By photojournalist Ryan Paul Marchese
October 6th marked another of Underoath’s Secret Shows at the Crowbar in Ybor City. This last-minute show was announced on Saturday the 4th by Maren McTague, daughter of Tim McTague, when she joined Underoath on stage to play guitar during “All The Love Is Gone.” The October 4th show was the conclusion of their tour with Papa Roach, but the band felt the need to do one more show, specifically for their hometown fans without the pressure of filling up an amphitheater or arena. The recent announcement that the Crowbar’s lease is up in August of 2026 made the evening that much more special. According to frontman Spencer, tickets for the Crowbar sold out within 35 minutes of going on sale, and justifiably so. Seeing Underoath at a smaller, more intimate venue has spoiled me. I’ve been a fan of the band since the early 2000s and seen them in multiple states and numerous venues around Tampa Bay, but nothing compared to this. With the show being a low stress performance situation, it let the band and the crowd mutualistically enjoy the night in a way the bigger shows just can’t provide.
Kicking off the night, was Social Wreckage. The younger band is fronted by Tim’s daughter Maren and also consists of the children from other musical acts in the area including Thin Spaces and Preson Phillips. Although this band doesn’t have the same years of experience as the other acts, they still rocked the hell out of the stage and had the crowd amped. The local punk rock band delivered an energetic and angsty set that had fans moshing and even crowd surfing. They were a lot of fun and are definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially with the announcement of new music coming soon.
Thin Spaces took the stage next. In the last year I think I’ve seen them three times, and each time is a blast. The band’s blend of shoegaze with punk rock and emo delivers moody and ethereal sounds, aggressive vocals and some great guitar work. The crowd had filled out more by the time their set started and had gotten rowdier as well. Crowd surfers became more abundant and stage divers entered the scene. At one point one of their sons took the stage and joined in on guitar. Another key moment of their set was when their singer took a moment to acknowledge how despite all the chaos with the current political atmosphere the evening of music brought fans together.
It was hot and packed, but everyone in the room went berserk when Underoath took the stage. Their set opened with a 2006 throwback, “In Regards to Myself” off of Define the Great Line. Their set catered to new and old fans alike spanning from their most recent album, The Place After This One, all the way back to when Spencer took over vocals in 2004. The room seemed to swell from the collective breaths of fans singing along to tracks like “All The Love Is Gone,” “Young and Aspiring,” and “Hallelujah.” It got uncomfortably hot with how many people were in the room, but that didn’t deter the crowd from forming pits and moshing to the aggressive breakdowns the metalcore band has become known for.
The band gave a killer performance packed with emotion, whether it was Aaron, Grant, and Chris headbanging away, Tim climbing on the platforms to either side of the stage, or Spencer going into the crowd and hanging from the ceiling. The night closed out with three older tracks that are well known fan favorites: “Reinventing Your Exit,” “A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White,” and “Writing on the Walls.” I was stoked to catch Underoath back at the end of 2024 at Jannus, but this concert takes the cake. This was my first outing to Crowbar and it couldn’t be more bittersweet. On the one hand it was an amazing night with a great lineup at a venue I haven’t been to before, on the other hand this awesome venue I’m just experiencing will be gone in 10 months. I’m glad I finally made it to a show at Crowbar with how much of a staple it is to the Tampa Bay music scene and hopefully I can get back there before the doors close for good.
