Celebrating their second studio album The Crucible of Life, The Home Team creates an explosion through their hard rock sound and attention grabbing stage presence at The Palladium.
Opening act PULSES took the stage at 6:50. After a quick sound check the band started with their original “Yo! Champ in the Making”. The band performed their first two songs before realizing there were some technical issues. The band was rocking out with the audience despite these issues the two vocalists swapped spots on stage to finish their second song as the lead singers’ microphone wasn’t working properly. The set continued after some quick work from the palladium staff while the band bantered with the audience. While the band had to cut one song from their set due to the delay they jumped right back into their set without letting the delay faze them.
PULSES created a fun atmosphere with their hardcore punk rock sound. The Virginia based band traveled 8 hours on the day to perform. Throughout their set the whole band put incredible energy into their performance. During their last song of the night the drummer jumped up front to sing a verse of their song “You Already Know” while the guitarist swapped to the drum kit.
Before swapping back to drums the drummer shouted out to the audience “Free Palestine, fuck ice, fuck Donal Trump”
As the band continued performing their original songs including “Better” another song from Hyperreal and “Contigo” from the band’s newest album Wave Machine, the whole band was putting their heart into the performance. Guitarists Matt Beljan and Eric Stewart and bass guitarist John Tomasso were dancing around the stage with Andy and drummer Kevin Beljan was putting his whole body into every beat.
While the band performed balloons started bouncing through the pit. While the band performed their newest song “Disappearing Act” the audience sang and danced along with a few crowd surfers popping up around the pit. While lead singer Andy jumped off stage to stand at the barricade interacting with the audience.
Slowing down the energy with the song “And Now We Sleep in Endless Ocean” sharing that this song is “for the romantics” the slower song had audience members swaying along while many couples pulled each other close. The emotional and heartfelt lyrics set to a ballad tempo the song was a perfect transition before the band’s final song of the night “Eternity Leave” also from Wave Machine a sharp shift in energy to bring the audience back to a high for the next act.
To introduce their set the guys recorded a little vocal message to the audience using the fun intro to build tension with the audience.
The band opened their performance with “Empty Canvas”, “Light Like You”, and “Hello Sunlight” three high energy songs from their newest album I Think I’ve Been Here Before. The band’s infectious energy quickly had the audience singing along to songs from every era of the band including “Put You Through Me” from their 2023 album Built To Last and “Uncomfortably Numb” from the band’s first album Be More. released in 2021.
Arrows in Action a trio comprised of Victor, Jesse, and Matt got their start in Florida The band has been producing music independently since their single “Love Lust and Misery” came out in 2016. The band produced their first two albums independently before recently signing with Nettwork music group in 2025 to produce their newest album I Think I’ve Been Here Before. The band has gained a large following in recent years with their blend of alternative and pop sound and incredible lyricism.
The group finished their set with one of their most popular songs “Cheekbones” a single originally released in 2024 and a feature song on their album I Think I’ve Been Here Before. With the audience screaming along to every word of the vampy song the band performed with an incredible energy.
Guitarist John Baran and bassist Ryne Olson also came out ready to rock. The pair were quickly jumping and dancing around the stage with incredible energy while shredding out the band’s intense melodies. The on-stage chemistry between band members had the audience hooked with nearly everybody dancing or headbanging along.
As the band continued to rock out with the audience with a “speed run” of their most popular songs the hard rock sound and high energy encouraged a mosh pit to form in the center of the floor while many audience members crowd surfed towards the front.
The band brought out Victor from Arrows in Action to perform “All Squeezed Out” from The Crucible of Life. Victor and Brian performed the song as a duet while the audience screamed along.
In addition to the band’s stage presence, they brought some intricate stage set up to celebrate their Crucible of Life Tour. The stage was decked out with a beautifully illustrated backdrop that drew inspiration from the album’s cover art. Adding custom covers to the speakers on stage with more art from the album and sculptures of the chalice seen on the cover mirrored on each side of the drum kit the stage setup was visually enticing and full of easter eggs.
This care and attention to detail were highlighted as the band shared how important this album and tour have been for their career. As an album and releasing The Crucible of Life marked a period of celebration and growth for the band. The tour has been an immense success for the band with several sold-out shows. The band shared that they sold over 2000 tickets for this show at the Palladium their first headlining show in Worcester MA.
The Home Team will be continuing the Crucible of Life tour with several more shows across the United States.
THE HOME TEAM
ARROWS IN ACTION
MAKARI
PULSES
THE PALLADIUM
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