In This Moment’s Chris Howarth says the band are revelling in their relatively new status as a big-draw headline act.
The guitarist recalls his band could only attract 400 people at their own shows before the success of 2012’s Blood and last year’s follow-up Black Widow.
And being a big name allows them to put on the kind of live show he and singer Maria Brink have always wanted.
Howarth tells Cryptic Rock: “Before Blood, we were an opening band. We played, but we very rarely headlined. We did some headlining tours, which were great – but we didn’t feel we were great then, because we would still be lucky if we got 400 or 500 people.
“Now, when we headline there are 800 to 1000 people, sometimes more than that. We’re playing nice places with nice dressing rooms, and we’re the headliners. We have kind of gotten used to being the headliner.”
He adds: “We’re more into having it be our show, and having all the production, the lights, everything that goes along with it, the sound check and all this stuff.
“We can show everybody, ‘This is Black Widow – this is the new show.’ There are no restrictions from the other bands, so we do what we want to.”
But Howarth says the band can’t stop touring if they want to continue to build their crowd. “Unless you are Metallica, you cannot take a long time to do records,” he argues. “You have to do a record, and when you feel that the time is right, interest is waning, and the interviews are not coming in, you kind of just know it is time. It’s a never-ending thing.
“I dream about the day we can actually take a break for real, and not even know when we’re going to do the next album. The way things are now, there is no extended break.”
IN THIS MOMENT NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Jul 14: Silver Spring Th Fillmore, MD
Jul 15: Winston-Salem Ziggy’s, NC
Jul 17: Raleigh Ritz, NC
Jul 18: Myrtle Beach House Of Blues, SC
Jul 19: Columbia Music Farm, SC
Jul 21: Asheville The Orange Peel, NC
Jul 23: Lynchburg Phase 2, VA
