When I saw A7X in Cleveland, the first band for the A7X tour was this DJ named Sullivan King. I actually liked that guy more than Poppy as an opening act. He had pyro, great visuals, and he had moments where he was singing a few vocal lines, and playing guitar here and there. Naturally, he threw in some snippets of well-known songs in the mix like Linkin Park's Bleed it Out, the piano intro to MCR's Welcome to the Black Parade, Rob Zombie's Dracula, etc.
Poppy was pretty boring to me. This was only the 4th instance I can recall where I dozed off during a set (other instances was Periphery at a festival in 2019, the guy that opened for Telsa/Lynyrd Skynyrd in Irvine in 2022, Blue October when they opened for Goo Goo Dolls in LA in 2022, and Poppy). Visuals were bleak and I agree with Cramx, her vocals had that processed effect that doesn't come off as "live", and she said nothing at all to address the crowd other than good night at the end of the show. Not really something note that makes me go, "I need to see this again."
A7X was awesome. I wished they had some pyro in their set, especially in Shepherd of Fire, but the visuals were great, especially the visuals they had that gives the signal that they were going to play a song from Life is But a Dream. Nightmare had the biggest singalong of that night I feel, especially in the bridge section. I also appreciate them throwing some good deep cuts as well. I have a bigger appreciation for Save Me when I read they were playing it, this tour, than I did when I first heard the song in the Nightmare album playthrough, a long long time ago.
I wish I can find deals in shows where there are suite seats that comes with a buffet that are cheaper than lower bowl seats, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough. Not that I really needed to eat at the show in Cleveland. I had a nice veggie burrito from a solid burrito place and Horchata prior to getting into the arena.