Alpha Wolf Brings the Let It Rip Tour to Milwaukee

Photojournalist: Carrie Bergan

Never underestimate the power of a metal show on a Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Alpha Wolf stopped in town for their Let It Rip Tour with support from Gideon, Mugshot, and Resolve. Just knowing the bands on this run, I could not miss out on covering this show. The summer heat has really been kicking in, so not only was it a rowdy crowd, but it was sweaty too. It was a humid 80 degrees all day, which meant people were really starting to camp out in order to secure that barricade spot, especially because there was a VIP meet & greet group prior. Before the first band took the stage, the room was already packing it in. 

Resolve is a metal band from France, and I really enjoy international bands coming through my area. They were energetic, and even though most of the room didn’t know who they were (like myself) we gave them our full attention. The mosh pit was open on the get-go and continued throughout the entire set. I definitely need to see them come back. It’s always a great sign when the first band brings the heat because then it sets the levels for the rest of the night. 

Mugshot was second, and I had seen them before on the very same stage. However, they suffered from some technical difficulties as soon as they were ready to play. To pass the time, their guitarist and bassist interacted with the audience. I got to assist in a game of tic-tac-toe between a fan at the barricade and the band. There was rock-paper-scissors and jokes about telling jokes, but no actual joke was spoken. As soon as everything was resolved, Mugshot gave us everything and crowd surfers slowly began to rise up in the crowd. Even when we run into problems, I love that the band didn’t let it discourage them but made sure the audience was having fun while waiting. 

Gideon was the final opener and boy was I very excited to see them. They have not played a show in Milwaukee for almost four years which was also the last time I had seen them live. This was my second time getting to cover their set but with an actual photo pit this time and my nerves were high. I got super lucky and even snagged a photo with their vocalist which really made the night so perfect for me. Gideon is phenomenal and the room was warmed up before they took the stage because the crowd surfers just came tumbling over that barricade. The energy kept climbing and it was going to be even heavier by the time Alpha Wolf took the stage.

Finally, it was time for the main event: Alpha Wolf. The drummer took his place first and pointed his drumstick out amongst everyone, hitting the beginning notes. The band all took their place one by one, and then it just kicked in. Alpha Wolf is one of the first few bands I’ve seen call for the wall of death, not one, but TWICE. The entire front area was just a frenzy of moshing and crowd surfers lined up in the area like a conga line. I had never actually listened to them prior to this show and only knew of them by name through the grapevine. They certainly bought a killer night of energy and did not disappoint anyone. 

Towards the end of their set, they had a featured vocalist on stage who was none other than their tour photographer! Talk about really girl bossing it on the road because clearly that’s another skill set you need to be taken with. Guess I need some voice lessons to warm up so I can add singing back-up to my repertoire of what I offer the music industry, lol. 

The tour is slowly winding down, but that doesn’t mean much because it’s summertime, and it’s music season so be sure to follow all these bands on their social media pages to figure out where you can catch them next.

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ALPHA WOLF

GIDEON

MUGSHOT

RESOLVE

FAN CAM