MMATA Brings the Energy to The Fillmore Silver Spring
BY LIZ BAUMMEROn a very chilly Tuesday, Meet Me @ The Altar brought an electric set to the Fillmore Silver Spring alongside Daisy Grenade and Knuckle Puck in support of State Champs. On one of the coldest nights so far this season, The Fillmore was buzzing with excitement.
The number one take away from this Tuesday night is that it certainly didn’t feel like a Tuesday. State Champs instructed during their set that everyone should pretend it was a Saturday, and it was certainly not hard to. Weekend nights just feel different. You’re not thinking of work tomorrow or where you have to be in 8 hours. There are no meetings to think about, no assignments to concern yourself with. And this Tuesday felt exactly that way. Maybe it was because it was the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving holiday but nobody appeared to be the least bit concerned about anything other than having a good time, I know I certainly was not.
I’ve seen MMATA twice before, one of which I photographed. I first became familiar with them after seeing them on the All Things Go lineup in 2023 before photographing them at 9:30 Club in DC earlier this year. I strongly believe that I could photograph them a hundred times and never get tired of them. MMATA are such dynamic performers. Their discography lends itself well to high energy performances. They opened the set with my personal favorite Say It (To My Face) before including hits in their set such as Hit Like a Girl and Kool. I particularly love Hit Like a Girl because MMATA makes an effort to make their sets a safe space for women. At one point, they encouraged the crowd to part to make way for a mosh pit before specifically encouraging the women to get in there and have fun. The entire time they kept a watchful eye on the pit, making sure the women were having a good time and ensuring everyone remained safe. If you’ve never seen MMATA play, I would highly suggest taking the next opportunity you get. They always put on a wonderful, welcoming show that has the entire audience on their feet. The band is also incredibly dynamic to photograph, something that makes my job infinitely easier and a whole lot of fun!
While MMATA is who originally drew me to the show, I was in for a massive treat with the rest of the lineup. Alongside MMATA, Daisy Grenade and Knuckle Puck were also there supporting State Champs on this tour. I was particularly excited because I have always wanted to catch Daisy Grenade in concert. They have been on my photography bucket list for a while, and they certainly did not disappoint. I have seen lots of images from other photographers and had high expectations for how fun their set was going to be and even then I was blown away. I am hoping to capture them again in the future as they continue to grow.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights on the night (besides MMATA of course!) took place primarily during Knuckle Puck and State Champs’s sets. CROWDSURFING! I had been wanting to photograph more crowdsurfing, and their fanbases went all out. While I will say being in the photo pit while fans are soaring across the crowd towards you is simultaneously riveting and terrifying, the staff at The Fillmore were pros at keeping everyone safe. Like a well oiled machine, each fan was carefully extracted over the barricade and security even kept an eye out for the photographers to make sure no one got clobbered by a stray foot.
