were able to get the interview done due to a litany of technical difficulties on my part, but everyone in the band was understanding and willing to help find solutions, which I greatly appreciated. It was great to hang out and talk with everyone in the band on- and off-camera, and I'm already getting questions together in the event of a second interview sometime down the line.
I was able to catch the tail end of Defile the Crown's set, with the band closing by performing a deathcore rendition of the Slipknot classic "(sic)." The crowd was into them, ringing a heavy applause as they left the stage and set the table for the headliners.
As it came time for Waking Tera to start their set, the Halloween theme was on full display on the stage, complete with gravestones, leafless trees, and video monitors playing scenes of graveyards and other spooky environments – and don't even get me started on the lighting grid and production. Being the horror nerd that I am, to say I loved the overall setup of the stage would be an understatement. The band entered the stage in costumes of their own, starting off with their heavy and energetic 2014 single "Miss Demise."
The band's set consisted of familiar favorites such as "Capture" and "Dark Passenger," a decent chunk of cuts from their 2021 'Transition' EP, and even some new songs like their recently released single "The Last Campaign" and the to-be-released track "Beautiful Crash." They had a song for any emotion on the spectrum while still keeping the energy high enough to keep fans on their feet.Â
All in all, it was a great night of music that was perfect for getting in the mood for Halloween – Waking Tera put on a great show, it was great to see them in a headlining position, and after experiencing this show, I hope this ends up becoming an annual event at Hooligans.Â
Waking Tera Setlist (may be incomplete/out of order):
1. Miss Demise
2. Dark Passenger
3. Transition
4. Breathe
5. Beautiful Crash
6. Capture
7. Forgotten Lore
8. Nothing
9. The Last Campaign
10. Edify
11. Sin of Ommission
12. Break Stuff (Limp Bizkit cover)
Click here to see my interview with Waking Tera
For videos from the show, click here
Support Waking Tera: https://linktr.ee/wakingteraband