Down @ Ramova Theatre, Chicago (US)

DOWN / HELMET / SPIRIT IN THE ROOM

‘Strap It Down’ Tour

Date: 02nd September, 2026
Venue: Ramova Theatre
Ticket Price: $74.5/€64
Promoter: Ramova Theatre x Forge Live

The Chicago weather keeps setting records, and I am not implying this being a good thing. This time around, it was a September heatwave, accompanied by the terrible humidity that usually comes with it. Still, this didn’t stop fans from forming a long line well before doors at the Ramova Theatre, patiently waiting for DOWN’s headlining show.

Things did not go exactly according to plan at the door, as there was a mix-up with the Press list that took some time to sort out. Because of this, we got in to see SPIRIT IN THE ROOM already well into their set, in front of a crowd that made me think this show was flirting with being sold out, if it hadn’t already reached that point.

Singer Dennis Sanders was the most active member of the five-piece lineup, constantly moving around the stage, while Olivia Sanders handled guitar duties on stage left, with the bassist occupying stage right. To be fair, with the DOWN drum kit already onstage, there was not much room for SPIRIT IN THE ROOM, but Sanders made the most of it. There was a restless energy to SPIRIT IN THE ROOM that worked nicely with their dark and somewhat unsettling sound.

The audience had clearly forgotten the heat and humidity and was already moving, often reaching mosh-pit levels. Yes, this would be another great show, although based on the headliners I was not expecting anything less. Getting to catch the new single “Love Like Rats”, followed by “The Future Is Immediate”, was the most effective way to forget the delay getting in and the fact that I had already started sweating before getting any concert action.

Live music is the best mood fixer-upper.

SPIRIT IN THE ROOM

Around 8:20pm, HELMET took the stage and immediately got down to business. Page Hamilton as the only original member was the tip of the spear laying down his trademark vocals serving the band’s fluid music identify effortlessly floating between Hardcore, Post Rock/Metal genres. To be fair, it is close to impossible to describe the style of HELMET but some things are certain; the hard-hitting grooves and in-your-face singing that works excellently in a concert setting. This was proven right away inside Ramova where you could either see heads nodding to the rhythm or bodies gathering momentum to get into the moshpit.

Dave Case with his green bass introduced “Renovation” and Kyle Stevenson did the same for “Give It” hitting the snare drum like there was no tomorrow. As one might be expecting, the moshpit was growing larger with each song and around that time Page Hamilton took a short break to say that it was great to be back in Chicago and thanked DOWN and SPIRIT IN THE ROOM, but that was pretty much it, as far as extended interaction with the crowd was concerned. Then, it was straight back to the music with “Red Scare” and I love seeing him turning towards his PAs during the guitar solo for the extra reverb. Speaking of guitars, the intro “Driving Nowhere” sounded great at concert capacity and even this is not my cup of tea, I could say there is a Stoner Rock vibe hidden behind the drums and vocals.

The lack of unnecessary pauses made the set feel even more compact and aggressive, with HELMET relying on those instantly recognizable stop-and-start riffs and grooves instead of stage banter to keep everyone engaged. By the time “In The Meantime” arrived to close things out, the crowd had been given little opportunity to catch its breath, although by the looks of it nobody was holding back. Honestly, my older mind was thinking whether this audience could keep it going as the inside had stated to feel like the outside in terms of humidity and temperature. One thing was certain: for a band that has been doing this for decades, there was nothing nostalgic about the performance. HELMET simply walked onstage, played hard for a little over forty minutes and left the music to do the talking.

HELMET

During the changeover, the familiar carpets were laid across the stage, which could only mean that DOWN and barefoot Phil Anselmo were next for those who may have missed the memo... Meanwhile, whatever remaining open spaces there had been on the floor were quickly disappearing as people moved closer to the stage. By this point, the Ramova Theatre certainly looked sold out, or at least close enough that arguing otherwise would have been difficult.

At 9:37pm, the lights went out and DOWN walked onstage together, with Pepper Keenan and Pat Bruders exchanging a fist bump before things got properly loud. There was no easing into the set either. Anselmo asked everyone to jump their asses off, dedicated the opener to the headbangers and introduced “Blood Oath”, the band's brand-new song and first taste of the upcoming “Volume V”. Starting a headlining set with new material can sometimes be a risky proposition, but there was no such problem here. This crowd was ready for DOWN, old or new. DOWN have the ability to make the songs sound better live than in studio. I don’t know; maybe is because one can feel the air being pushed by the massive guitar tone, feeling the bass/drum vibrations in your bones, and then getting the urge to sing along Phil H Anselmo as if you are buddies and you have a couple of beers.

