Bad Omens w/ Beartooth and PRESIDENT at T-Mobile Center, Kansas City MO (2026-02-26)

If the question was ‘Do You Feel Love’, the answer from a loud T-Mobile Center in Kansas City was a resounding “Yes!”

Virginia band Bad Omens continues to celebrate their 2022 masterpiece album, The Death of Peace of Mind (on Sumerian Records) and handful of recent singles on their “Do You Feel Love North American Tour”, which even though it’s early, we’ll say this is the melodic metalcore tour of the year.

With four singles released since August, fans were hoping for a new album in 2026 but looks like all will have to be content with this anticipated live run of shows, which run through March 27 in Oakland. (Pro Tip– the merch lines were insanely long- plan ahead and/or shop the pop-up location, if one comes to your city).

The band has taken a gigantic leap both creatively and in terms of popularity, having sold out the Uptown Theater in 2023, and before that, were the undercard at The Granada in 2021, playing in Lawrence just after the release of the title track of their most recent album.

====

Enigmatic UK band PRESIDENT began the evening with a strong thirty-minute set, culled from their initial indie EP, King of Terrors, and fresh from the news that they’re now on Atlantic Records as of newest single, “Angel Wings.”

The band’s mystery stems from all four members being masked- their singer (strongly rumored to be a certain member of UK bands Busted and Fightstar) wears the mask of a gray-haired man and is in a long tuxedo coat with white gloves, and band members Heist, Protest, and Vice, all have their identities behind black masks.

We’ve had the band on our radar since their debut live performance at last June‘s Download Festival in the UK and their first show in this area did not disappoint, playing a tight seven-song set in less than a half-hour, staying in character and sonically staying very true to the recorded versions. This was a teaser of so much more to come from PRESIDENT, who already has our vote for much further success.

====

Ohio metalcore band Beartooth was next, with an impactful forty-five-minute set, supporting most their recent album, 2023’s The Surface, though a follow-up full-length seems imminent.

“Are you alive out there? Are you ready for the greatest night of your lives?!” singer Caleb Shomo began as the band launched into “Might Love Myself”, the third single from the recent album, and their first to top Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

The band’s sound leans truer to the metalcore aesthetic and succeeds with its warts-and-all rough edges, honest lyrics, and Schomo’s energetic live presence and crowd inciting. The band played in front of a giant logo backdrop and multi-video screens bursting with exploding color, video static, and some song titles, resulted in often seeing them playing in dramatic silhouette.

“ATTN.”, a song from the deluxe version of the recent album is almost a pop song with its bouncy harmonies and fret guitar work, Shomo teased their brand-new single “Free”, saying it would release “online in about four hours” before the band played the well-received track, and they ended with the lead single from The Surface, “Riptide.” Shomo closed their set by saying, “Whatever you’re going through, just go to a live show, it helps, I promise you.” We couldn’t agree more.

====

After a brief set change, lights again dimmed to begin Bad Omens’ conceptual and immersive ninety-minute headlining set.

The cinematic compliment that they’ve regularly received immediately came into play, with the first of five taped video segments (involving video of a literal tape recorder) that would not only tie the setlist together but gave a brief few moments for both the band and the audience, to catch their collective breath after some stunning renditions.

The stage itself had an industrial feel with grated risers with a video backdrop and four levels of above lightboxes adding to the immersion. Abstract images of dark matter, Matrix-esque tendrils, atmospheres, and a maelstrom of colors and patterns moved and churned about with each song.

Add to that, plenty of pyro and vertical shots of steam, and more lasers than the best Pink Floyd tribute band, and you have yourself a visual experience that was massive and uniquely effective in complementing the music.

The set began with the first of the recent singles, last August’s “Specter” and singer Noah Sebastian lyrically pleading, “Do You Feel Love?”, the inspiration for the tour’s name. After dipping back to 2016’s “Glass Houses”, most of the set concentrated on the recent album, playing over half of that groundbreaking third record, and all four of the recent singles.

Sebastian’s voice was in true form- ranging from a gentle, child-like falsetto to a raging bestial growl, and the band was musically tight, playing in tandem to the visuals with a precision and musical dexterity. The live presentation was so impressive that the only downside was the lack of any continuously circling mosh pit on the floor, as so many fans were mesmerized, they wanted to take it all in and/or document the show with their cellphones.

‘Epic’ seems the best word to describe the set, as each number felt like a mini-event and the band more than proved they’ve become arena-worthy, with songs like “Concrete Jungle” and “V.A.N” (originally recorded with Poppy) thriving in this bigger space. A b-stage near the back soundboard would have been nice to bring the back sections more into the show, but it may have also broken the immersive mystique built up on the main stage.

The crowd’s loyalty was on display for the full set as well, following Sebastian’s every lyric and movement, singing back on command, and illuminating the arena with cellphone lights during “Just Pretend” at a participation level which we rarely see.

The main set would end on the electro and R&B-influenced and somewhat somber recent single, “Impose” and Sebastian singing, “In every place, I’m on my toes, and still I feel like I impose.” But that would only be a brief respite for a one-song encore of one of the band heaviest songs, 2019’s “Dethrone” that would end the evening with one last unleashed gut punch.

These are watershed times for Bad Omens, a band that has successfully elevated their profile and popularity to even greater heights with a more polished, refined sound and live experience. That makes this (along with great support acts Beartooth and PRESIDENT), one of the most memorable shows (of any genre) that we’ve seen in years.

(note: no show photography was permitted by Bad Omens or PRESIDENT – Bad Omens images courtesy of official Instagram account)