Once Again, White Reaper Proves Their Rock ’n’ Roll Chops

White Reaper. The boys were back in St. Louis performing to a nearly full house at Delmar Hall on February 11, 2023, and sounding tight. They previously performed at Pop’s in Sauget in 2019 and opened for The Struts in 2018 at The Pageant which is where we got our first taste of them. The Louisville-based band of five continues its desire to become, as their second studio album valiantly declared, The World’s Best American Band. And their single “Pages,” from Asking for a Ride, their fourth album released on January 27, hit Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay number one spot on February 6, is pushing them one step closer to their goal.

But first … Taipei Houston opened on this fourth night of the Asking for a Ride tour at 7:30 p.m. with a 35-minute set of fuzzy, fast, heavy, layered, buzzing, distorted rock with a punk edge. Layne (lead vocals, bass), 21 and Myles (drums, guitar) Ulrich, 24 make up the duo that formed during the pandemic in Northern California and is now based in L.A. Their last name might sound familiar to hard rock fans (we’ll let you figure out why). Layne belted out a sprechgesang lyrical style akin to Jack White, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, and even a hint of Beastie Boys on “The Middle” while Myles masterfully pummeled the drums into submission. They’ve accomplished a lot in their short time already performing at Lollapalooza and SXSW, and now, St. Louis at Delmar Hall can be added to their growing list.

Amid a mostly darkened stage throughout their set, Narrow Head took the middle slot. Hailing from Texas, (Houston via Dallas) this reverb-rich emo-grunge, noisy, fuzz ensemble got straight to work. For 40 minutes, their driving, hard-edged, sometimes metalesque sounds engulfed Delmar Hall. Songs such as “Caroline” and the heavy yet melodic “Moments of Clarity” from their February 10 album release of the same name came across much harder in person as compared to their studio takes. Lead vocalist/guitarist Tony Esposito shared he thought it was their first time playing in St. Louis when a fellow band member corrected him, “oh, last year?” he chuckled. Research shows it was November 19, 2021, at The Sinkhole in south city St. Louis.

White Reaper strode on stage just after 9:30 for an hour set that went by too quickly. Several new fans in the crowd, thanks to 105.7 The Point’s sponsorship, were treated to a blazing, solid, fun 18-song set that kept everyone’s heads bopping and on their feet. They started with the fast-paced, noisy, heavy “Asking for a Ride,” and continued the heavier sounds with “Bozo” before sliding into the more melodic, poppy “Real Long Time.”

Fans jumped and clapped along to “Might Be Right.”

The band kept a good rapport with the crowd throughout. At one point, guitarist Hunter Thompson talked about walking along Delmar and noticing all the names etched on the sidewalk, “there’s Nelly, Ulysses S. Grant — are you all big fans of his … Chuck Berry… are they all from here?” And just in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes people noted on St. Louis’ Walk of Fame are all born here or spent their formative years here.

Fans sang along loudly to that new single hit “Pages.” They ended the rock ’n’ roll show with the bouncy alt-rock “Judy French.”

You have another chance to catch White Reaper on May 27 when they’ll be in St. Louis again for Pointfest. And you should.

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