Memphis May Fire Kicks off Shapeshifter Tour in Dallas

Memphis May Fire made a stop in their hometown of Dallas, TX, this Thursday at the South Side Ballroom. With supporting acts from elijah and Wind Walkers, the fans were in for a night full of passionate performances and chaotic moments that fans won’t soon forget.

elijah kicked off the night with his new song “Skin,” which immediately captured the audience’s attention. The singer’s set consisted of some of his older pop punk tracks that made him blow up on TikTok a couple of years ago, along with a handful of new tracks that he has released as singles throughout this year. Even though elijah was the first performer to go on that night, the energy he and his band exuded on stage got the fans riled up very quickly. Some of the biggest mosh pits of the night happened during elijah’s set, and as soon as the musician got to his closing track, the brand new and ridiculously heavy “UNDERRATED,” all hell broke loose in the crowd. If the audience didn’t know who elijah was before, they definitely do now. As someone who has been following his music for the past couple of years, it was truly amazing to see him perform and win over the crowd with ease and style. With the amount of onstage presence and musical talent he possesses, elijah is going to have one hell of a successful career ahead of him, and I can’t wait to see what he releases next.

Following elijah’s stellar performance was the Massachusetts post-hardcore band, Wind Walkers. The group opened their set with the dynamic and emotional “The Overlook,” as fans cheered on excitedly. The band tracklist was made up almost exclusively of songs from the 2023 release What If I Break?, with one exception: the newly released “The End Aesthetic.” The song having just been released on Spotify the day of the Dallas show gave the audience a bit of a breather as the song’s rhythmic synth and clean vocals pulsed through the venue’s speakers. The band wrapped up their set with the moving, fan-favorite “Hangfire,” as fans sang along to the impassioned lyrics. 

After two great performances from the opening acts, it was time for Memphis May Fire to take the stage. As soon as the lights went down and the first riff from “Shapeshifter” began to play, fans went absolutely wild. Throughout the band’s entire set, you could see just how happy both they and the people in the audience were about being able to share the moment. Fans of all ages were grinning ear to ear, singing along to every lyric, and jumping up and down with the beat of the songs. One fan in particular was especially psyched to be at the show. Over the course of the band’s set, I watched a man dressed in an inflatable chicken costume crowd surf probably 15 times. How he avoided popping the suit after all of this is beyond me, but the guy was having the time of his life, and the crowd loved it as well. 

The setlist was a perfect mix of some of the band's most iconic songs, such as the heavy-hitting “Vices” and heart-wrenching “Miles Away,” along with a handful of new tracks off of their recently released LP Shapeshifter. In most cases, you would expect fans to react more enthusiastically to the old tracks for nostalgic reasons and just from the fact that they have had years to form a connection with the song, but that was not the case at this Memphis May Fire show. Fans responded just as energetically to the new songs as to the old favorites, which just goes to show how badass the new album is. 

Apart from having fantastic songs, the band’s performance was top-notch and was honestly one of the best I have seen in recent years. Despite the fact that I have been listening to Memphis May Fire since I was a teenager, this was actually the first time I have gotten a chance to see them live. Needless to say, it was worth the wait. Matty Mullins’ vocals were as strong and formidable as always, both during the songs’ clean sections and heavy parts. The energy the band exuded on stage was contagious, and the fans were vibrating with excitement the entire show. For the encore, the band played two additional songs, the brand new “Hell Is Empty” and the Remade In Misery era favorite “Blood & Water,” to close out the night.

If you are looking for a fun night with high-octane music and performances, Memphis May Fire’s Shapeshifter tour is the way to go. Luckily, the US tour has just started and will continue through mid-May 2025, with a final stop at the Daytona-based Welcome to Rockville festival. This is not a tour you want to miss, so get those tickets ASAP and go have the time of your life with the boys from Memphis May Fire.