MOTIONLESS IN WHITE AT DOS AMIGOS IN ODESSA, TX
After an almost six hour trek, I pulled into Odessa, TX for the Motionless in White show with Atreyu and Wilson at Dos Amigos. Now, I hadn’t been back to this venue in probably 7 or 8 years and they had actually closed for a while, but after what looks like hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations to the venue - the removal of the classic rodeo ring, a barn over the outdoor stage with the ability to close in, new lights and a new sound system, etc. - I walked in to find a crowd ready to or already rocking.
I entered as Wilson was already on stage, but was honestly confused as to whether it was the same band I remembered from years ago. Their sound had changed from essentially an Every Time I Die tribute to an extremely radio friendly rock band that could easily open a Five Finger Death Punch tour. I honestly only remember the quote “there’s no rules in fun” being said and the DJ in green and a lab coat.
Atreyu was up next and teenage me was hyped to see them in 2019. I hadn’t seen them since Ozzfest 2006 and kind of missed the whole upward trajectory the band experienced before breaking up in 2011. Even from the one real big stage I’d seen them on prior, they were still in my heart as the band I’d seen play on the floor of a Boys and Girls club. Atreyu opened up their set with a single, “The Time is Now,” from their latest album “In Our Wake” waking the crowd up from the between set lull. Following that, they continued straight into their massive song “Right Side of the Bed” to keep the crowd up and moving. Including a cover of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Atreyu played a few more songs from “In Our Wake” to a receptive audience. Personally, I was secretly hoping for any song from “Suicide Note and Butterfly Kisses” but seeing Atreyu after all these years still brought out a nice feeling of nostalgia for me.
Motionless in White came on to a raucous crowd that had been patiently waiting for the band to return for the first time in almost 7 years. Upon the first note of the band’s opener “570” you could feel the release of energy from the audience as they showed Motionless in White how much they were missed in the area. They immediately followed up with “Devil’s Night” and “Abigail,” singles from 2012’s “Infamous” and 2010’s “Creatures,” respectively. I stepped away for a minute and came back to an empty stage and complete silence, which some crowd members told me was because of someone in the audience having a severe reaction to the lights. After what seemed like 10-15 minutes, the band came back out and destroyed the rest of their set to the fanfare of a loving audience.
After a wild return to the dusty oil town of Odessa, TX, one may hope it’s not another 7 years before Motionless in White or another 3 years before Atreyu return to rock them again. If they don’t want to wait though, fans can travel just a few hours this summer to see Motionless in White open up for Halestorm and the legendary Alice Cooper.
Nathan is an Austin, TX-based photographer, who once kind of, vaguely from 100 feet away if you squinted a little, resembled Rufio from Hook when he was younger, that thoroughly enjoys pro wrestling, anime, murder mystery shows and hanging out with everyone’s pets.