Underoath, August Burns Red, and Atreyu Concert Review and Photos
Underoath, August Burns Red, Atreyu, As Cities Burn – SOMA – November 10, 2026
The 2300 fans lucky enough to be jammed into the completely sold-out SOMA in San Diego were treated to one of the best nights of heavy music I can remember. Underoath’s Define the Great Line 20th Anniversary Tour was in town, and fans were about to be immersed in a sweaty, interactive event unlike anything I’ve seen in a very long time.
Underoath
People that have issues with claustrophobia wouldn’t be happy at a well-attended show at SOMA – the room holds 2300, but it somehow feels both much bigger and also much smaller at the same time. The room is rectangular – skinny side to side and long front to back, the walls are all painted black, it’s ridiculously hot – like a sweat lodge, but the most notable thing was the sold-out crowd filled every void, leaving zero room to move – the audience seemed to press in from all sides and there was no escape once inside. That also went for the photo/security pit. It was the narrowest I’ve ever seen from the stage to the barricade, with almost no room to pass security guards while trying to maneuver for shots, to say nothing of the 10 other photographers sharing the space, or the crowd surfers that continually inundated the pit like they were launching an overhead siege.
Each of the four bands in the stacked lineup put on an amazing show, and somehow the energy level continued to rise through the night. It seemed like the fever pitch couldn’t get any higher than Atreyu…until August Burns Red took the stage. Excited fans were jubilant, exhausted, and having the best time possible - certainly there was no way to improve on it…until Underoath took the stage.
People were already fired up in the leadup to Underoath. Before the audience saw them, Creed’s “One Last Breath” came blasting out of the speakers in its entirety, and every single person in the audience sang along with every word. Underoath finally emerged from the darkness and launched straight into “In Regards to Myself”, the first of 11 songs back-to-back from Define the Great Line album. Fans had already been mixing it up for hours with the first three bands, but this set them over the edge. Hearing all 11 tracks from the 20-year-old seminal record made this an incredibly special show for diehard fans, and they reacted from the first note. Crowd surfers were everywhere and the mosh pit never died down or lost its energy – people were here to hear and feel the music and participate on a grand scale.
Vocalist Spencer Chamberlain immediately jumped onto the barricade, looming over the crowd and leaning into them while singing, as surprised and ecstatic fans held him up. On stage right, guitarist Timothy McTague, complete with his Gibson SG and requisite short-shorts, tore up his half of the stage. Christopher Dudley on keyboards could only be constrained by the instruments that surrounded him, using every available inch to bang his head, jump around, and scream to get the audience fired up – the epitome of rock & roll. Grant Brandell beat the shit out of his bass on stage left, while Aaron Gillespie absolutely killed it on drums and vocals and was a force of nature.
Underoath put on an incredible show, but when added to all three bands that had graced the stage before them, it became one of the more memorable nights of music to hit San Diego in a long time.
Underoath are:
- Aaron Gillespie – Drums/Vocals
- Christopher Dudley – Keyboards
- Timothy McTague – Guitar
- Grant Brandell - Bass
- Spencer Chamberlain - Vocals
Setlist:
) In Regards to Myself
2) A Moment Suspended in Time
3) There Could Be Nothing After This
4) You're Ever So Inviting
5) Sálmarnir
6) Returning Empty Handed
7) Casting Such a Thin Shadow
8) Moving for the Sake of Motion
9) Writing on the Walls
10) Everyone Looks So Good From Here
11) To Whom It May Concern
12) It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
13) Breathing in a New Mentality
14) Hallelujah
15) A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White
August Burns Red
Before August Burns Red got to the stage, the anticipation and energy in the room was already cataclysmic, but further excitement built when the house music faded and System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” hit the PA system in its entirety. The crowd cheered and sang along with every one of Serj’s nuanced lyrics. When it was over, the overheated and sardined audience began to chant, “ABR, ABR, ABR” until the band finally hit the stage to Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius”.