Anselmo recognized the audience’s quick reflexes by applauding and nodding in his trademark way letting “Lysergik Funeral Procession” commence the constant challenge of the PAs. But it was “Lifer” that spiked the crowd’s energy with Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein serving the bone-crushin’ NOLA riff, right after Anselmo dedicating the song to Dimebag, Vince and Ozzy. No imagination is needed to say how the DOWN fans joined in singing every lyric and the chorus at maximum volume. “Hail The Leaf” followed and it maybe my imagination but I think I smelled and saw some smoke rising from spots in the arena. Could this be the effect of that song? Who knows?

The singer was forced to state “Absolutely bada$s everybody” as the energy was at mid-concert levels and not as it were at the beginning, but a few songs later, he had even more to say. Before “Ghosts Along The Mississippi”, he admitted he could barely talk and called Chicago the best audience of the run by far. Considering how loudly the crowd was answering him, this did not sound like the usual frontman trying to score some cheap local points.

But I shouldn’t credit Anselmo for being the only one engaging the audience. Everyone in the DOWN lineup received the energy from the audience and returned tenfold. Even Windstein was active despite his recent health issues, so hopefully things are looking up for him. Situations like his made, or should make, people consider how difficult touring has become and unfortunately how taxing it can be for the musicians’ health. Anyways, this is not time to say such things but we -the fans- cannot be looking at the forefront of touring and pretend to not see the rest of the touring time...

“Pillars Of Eternity” and “Temptation's Wings” kept the heavy grooves coming, before Anselmo introduced “Losing All” as a particularly crowd-friendly one and invited everyone to sing along. He really did not need to ask. The crowd had been doing exactly that throughout the set, and the connection between band and audience was becoming one of the defining parts of the evening.

After telling Chicago that it had never let DOWN down, “Swan Song” changed the pace without losing any of the weight, followed by the opening notes of “Rehab”. The latter was introduced simply enough, with Anselmo asking for the key before that instantly recognizable beginning kicked in. The cowbell duties were taken care by SPIRIT IN THE ROOM singer who made this performance even more special. Then came another pause, this time for Anselmo to acknowledge that he had only learned about half an hour before the show that this was the final night of the tour with HELMET and SPIRIT IN THE ROOM, giving both bands and their crews some well-deserved love.

And then, as he put it, it was time for the “essential shit.”

The massive “Stone The Crow” was followed by “Eyes Of The South”, with Anselmo at one point sitting down in front of Jimmy Bower's drum kit, while the crowd continued doing its share of the singing. By the time the inevitable question of what everyone wanted to hear was thrown out, there was really only one answer left. “Bury Me In Smoke” closed the set properly, but calling what followed simply an ending would not really do it justice. The song gradually turned into something closer to a jam session as members of SPIRIT IN THE ROOM and HELMET joined the fun and began taking over the instruments. Drums, bass and guitars changed hands, while Dennis Sanders assumed guitar duties and added his own flavor to the increasingly loose finale. At that point, it felt less like three separate bands and more like a bunch of musicians enjoying the last night of a tour together.

Eventually even that had to end, but Anselmo still had one more thing in mind. With the instruments finally quiet, he took the microphone and turned the opening of LED ZEPPELIN's “Stairway To Heaven” into an a cappella singalong. Naturally, the crowd knew that tradition too.

After spending most of the night singing every word back at the bands, Chicago got one final chance to prove Anselmo right about being the best audience of the run. It was a fittingly loose and fun ending to a show that had started for us with frustration at the door and ended with another reminder that live music remains the best mood fixer-upper.

DOWN setlist:

01. "Blood Oath"
02. "Lysergik Funeral Procession"
03. "Lifer"
04. "Hail The Leaf"
05. "Ghosts Along the Mississippi"
06. "Pillars Of Eternity"
07. "Temptation's Wings"
08. "Losing All"
09. "Swan Song"
10. "Rehab"
11. "Stone The Crow"
12. "Eyes Of The South"
13. "Bury Me In Smoke"

DOWN