As soon as I saw that this tour was announced, I knew that I had to go. The lineup was stacked, and with some of my all-time favorite pop-punk bands were all on this – State Champs, Four Year Strong, Real Friends, Just Friends, and Bearings.
First up was Bearings. The crowd was slowly starting to pour in before they took the stage. I remember the first time I saw them, and I didn’t know who they were. I instantly fell in love with their music because of the lyrics in the songs they played and was upbeat and happy. The type of music that makes you want to jump around and start singing along. I wasn’t expecting to see many crowd surfers during their set, but to my surprise, there was and their frontman, Doug Cousins even jumped off stage to help people coming over the barricade. They played songs off their newest album, “Hello, It’s You,” and some of their older songs from the past. Bearings set the show off with energy to carry on throughout the night.
Following Bearings, Just Friends was up next. It’s been a few years since I had last seen them live on Sad Summer Fest, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from them. It was the strangest yet most hypnotizing band I’ve seen in my years of going to concerts. They danced and swayed to the music and got the crowd hyped during the opening song, “Supersonic.” I’ve never seen a band like them with their energy and stage presence. At one point, most of the band turned around and started shaking their butts to the crowd. Everyone was cheering while Eric Butler slapped the bassists’ butt and taking a phone out, and taking selfies and random pictures of the other band members on stage during “Never Gonna Bring You Down” and “Flex.”
Next, we had one of my favorite bands playing – Four Year Strong. I’ve been listening to them since 2009 and have seen them countless times over the years, and they never disappoint. Starting off with “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die” the crowd exploded while the lights flashed, and everyone was singing along. The set was a mix of songs from multiple albums, including their newest, “Brain Pain.” released last year. People were slowly coming back over the barricade crowd surfing, but even more, came during the third song they played, “It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now.” The tempo was upbeat and fast-paced and the whole time. I always lose my voice when I see them live as the music is so much fun to listen to and scream to the top of your lungs.
Real Friends came out next. I was excited to see them live as this was my first time. I have almost every single album from them, and once I heard in 2020 that they parted ways with Dan Lambton, I was sad but excited to see what the future held for them. Cody Murano, formerly of Parting Ways and Youth Fountain, they came back with their newest album, “Torn in Two.” It’s been on repeat since it came out for me, and they played a mix of songs from that album, as well as older classics such as “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” “Late Nights in My Car,” and “Me First.” I was impressed with the sound, the lighting, and the energy they had on stage.
Then, it was time for the headliner – State Champs. Yet another band I’ve seen countless times over the years since I first discovered them. They started off with “Secrets” while cryo and streamers emerged from the stage. The venue was packed with people; everyone was singing along, more people came over the barricade, crowd surfing while the photographers did their best not to get hit or kicked in the process for the three songs. I was singing the whole time as they’re one of my favorite bands, and the energy they show on stage is unmatched. They played older songs such as “Elevated,” “Criminal,” and “Mine Is Gold,” as well as some of the newer songs they’ve released recently like “Just Sound” and their cover of Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years.” After the last song, the house lights stayed off, meaning that they have encore songs. They came out from behind the stage and ended the night with more pryo and playing “All You Are Is History” and “Dead and Gone.” The whole show was full of energy throughout the entire night, making it one of the favorites I’ve been to in the last 19 months since the pandemic started.
Butcher Babies Slay Their Final Battle Against Goliath at 1720 in Los Angeles, CA
Venue: 1720 in Los Angeles, CA
Date: 10/7/21
When a band hits their 10-year milestone of being together, that is a huge accomplishment that deserves celebration. Unfortunately, that milestone for Butcher Babies came during the global COVID-19 pandemic, where they couldn’t party like the rockstars they are. One year later, the band came back with a vengeance to dominate the country with their first headlining tour in well over two years, where the band would play their debut album “Goliath” in its entirety, along with other songs. In the battle against Goliath were: Infected Rain, Stitched Up Heart, and local support from The Unsung. With this quartet of bands, Butcher Babies led the clan to victory at the final date of the Butcher Babies VS. Goliath Tour!
Up first was The Unsung from San Diego, CA. This quartet is the perfect example of progressive metalcore. One thing I always note whenever I see The Unsung live is just how tight these guys are. Like bands like Periphery, Veil of Maya, and many more in the genre, the vocals are a great mixture of cleans and screaming, courtesy of Tyler Sinclair. However, what sets them apart is that their music tends to have more cleans than screaming, which helps them reach a wider audience. Guitarist Devin Castro is an absolute beast, creating melodic hooks, leads, and solos that shred the hell out of the crowd. Drummer Garret Brown is a beast, playing many different styles and rhythmic patterns throughout the band’s music, sometimes changing time signature and tempos mid-song, which is common within the progressive metal genre. Closing out the band’s lineup is Thomas Sumstine on bass, who absolutely SLAYS adding in those deep grooves and tones that are pretty much essential to the music The Unsung releases. The band played a total of 7 songs, bringing out songs from their first EP, “Rise,” for the first time in a while, along with songs from their sophomore EP “Sin Cera” and new singles “Manic” and “Awake.” The band also brought their iconic light show with them, which adds that extra edge and atmosphere that helps set the tone. It was an epic start to the show, and I am so happy to have seen them again! The last time was around Christmas time in 2019, so it had been almost 2 years without hangs and without seeing this epic band live.
SETLIST
Manic
Herald
Awake
Rise
Lacuna
Chosen
Desolation
Up next was Stitched Up Heart from Los Angeles, CA. I last saw and photographed Stitched Up Heart back in 2019, so I was excited to see and photograph them again and do so at an actual venue, this time and not at a bar. I’d best describe Stitched Up Heart’s sound as a combination between gothic metal, hard rock, and alternative metal. Touring alongside bands across the hard rock and metal genres, they have a sound that is quite versatile and diverse. The band started their set with the song “This Skin” from their 2020 album “Darkness,” released via Century Media Records. This song has a light electronic backing in parts and the downtuned guitar and bass tones, making the song a bit more light sounding than a lot of their other music. You could hear vocalist Mixi’s singing on full display out of the gate, showing a newfound strength and force behind her vocals that I didn’t hear at the last show. The second song, “Warrior,” also came from their newest album and is more of a stadium rock-style track. Those bass tones courtesy of Randy Mathias are on full display in this song, along with the crushing beats from drummer James Decker. The band then went on to their third song, “Catch Me When I Fall,” from their 2016 album “Finally Free.” Overall, this album has a darker vibe, and the guitar tones are much more gritty and dark, and guitarist Merritt Goodwin delivers on this tenfold. The band played a total of seven songs throughout their thirty-minute set, completely blowing my expectations out of the water. As it was the last day of the tour, there happened to be the last day of tour pranks. The other bands ran on stage during the band’s final song, “Monster,” and started randomly taking apart Decker’s drum kit mid-song. It was pretty funny, to say the least, and it made me wonder what pranks would come going forward. Stitched Up Heart as a whole seems to have stepped things up since the lockdown, really fine-tuning things and coming back tighter than ever.
SETLIST
This Skin
Warrior
Catch Me When I Fall
Finally Free
Lost
My Demon
Monster
Up next as direct support was Infected Rain from Chisinau, Moldova. I got into Infected Rain’s music shortly after 2019’s “Endorphin” was unleashed to the world via Napalm Records. This was the band’s first US tour, as their 2020 tour with Swallow The Sun was cancelled due to the pandemic. The band’s sound is the perfect combination of metalcore, melodic death metal, and progressive metal. The band started their set with the song “Pendulum” from that 2019 album I just mentioned. This song is the perfect showcasing of vocalist Lena Scissorhands’ vocal prowess, showing a good amount of her harsh fry screaming, along with lots of her cleans, making for probably their most dynamic song on “Endorphin.” A core part of the band’s sound is downtuned guitars with djenty riffs, courtesy of Vadim “Vidick” Ojog and Serghei Babici. The band then went on to their second song, “Mold,” from their 2017 record “86”, which the band released independently. A big part of progressive metal is the deep, intricate bass tones provided by Vladimir Babich. The band is tight as all hell, and the foundation of any tight band is the drummer, whose part is essential in terms of tempo and keeping on the beat. Drummer Eugene Voluta is an absolute beast on stage, demolishing those double bass parts and obliterating the stage. The band moved onto their third song, “Black Gold,” one of the singles from that 2019 record “Endorphin.” In my honest opinion, Infected Rain blew me away with their control of the stage and just how tight they were. I was very much looking forward to their set, and they did not disappoint. Just like with Stitched Up Heart, Infected Rain found themselves in the midst of the end of tour pranks. During the final song, “Sweet, Sweet Lies,” of the band’s ten-song set, members from Butcher Babies and Stitched Up Heart came on stage and unleashed a pillow fight onto the members of Infected Rain. It was an all-out pillow fight to the death, and I couldn’t help but hysterically laugh. Infected Rain was absolutely incredible and set a very high bar for the whole night.
SETLIST
Pendulum
Mold
Black Gold
Passerby
Freaky Carnival
Endless Stairs
Fool the Gravity
Orphan Soul
The Earth Mantra
Sweet, Sweet Lies
Finally, Butcher Babies come home to Los Angeles, CA, and hit the stage! For the band’s tenth anniversary tour, they decided to play eight of the twelve songs from their debut 2013 album “Goliath,” released via Century Media Records. I would best describe the band’s sound as a perfect blend between metalcore, death metal, thrash metal, and progressive metal. The band came prepared for this tour, with a light show and headbangs galore. Opening the show with “I Smell A Massacre,” the stage lit up bright red, showcasing the brutality and grittiness these songs from “Goliath” have. This first song is a fast one and showcases the vocal stylings of Heidi Shephard and Carla Harvey. Carla has a deeper guttural sound, while Heidi has the high screams on point. They both have a mixture of clean singing and screaming in their registers during this opening song, really showcasing a large amount of variety within this heavy song. Their second song, “The Mirror Never Lies,” opens up with this groovy guitar hook that can be heard throughout the song, courtesy of guitarist Henry Flury. This song is just groove central, even showcasing the bass in the forefront in sections. It’s moments like this where each member really shines, and you really feel all of the puzzle pieces individually come together. I love me a groovy djent song, and those bass tones from Ricky Bonazza are really showcased deep in the roots of this groove-heavy song. The band then moved on to their third song, the popular single from 2015’s “Take It Like A Man” titled “Monsters Ball.” This song is super thrashy, groovy, and heavy. You can really hear the intricate drum parts from drummer Chase Brickenden as he slams those drums to his’ heart’s content. “Monsters Ball” was the song that got me into the band in the first place, so to photograph them during this song was AMAZING. The band played many other songs from Goliath, my personal favorite being “In Denial.” This song has a classic metalcore vibe and is more on the tame side while also being heavy. It has the perfect yin and yang. The band also played quite a few of their new singles, such as “Bottom of a Bottle,” “It’s Killin’ Time, Baby!”, “Sleeping With the Enemy,” and “Yorktown.” They even played a game of Red Light, Green Light with the crowd, paying homage to the viral Netflix sensation “Squid Games.” Their set was absolutely incredible, and they seem to have somehow leveled up since the last time I saw them back in 2018. They absolutely killed it and proved why they are still so beloved 11 years after their debut in the scene. They definitely defeated Goliath in Los Angeles.
SETLIST
I Smell a Massacre
The Mirror Never Lies
Monsters Ball
It’s Killin’ Time, Baby!
C8H18 (Gasoline)
Grim Sleeper
In Denial
Bottom of a Bottle
The Deathsurround
Axe Wound
Sleeping With The Enemy
Yorktown
ENCORE
13. They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! (Napoleon XIV cover)
14. Magnolia Blvd.
Butcher Babies put on an excellent tour for their comeback. This tour commemorating their 10 years of being a band was stacked to the brim with a fantastic lineup consisting of Infected Rain, Stitched Up Heart, and local support from The Unsung. This was a fantastic show and will easily be one of my favorites of the year!
All Time Low have been around for quite some time, having released two EPs, two live DVDs, a handful of standalone singles and seven studio albums within the first fourteen years of their career, and their sound has evolved a lot over the years. Fast forward to 2020, and the Baltimore-based quartet are back with their eighth LP, titled “Wake Up, Sunshine.”
While “Last Young Renegade” noticeably leaned in a bit of a different direction, as the band experimented with a lot of pop and alternative elements, there are plenty of moments on “Wake Up, Sunshine” that show them returning to their pop rock and pop punk roots, some of which are found in a few of the singles that the band put out leading up to the album’s release. “Getaway Green” is easily the best example of this, with plenty of energy and extremely catchy guitar riffs reminiscent of those on past releases like “So Wrong, It’s Right” or “Nothing Personal.”
A handful of the songs on here combine that nostalgic pop punk sound with some of their more pop rock influences, and the remaining singles are really good examples of this. The fantastic lead single and opening track “Some Kind Of Disaster: brings a softer intro before upbeat verses and a massive chorus come in, “Sleeping In” brings a very energetic chorus, and “Melancholy Kaleidoscope” brings a ton of energy throughout, adding in some acoustic guitar to help drive its chorus. “Trouble Is” leans way more to the pop rock side, and sounds a little similar to newer work from Blink-182 and Simple Creatures, the project that All Time Low front man Alex Gaskarth has with Blink’s very own front-man, Mark Hoppus. Rian Dawson’s drumming really shines on this track, and the chorus offers up some pretty good melodies. There are also two tracks on here that were seemingly meant to be a bigger track together called “Seasons.” “January Gloom” is the first of these two tracks, bringing some slightly darker composition through some memorable guitar riffs and melodies throughout. “Summer Daze” is the second of those two, and the title is very fitting, given the happier and brighter tone that the song has musically, and it’s yet another perfect example of how well All Time Low have blended their pop rock and pop punk influences on this album.
The band also did quite a bit of experimentation on this record, with songs that show them trying something a little bit different. “Wake Up, Sunshine” (which I personally believe would have been a great choice for the opening track) delivers some slightly darker melodies and instrumentals during the verses and pre-choruses, leading up to a happy, carefree chorus. “Clumsy” is one of quite a few on here that allows Alex’s vocals to shine with some more slightly darker melodies in the beginning, leading up to one of the biggest and best choruses on the whole album. “Monsters” is also on the darker side, which I think fits the song very well. Blackbear is featured on the track, and while that collaboration was a bit unexpected, his vocal style and the guest feature overall compliments the song perfectly. The other feature found on this album is on the upbeat “Favorite Place,” which features The Band CAMINO. The guitars are a bit more reminiscent of CAMINO’s signature indie/alternative sound and gives the song that sort of vibe (for the most part), but the song does a great job at mixing that sound with the blend of pop rock and pop punk that All Time Low have created throughout this record.
In contrast, a couple of the songs on here show a softer side of the band’s sound, similar to the overall sound of their previous album, “Last Young Renegade.” Interlude “Pretty Venom” is probably the most simplistic track on the album, but it works really well as an interlude and its placement on the track-list seems fitting, and closing track “Basement Noise” (one of my favorites) brings a solid vocal performance in the chorus and lyrics that reflect on the band’s humble beginnings. “Safe” is driven by subtle instrumentation in the softer verses before a huge anthemic chorus comes in, and the same can be said about “Glitter & Crimson,” which is primarily led by softer percussion and acoustic guitar as it leads up to a much harder hitting bridge with one of the strongest vocal performances this record has to offer.
“Wake Up, Sunshine” shows bits and pieces of All Time Low’s history as a band, combining the various elements of pop, rock, alternative and everything in between that they’ve incorporated into their sound over the years. Overall, this is a refreshing pop rock record, yet another fantastic one from All Time Low, and easily one of my favorite albums from this year so far.
The past few years have been a wild ride for musician Kevin Garrett, from releasing his debut EP “Mellow Drama” in 2015 to GRAMMY nominations, festival performances and shows with acts such as Mumford & Sons and Alessia Cara, and dropping his debut LP “Hoax” last year. Kevin has returned with his newly released sophomore EP, “Made Up Lost Time.”
The opening track “Tell You How I’m Feeling” really shows Kevin’s talent as a vocalist through a soulful performance that provides good melodies in the verses, and the harmonies in the chorus add more to the performance. The vocals really shine on the following track “Keep You Waiting” as well, as they bring a memorable pre-chorus that helps build up the song really well to its chorus.
“Can’t Come Back” is on the much softer side, and the piano fits perfectly on the track. The melodies on here are really good as well and the song makes a great ballad overall. Lead single “Gone Again” is on the more upbeat side, bringing a rhythm as catchy as the melodies, and closing track “Factor In” is also a bit slower and is one of the most memorable and well-written songs the EP has to offer.
“Made Up Lost Time” is a soulful and memorable sophomore EP from Kevin Garrett.
The American Nightmare Tour came through Toronto and it was quite the show. Beartooth was the first band to come on, their stage presence and Caleb Shomos’ roaring screams were enough to start off the show strong. Following that Underoath hit the stage playing fan favorites from every one of their albums. You could feel the energy in the crowd as these pioneers of metal-core rocked the stage. Finally , the main act, Bring Me the Horizon. The whole arena shook with excitement as they came on and you could hear thousands of screams upon Oli Sykes arrival. They kicked off the show with confetti and an amazing lighting set up while playing Happy Song. If this tour is coming near you I highly suggest you go, it’s not worth missing.
Dylan Jakobsen , an alternative country artist is just starting to break the mold and hit the surface of the music scene. Working in the music world for around two years Dylan has shared the stage with many other amazing artists. These artists include : Boys Likes Girls, This Providence, The Maine, Parachute, and many more. Recently Dylan released a four track EP called “Statelines” . Track after track Dylan keeps the music and vocals upbeat. Vocals may get softer, but that just makes Dylan’s voice that much more soothing. One track even features Josh Withenshaw formerly of Every Avenue. You don’t want to miss this, pick it up here : http://noisetrade.com/dylanjakobsenmusic/statelines-ep
Suburbia, Good Guys, Take Take, White Lies, Not Alone.
Fun riffs you find in songs of bands like Yellowcard and Blink-182 are found embedded into the 5 songs included in this EP. With these riffs accented by the beats coming from the drums, Seven Year War’s EP will make you want to jump around and have some fun. The unique vocals of Johannes dance perfectly on the layered beats of the drums played by Matt and guitar played by Levi. My favorite song on Welcome to The Work Force is Good Guys. This song had lyrics like “Why do all them good guys cry? Why do all them bad girls lie?” Over all this EP is fun to listen to while driving, working out, or doing things around the house.
The Camera Affect 