Vocalist Jake Luhrs is a force of nature and not only put on an incredible show, but also got the audience to do the same. “How many of you have never crowd surfed? I want everyone that raised their hand up in the air!” I have never seen as many crowd surfers per capita as were floating on top of people’s heads and hands at SOMA on Tuesday night. Wave after wave crashed into security in rapid succession, and it’s amazing that they could keep up. After the set, I entered the pit and talked to one of the security guards about how crazy the crowd surfing scene was – he jokingly said “You should see it on a busy night…” August Burns Red had really put them to the test.
The band played two songs from Season of Surrender (“Behemoth”, “The Nameless”), their 11th album that was released in June, and they went over really well with the audience. As expected, everything August Burns Red did was wildly received by their fans. Before their last song “White Washed”, Jake told the crowd, “This is our last song. Let’s get the biggest wall of death this building’s ever seen!” – I don’t know how such things are calculated, but when both sides of the room separated before crashing into each other during the drop, it seemed like the audience had lived up to their end of the bargain.
After their set, Jake jumped off the stage and walked the entirety of the photo pit, fist-bumping every single fan that was smashed up against the barricade, and thanked them for coming – an amazing gesture, knowing the fans felt the same way about ABR being there.
August Burns Red are:
- JB Brubaker – Guitar
- Brent Rambler – Guitar
- Matt Greiner – Drums
- Jake Luhrs – Vocals
- Dustin Davidson – Bass
Setlist:
1) Composure
2) Back Burner
3) Paramount
4) The Nameless
5) Behemoth
6) Bloodletter
7) Exhumed
8) Marianas Trench
9) White Washed
Atreyu
The first incredible feat was the changeover from As Cities Burn to Atreyu – the crew swapped over gear and Atreyu took the stage to play their set a mere 10 minutes later. This seemed impossibly fast after witnessing a show last week where Metal Church and Armored Saint shared a drum kit, and the poor drum tech got killed switching over the band specific double bass drum heads as well as cymbals – that debacle took longer than tonight’s complete changeover.
Atreyu has been on the scene for 28 years, and put out their 10th studio album The End Is Not the End earlier this year. They brought all of that experience to SOMA on Tuesday night, and played a killer set. Vocalist Brandon Saller jumped off the stage and headed into the crowd and mosh pit about halfway through, and based on the tightness of the room and ferocity of the audience, it was a welcome relief when he reemerged unscathed a few minutes later up on the stage. Atreyu is a killer live band, and the audience went nuts for them.
Atreyu are:
- Dan Jacobs – Guitar
- Brandon Saller – Vocals
- Travis Miguel – Guitar
- Marc McKnight – Bass/Vocals
- Kyle Rosa – Drums
Setlist:
1) Bleeding Mascara
2) Becoming the Bull
3) Her Portrait in Black
4) Ex's and Oh's
5) Dead
6) Right Side of the Bed
7) Blow
As Cities Burn
Formed in Louisiana in 2002, As Cities Burn hit the stage at an almost unprecedented go-time of 6:30pm – the price of being part of such an incredible lineup. Two things were immediately evident – the first was that the room of the sold-out show was almost filled to capacity in time for their set. The second was that their gear was pushed up against the front of the stage, with the front of the kick drum touching the edge of the stage.
Despite the limited real estate and opening act truncated set, As Cities Burn played a great show that set the mood for the rest of the night. Chris Lott on stage right guitar and keyboards appeared to be playing in a different band with his incredible energy and showmanship, while Cody Bonnette on vocals/guitar, Aaron Lunsford on drums, and Joe Fox on bass played it slightly more sedate – that isn’t meant as a diss – they sounded great, and the audience went wild for them. I hadn’t heard of As Cities Burn prior to this show, but they were great and definitely worth checking out – the perfect way to kick off an incredible night of music.
As Cities Burn are:
- Cody Bonnette – Vocals/Guitar
- Aaron Lunsford – Drums
- Joe Fox – Bass
- Chris Lott – Guitar
Setlist:
1) War of God of Peace
2) This Is It, This Is It
3) Two Faces Ten Paces
4) Into the Sea
5) Mr. Villainous
6) Pirate Blues
Brooks Robinson is an LA-based concert photographer, and 30+ year freelance camera operator for film, television, and music videos. He has photographed some of the largest film/TV projects in history, and hundreds of music videos in MTV's heyday.
