If you have never heard of HURT before, you are sincerely missing out. One of the most genuine and underrated bands out there, they never disappoint in their live show. The band performed for a small, intimate crowd at Ziggy’s Premiere Music Hall Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, NC with openers Nova and SUPER bob.
Greensboro, NC natives Nova started off the night with a 5-song set complete with a cover of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down.” Following, Nova, SUPER bob took the stage and blew the crowd away with their energy. There was not a moment when the Washington D.C.-based band wasn’t jumping and rocking out in sync, clearly a sign that they have been playing with each other for a long time. Singer Matt Santoro, guitarist Adam Smith, bassist Drew Recny, and drummer Chris Faircloth joked with each other on stage throughout the set, making faces at each other, making the band one that is very enjoyable to watch. They performed songs including “Capital D,” a song about the bassist Drew as what was told to the crowd by Matt during the introduction of the song, as well as “Popstar,” “Superfly,” and “Freak.” SUPER bob also graced the crowd with their own version of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It.” You haven’t heard anything until you’ve heard that song done rock-and-roll style. 
After SUPER bob left the stage and after a quick set change, HURT finally took the stage. Guitarist Michael Roberts, bassist Rek Mohr, and drummer Victor Ribas got to their respective spots on the stage to the cheers from the crowd, followed by singer J. Loren who came up, picked up his violin, and started off the set with their first single “Wars” from their album Goodbye to the Machine. This was HURT’s first time back in NC since their acoustic tours and since the release of their newest album, "The Crux", so the showcasing of the electric versions of these new songs was welcomed with open arms from the each and every fan in the crowd. Even with such a small show, the voices from the crowd could be heard over the music being pushed out of the amps. Some of the songs performed from The Crux include “Eden/Links and Waves,” “When It’s Cold,” the first single from the album “How We End Up Alone,” and “Sally Slips.” They took it back a couple years with their performances of songs from Volume 1 and Volume 2 including “Ten Ton Brick” and “Danse Russe.” Other songs performed from "Goodbye to the Machine" included “1331,” “Fighting Tao,” “Pandora,” and even “World Ain’t Right,” whose album version features Shaun Morgan from Seether.
To anyone who has seen their live show before, they know that J. likes to interact with the crowds and this show was no different. Throughout the set he would step up to the railing and grab onto people’s hands and just have them sing along with him. He even took a lucky fan’s camera up on the stage with him in the middle of a song and recorded an up close and personal shot with every member of the band. Victor held his own on sitting behind his drums at the top of the stage egging the crowd on in their excitement. This tour brought on the addition of a piano which Victor also manned right next to the drums. Michael and Rek jammed out on the guitar and bass respectively, both displaying their talents throughout the set for the audience to see. J.’s violin playing might possibly be one of the sweetest sounds you’ll hear and he showcased his skill through various solos of certain songs. The energy that HURT had during the show demonstrated their passion for their songs and their love for playing live shows. HURT closed out their set with arguably one of their most favored songs, “Rapture” which, again, was almost hard to hear over the voices of the crowd.
HURT is a band that is very much about their fans so after the show they came out to the merchandise table to sign autographs, take pictures, and shake the hand of every person who came out to see them; their way of saying “Thank You For Listening.”
Be sure to check out the interview we got with J. before the show as well as the various photos taken during the show.
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