There was some sort of electricity vibrating in the air at Fort Lauderdale’s Culture Room, way before Close Enemies even hit the stage. People were shoulder to shoulder, swapping guesses about the set and waiting for that first riff, and once the lights dropped, the room flipped from chatter to full attention in seconds.
The band opened with “Rain,” then moved straight into “Sound of a Train” and “Inside Out,” which gave the night a clear identity early: tight band, hard groove, no wasted motion. “Sweet Baby Jesus” and “Take a Pill” kept the pressure on, and you could feel the crowd settle into that rhythm where nobody is looking at their phone anymore because the band has them locked in.
What made this show work was the balance between polish and attitude. Chasen Hampton kept the crowd engaged without overdoing it, Tom Hamilton held down the center of gravity on bass, and the guitar pairing of Trace Foster and Peter Stroud gave each song a little extra lift. It sounded like a band that has put in real hours together, not a one-off project, all the while Tony Brock punished the drum kit with accuracy and grace.
Mid-set, they mixed in “Midnight Rendezvous,” then rolled through “More Than I Could Ever Need,” “Love is a Battlefield,” and “Mystery of Love.” The pacing there was smart. They gave the room a breather without losing momentum, then pulled everybody back in with “Seasons of Wither.”
The final run landed hardest: “Dry Rocket,” “Wink & a Feather,” then the two Aerosmith cuts, “Sick as a Dog” and “Sweet Emotion,” which got the biggest singalong of the night. They closed with a drum solo that segued into “Head First,” and it felt like the right kind of ending for this room: loud, loose, and a little chaotic in a good way.
Overall, this was a proper club-rock show, the kind where the band sounds close enough to touch, and the crowd leaves sweaty and happy. Close Enemies did not play it safe, and Culture Room got exactly the kind of set that keeps people talking all the way to the parking lot.
CLOSE ENEMIES Photo Gallery:
