Concerts for 2023

[Anguyen92]

All right, it's back.  $25.00 tickets (usually these are lawn or nosebleed seats) are back for various shows starting on 05/10 - 05/16.  Gl, gl for those that wants to fish for these seats.  I've had some good shows I went to when Live Nation was having these offers.

https://loudwire.com/live-nation-2023-concert-week-25-dollar-tickets/

[lonestar]

The Warning and Plush tonight!!!

[ReaperKK]

Went to buy Aerosmith tickets and the nosebleeds were $400 a pop, not really surprised but I don't want to see them for that much. Maybe I'll get lucky on the resale as it gets closer to the show.

[lonestar]

OK, updating with a Warning review...

Opening band was forgettable. Plush was a fun middle band, definitely delivered a solid performance.


The Warning...damn...those girls fucking rock. Great performance, great stage presence, and insane energy from all three members and a very involved crowd. Also, best sound in a show in years with the exception of BAND-MAID who sounded perfect. Highly recommend catching them on this tour.

Next up...Bloodywood tomorrow night!!!



Feb 26- Riverside, Cornerstone in Berkeley-  8/10, good show overall, but set got cut short due to Mariusz being sick.
March 7th - Nemophila, Goldfield Trading Post, Sacramento- 10/10, fucking perfect.
March 8th - Nemophila, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco- 9/10, front and center, but sound was off
April 14 - Spiritbox & Intervals, Ace of Spades, Sacramento-10/10, all bands fucking crushed it, best crowd I've ever been in.
May 4th - The Warning, The Fillmore- 10/10, Flawless performance by the headliners in a historic venue.
May 6th - Bloodywood, Sacramento
May 11th - Rolling Quartz, Bottom of the Hill
May 21st - Love and Rockets, Fox Theater, Oakland
May 25th - Haken, August Hall, San Francisco
June 30 - Tarja UC Theater, Berkeley
August 14 - Band-Maid, Ace of Spades, Sacramento
September 1 - Kamelot, San Francisco
October 6 - Babymetal, Avatar, Pantera, Korn, Polyphia, et al.. Aftershock Festival, Sacramento

[Samsara]

For those who care, I put a review of The Warning/Plush/Holy Wars in the thread on The Warning.

Next up for me - Stryper, then Helloween. 

[El Barto]

Anybody remember when Pearl Jam was positioning themselves as the good guys fighting big bad Ticketmaster? On this tour they've done everything they could to insure that nobody got affordable tickets so they make another billion dollars. At this point I'm starting to think that TM/LN is nothing more than the NFL commissioner. An entity that happily takes all of the heat for the people really pulling the strings. Bruce and Taylor Swift get to rake in gazillions while pointing their finger at TM as the reason you can't afford tickets.

Man, I would kill to see the books on this PJ tour. I'd be fascinated to know what percentage of seats were actually offered to the general public for not "premium" prices. I'd guess 20% tops, and probably closer to 10%. You've got to be able to say "hey, we were offering $45 tickets for that show!" We actually got in with the Verified Fan nonsense, and nosebleeds were fetching $166/ea. And since this is a hard no-resell show, none of this can be written off as trying to be the scalpers. It's just them being greedy, insofar as I can tell.

How does that work?

Seems that it doesn't work at all, given the tons of tickets available on resell sites. Usually the tickets actually will be transferable, but only a day or two before the event. Another option is that scalpers will create unique accounts and then provide the buyer with the login so that they can just be the real owner. They've experimented with checking the CC used to purchase them, and I still have to do that sometimes, but since it takes entirely too long at the door that's seldom enforced.

I suspect that's why part of LN's Fair Ticketing Act includes cracking down on resellers. TM's own marketplace is obviously locked out of this event, but Stubhub has no problem circumventing the restrictions.

[twosuitsluke]

So I've just realised that Arctangent festival DO sell day tickets.



I mean, look at this for an incredible line up, and it's less than an hours drive from me. I'd love to go for the whole weekend, bur A) I can't afford it, and B) it'd be unfair of me to put all the childcare on my wife for the weekend.

I can do a day ticket at £65 though. The tough decision is which day? Friday has Enslaved, Sikth, And So I Watch You From Afar, The Ocean, Holy Fawn, LLNN, Caligula's Horse and Year of No Light.

Buuuuuut Saturday has Devin Townsend, Haken, Deafheaven, Loathe, Rolo Tomassi, VOLA and Psychonaut.

It's really tough but I think the deciding factor may be that I can talk a friend who is a big Devin Townsend fan into coming on the Saturday.

[Anguyen92]

Awww, snaps.  I was looking through the shows in May that I may be intrigued in.  This one pops up on my radar and I immediately go, "Yes, I want in on this."  I definitely want to go see Man with a Mission at the Regent Theater on May 15th.  This Japanese band are an odd bunch.  They wear furry masks and play a variety of rock stuff.  Would be the first time ever I would get to see a Japanese Band and would check off another venue in LA I have yet to see a show in.

[SoundscapeMN]

just noticed how The Mars Volta are playing in Minneapolis on September 13th, and the newly redesigned Uptown Theater (which used to be an old classic movie theater. I have reservations on it now being a concert venue for that reason, but so be it).

The set list they had last Fall was a ton of the old/early stuff which intrigues me. But $125?..unsure also seeing Peter Gabriel just a few weeks later and likely going to see the Rock Hall Ceremony in early November in Brooklyn, NY.

[Zantera]

So I've just realised that Arctangent festival DO sell day tickets.



I mean, look at this for an incredible line up, and it's less than an hours drive from me. I'd love to go for the whole weekend, bur A) I can't afford it, and B) it'd be unfair of me to put all the childcare on my wife for the weekend.

I can do a day ticket at £65 though. The tough decision is which day? Friday has Enslaved, Sikth, And So I Watch You From Afar, The Ocean, Holy Fawn, LLNN, Caligula's Horse and Year of No Light.

Buuuuuut Saturday has Devin Townsend, Haken, Deafheaven, Loathe, Rolo Tomassi, VOLA and Psychonaut.

It's really tough but I think the deciding factor may be that I can talk a friend who is a big Devin Townsend fan into coming on the Saturday.

I'm honestly really jelly of the people who get to attend Arctangent, it's possibly the best festival out there in terms of lineup IMO, year after year. Swans and Converge are both among my all time favorites, you add to that Devin Townsend, Elder, Brutus, Birds in Row, Sikth, ASIWYFA, Enslaved, The Ocean, Deafheaven, Rolo Tomassi and TWIABP and it's just insanely stacked.

[lonestar]

Other bands are going to be hard pressed to top Bloodywood's performance tonight. That was easily the most energetic show I've seen.

[lonestar]

Ok, got some sleep, lets get a proper review down...


Venue was Goldfield's in Sacramento, small, maybe 300 people, and with maybe room for 15 rows of peeps between the stage and bar, but wide with about 20 feet to each side of the stage and balconies on both sides. Same place I saw Nemophila in March, very fun venue with the unique feature of huge glass windows in front so you can watch the soundchecks while waiting in line.

First band is Wargasm from the UK, with male/female co-lead singers. These guys surprised the hell out of me, fantastic sound for an opener, and an insatiable energy brought to the room. Kind of an aggressive nu-metal pop blend I guess, very unique band for sure, but they were fun as fuck, and the female lead singer was smoking hot, which never hurts things.

Second band was Vended, fronted by Corey Taylor's son Griffin. These guys are young, very young, a fan of theirs told me they're all under 21, but even considering that, they sounded pretty solid, Very straightforward metal band, but had a good energy and kicked some ass for sure.

Ok, now for Bloodywood... for those unfamiliar, they're out of Delhi, India, and do a unique blend of Indian folk music and a Rage Against the Machine style metal but much, much more aggressive. It was weird, when vended ended, they literally cleared everything off the stage except for the drum kit, one mic stand, and a piece of sound equipment in the corner, never seen such a bare bones stage. But holy fuck did they use the space. They got six members, drummer, guitar/flute, bass, singer, rapper, and a guy who plays a traditional Indian udukku drum. They came on with an insane intensity and just kept pouring it on harder and harder.

Seriously, holy fuck. I know I said Spiritbox crowd was insane...that shit was a church choir compared to what Bloodywood's did. Because of the shape of the venue, a large pit was really hard to get going, but I swear the floor was in a constant state of bouncing, and there was that sensation that the whole had really become one moving entity if that makes any sense. It was beyond just being a hardcore metal crowd, really quite unique in my years of shows tbh. Their sound was fantastic across the board, great mixing, and they really didn't overdo the loudness shit. It was loud, yeah, but not so loud that it hurt the sound. Great set, but short since they only have the one album. I think they played nine songs, a bit over an hour, but honestly I'm not sure my old body could have handled much more, I was going hard for three bands, and am definitely feeling it this morning lol.

After a few seconds of the first song, I put my phone in my pocket and left it there till the end, I definitely wanted to give this one my all. At the end of the last song, the singer, guitarist, and udukku player finished the show off in the middle of the crowd, and brought the fucking house down, the only video I shot...

https://youtube.com/shorts/2kcLt39WIQE?feature=share


Goddam I fucking love live music.

Now five days till Korean rockers Rolling Quartz...



Feb 26- Riverside, Cornerstone in Berkeley-  8/10, good show overall, but set got cut short due to Mariusz being sick.
March 7th - Nemophila, Goldfield Trading Post, Sacramento- 10/10, fucking perfect.
March 8th - Nemophila, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco- 9/10, front and center, but sound was off
April 14 - Spiritbox & Intervals, Ace of Spades, Sacramento-10/10, all bands fucking crushed it
May 4th - The Warning, The Fillmore- 10/10, Flawless performance by the headliners in a historic venue.
May 6th - Bloodywood, Sacramento- 11/10, holy fuck what an evening!!
May 11th - Rolling Quartz, Bottom of the Hill
May 21st - Love and Rockets, Fox Theater, Oakland
May 25th - Haken, August Hall, San Francisco
June 30 - Tarja UC Theater, Berkeley
August 14 - Band-Maid, Ace of Spades, Sacramento
September 1 - Kamelot, San Francisco
October 6 - Babymetal, Avatar, Pantera, Korn, Polyphia, et al.. Aftershock Festival, Sacramento

[twosuitsluke]

So I've just realised that Arctangent festival DO sell day tickets.



I mean, look at this for an incredible line up, and it's less than an hours drive from me. I'd love to go for the whole weekend, bur A) I can't afford it, and B) it'd be unfair of me to put all the childcare on my wife for the weekend.

I can do a day ticket at £65 though. The tough decision is which day? Friday has Enslaved, Sikth, And So I Watch You From Afar, The Ocean, Holy Fawn, LLNN, Caligula's Horse and Year of No Light.

Buuuuuut Saturday has Devin Townsend, Haken, Deafheaven, Loathe, Rolo Tomassi, VOLA and Psychonaut.

It's really tough but I think the deciding factor may be that I can talk a friend who is a big Devin Townsend fan into coming on the Saturday.

I'm honestly really jelly of the people who get to attend Arctangent, it's possibly the best festival out there in terms of lineup IMO, year after year. Swans and Converge are both among my all time favorites, you add to that Devin Townsend, Elder, Brutus, Birds in Row, Sikth, ASIWYFA, Enslaved, The Ocean, Deafheaven, Rolo Tomassi and TWIABP and it's just insanely stacked.

Yea, year after year the line up is just incredible. I'm gonna have to get a day ticket to one of the days.

[cramx3]

Now that I'm back from vacation, I can write up something from the concert I saw the night before my flight...

Sold out night 1 of 2 at Irving Plaza in NYC two Sundays ago was Spiritbox, After the Burial, and Intervals.

I scored with getting a $40 balcony ticket for this show.  The ticket also included cutting the line for entrance.  Doors were at 6 and I got there at like 6:15 and was able to get into the venue right away (and the line was long) so that was clutch.  Sadly, the balcony was already mostly full, but I did ask nicely to a couple if I could squeeze in and they made room for me so I was able to claim a coveted spot with a view.  Right when Intervals started, another person asked to get in and we were able to squeeze her in as well leaving a bunch of people stuck without a view.  Sucks for them, I've experienced that before and was the main reason I wanted to get there as early as possible.  I mention this, because I'll come back to it later.

Intervals were solid.  After seeing Polyphia, they kind of felt like lacking something. Maybe just the diversity.  They were fun, but to me, nothing special.  Drummer was good and the lead guitarist was solid, but not Polyphia level and certainly not JP/MP level from last fall.  Solid 30 minute opening set though.

Up next were After the Burial.  After RJ shared his review, I checked them out and wasn't totally into it, but got the point.  And therefore, I was not shocked when the floor absolutely erupted for their set.  What a view from above to see the huge mosh pit.  Really enjoyed their set even if I don't love their style of hardcore.  It was just fun and energetic.



And of course Spiritbox absolutely killed it.  A full headlining set of 15 songs, albeit about 75 minutes total.  A No Doubt cover that was very well done.  A brand new song.  A bunch of songs from their only album that they haven't been able to play due to mostly being an opening band since its release.  The show started with a see through curtain between the band and crowd which featured visuals that looked incredible at times.  Luckily, it was only for the first couple songs though because that barrier ends up being weird IMO so it seems they perfectly used it but didn't make a crutch out of it.  The singer's screams/growls were so incredible and her soft opposite style of singing was beautiful.  The crowd was not quite as wild as they were for After the Burial but they were wild at the timely moments.  I also loved how they ended the set with two of their softer songs, songs I really enjoy.  Kind of was a nice cool down after the previous heavier songs.  Also the video effects of the blue rain were just perfect.  Definitely one of the best shows so far this year for me.

Spiritbox, After the Burial & Intervals LIVE @ SOLD OUT Irving Plaza New York City 4/30/2023

I'll likely write up my Set It Off / Scene Queen review tomorrow.... and tonight I return to Irving Plaza for VV (Ville Valo, former singer of HIM).

[El Barto]

I scored with getting a $40 balcony ticket for this show.  The ticket also included cutting the line for entrance.  Doors were at 6 and I got there at like 6:15 and was able to get into the venue right away (and the line was long) so that was clutch.  Sadly, the balcony was already mostly full, but I did ask nicely to a couple if I could squeeze in and they made room for me so I was able to claim a coveted spot with a view.  Right when Intervals started, another person asked to get in and we were able to squeeze her in as well leaving a bunch of people stuck without a view.  Sucks for them, I've experienced that before and was the main reason I wanted to get there as early as possible.  I mention this, because I'll come back to it later.

This is something I'll never be able to wrap my head around, but thankfully it's a Yankee thing. Unheard of down here. Down here the balcony (and any proper seats, for that matter) are always reserved. The only GA we have is standing room up front. We've actually just come to refer to standing room as GA. That said, I'll be seeing Claypool up North in a few weeks, and it's the same deal with proper seats and balcony, all of which is GA. Like I said, can't wrap my head around it. Strange way of doing it.

[lonestar]

Sounds like my experience, except at our show the stage was too small for the curtain. Also Courtney had sound issues and got drowned by the bass at times. But yeah, definitely a killer show all around.

[cramx3]

I scored with getting a $40 balcony ticket for this show.  The ticket also included cutting the line for entrance.  Doors were at 6 and I got there at like 6:15 and was able to get into the venue right away (and the line was long) so that was clutch.  Sadly, the balcony was already mostly full, but I did ask nicely to a couple if I could squeeze in and they made room for me so I was able to claim a coveted spot with a view.  Right when Intervals started, another person asked to get in and we were able to squeeze her in as well leaving a bunch of people stuck without a view.  Sucks for them, I've experienced that before and was the main reason I wanted to get there as early as possible.  I mention this, because I'll come back to it later.

This is something I'll never be able to wrap my head around, but thankfully it's a Yankee thing. Unheard of down here. Down here the balcony (and any proper seats, for that matter) are always reserved. The only GA we have is standing room up front. We've actually just come to refer to standing room as GA. That said, I'll be seeing Claypool up North in a few weeks, and it's the same deal with proper seats and balcony, all of which is GA. Like I said, can't wrap my head around it. Strange way of doing it.

What venue are you going to?

The thing with Irving Plaza is that it's a small venue, or more like a big club.  Its 1k capacity GA and the balcony is very small standing room only.  Well they do have a few seats they will try to sell to people when you wait on line (you can't buy those on livenation).  It used to be all GA but they decided to milk it after covid with a seperate balcony you can buy as GA VIP or the seats while waiting to get in.  The balcony is just too small to reserve seats generally.  My issue is why do they sell say 30 tickets when only 15 people can be on the railing?  If you aren't on the railing you can't see shit.

And that reminds me..... I never got abck to my point....

During Spiritbox's set.  A girl showed up on the balcony.  She was not there early at all like the rest of us.  Well she realized she can't see shit so after a few Spiritbox songs she literallly had a meltdown and yelled for people to make room for her.  I've never seen anything like this.  Like an adult female yelling like a child during the headline performance.  The girl who snuck in after me made some room, and by doing so I basically gave up most of my spot.  I kept an arm and drink on the railing so I had enough to get a view, but lost my comfortableness.  After she recorded some clips on her phone, she left.  I assumed she realized her bitching was uncalled for and she realized the space was tight and I guess got a clip or whatever that she wanted to prove she was there. 

Sounds like my experience, except at our show the stage was too small for the curtain. Also Courtney had sound issues and got drowned by the bass at times. But yeah, definitely a killer show all around.

Your stage must have been incredibly small  Irving Plaza has one of the smallest stages for venues I go to.  Luckily, I don't recall any sound issues for my show.

[lonestar]

Yeah, Ace of Spades stage is tiny...

[cramx3]

I'll likely write up my Set It Off / Scene Queen review tomorrow.... and tonight I return to Irving Plaza for VV (Ville Valo, former singer of HIM).

Ended up not feeling so great yesterday and deciding last minute to not attend the concert.  Sucks because I couldn't even give away the $40 ticket last minute, but it was necessary for my health.  I'm not even in work today, so I'll push the review back to tomorrow and then next concert is also tomorrow (I do expect to feel better by then, and this was also a reason to skip VV so I could be better for tomorrow).... Haken and Arch Echo.

[lonestar]

Bummer... I had to sit through Set It Off's set to ensure the rail for Nemophila at Aftershock, they were hella fun.

[cramx3]

Bummer... I had to sit through Set It Off's set to ensure the rail for Nemophila at Aftershock, they were hella fun.

No no no, I already saw Set it Off! I missed VV last night.  I'll just write my review tomorrow when I'm back at work (hopefully).

Also, the Livenation $25 all in sale is happening now!

Since I have the PNC summer pass this year, not as many options for me, but I did grab Less Than Jake / Voodoo Glow Skulls and Mudvayne / Coal Chamber / Gwar tickets just now.

[lonestar]

Ah, gotcha. That's what I get for reading and responding in the morning

[El Barto]

I scored with getting a $40 balcony ticket for this show.  The ticket also included cutting the line for entrance.  Doors were at 6 and I got there at like 6:15 and was able to get into the venue right away (and the line was long) so that was clutch.  Sadly, the balcony was already mostly full, but I did ask nicely to a couple if I could squeeze in and they made room for me so I was able to claim a coveted spot with a view.  Right when Intervals started, another person asked to get in and we were able to squeeze her in as well leaving a bunch of people stuck without a view.  Sucks for them, I've experienced that before and was the main reason I wanted to get there as early as possible.  I mention this, because I'll come back to it later.

This is something I'll never be able to wrap my head around, but thankfully it's a Yankee thing. Unheard of down here. Down here the balcony (and any proper seats, for that matter) are always reserved. The only GA we have is standing room up front. We've actually just come to refer to standing room as GA. That said, I'll be seeing Claypool up North in a few weeks, and it's the same deal with proper seats and balcony, all of which is GA. Like I said, can't wrap my head around it. Strange way of doing it.

What venue are you going to?

The thing with Irving Plaza is that it's a small venue, or more like a big club.  Its 1k capacity GA and the balcony is very small standing room only.  Well they do have a few seats they will try to sell to people when you wait on line (you can't buy those on livenation).  It used to be all GA but they decided to milk it after covid with a seperate balcony you can buy as GA VIP or the seats while waiting to get in.  The balcony is just too

Ah, I didn't catch that it was at Irving Plaza. I thought it was a shit-hole, but I understand they've redone the place since I was there. We do have those tiny ledge balconies down here, but even those are mostly reserved seats. I was referring to proper theaters, though, where that still seems to be a thing up there.

Probably hitting the Masonic in Detroit, although I might opt for Columbus, instead. The Masonic is a large theater type place (looks very nice, honestly), and the whole thing including the balcony is GA. It's just strange compared to how things are down here.

[cramx3]

Ah yeah, there's a few instances where you find GA theater seating.  That was the case for Bush/Candlebox and Sabaton/Epica at the Hammerstein, but many shows there such as Mastadon/Opeth have seats ticketed as usual for those balcony seats.  Which suggests that it may be an artist/promoter option for this venue and likely others.

Funny how I mentioned Irving Plaza doesn't sell their small amount of balcony round table seats on livenation, but today when purchasing my Less Than Jake tickets, I noticed they did offer those.  Just makes me think these are other artist/promoter options when setting the ticket sales.

[El Barto]

Ah yeah, there's a few instances where you find GA theater seating.  That was the case for Bush/Candlebox and Sabaton/Epica at the Hammerstein, but many shows there such as Mastadon/Opeth have seats ticketed as usual for those balcony seats.  Which suggests that it may be an artist/promoter option for this venue and likely others.

Funny how I mentioned Irving Plaza doesn't sell their small amount of balcony round table seats on livenation, but today when purchasing my Less Than Jake tickets, I noticed they did offer those.  Just makes me think these are other artist/promoter options when setting the ticket sales.

What seems odd to me is that having GA in large, seated venues is a Northern thing when for so long is was verboten after Riverfront Coliseum. Down in the South is just doesn't seem to happen. Claypool's playing a very similar venue down here, and the entire thing is reserved. They even made a point to re-allow it in Cincinnati not too long ago, so there must be some appeal.

[Anguyen92]

Got me five shows from the Live Nation Deal.  I also contemplated getting tickets to Fall Out Boy at BMO Stadium in LA in July, but I don't know if I want to.  Are they good live?

Matchbox 20 at FivePoint in May
Goo Goo Dolls at FivePoint in September
Owl City at the House of Blues in Anaheim in October
Incubus at Hollywood Bowl in October
Shinedown and Papa Roach at FivePoint in October

I saw that Breaking Benjamin and Disturbed at FivePoint on 07/20 was also listed as an option, but by the time I realized that the deal started today, I think the $25.00 tickets were already gone.

[lonestar]

I looked through the list, the only one I was remotely interested in I already got tickets to 

[countoftuscany42]

For the concert week promotion I got tickets for Tears for Fears at Hollywood Bowl and Helloween at YouTube Theater. Might still grab a DreamSonic ticket but haven’t decided if I’m going to LA or San Jose.

Haven’t seen TFF before so I’m really excited for that one!

[ReaperKK]

Another show bites the dust, I saw Alter Bridge and Sevendust Tuesday night.

I was a huge fan of those first few Sevendust albums when I was in middle school/high school and I wasn't disappointed by their live show. They really killed it and sounded fantastic.

Alter Bridge followed up and I walked away so impressed by Myles Kennedy. I knew he could sing well but live it translates so much better and he also took a lot more solos than I thought he would (although he completely butchered the Burn It Down solo near the end ). The whole band felt really tight and rehearsed and the setlist had a lot of songs I liked and knew (this was my first AB show). I would definitely catch them if they come through town again.

4/2/2023 - The Winery Dogs - Charlotte, NC
4/11/2023 - Killswitch Engage - Charlotte, NC
5/9/2023 - Alter Bridge & Sevendust - Charlotte, NC
5/19/2023 - Plini & Jakub Zytecki - Charlotte, NC
5/24/2023 - Incubus & Coheed and Cambria - Columbia, SC
6/21/2023 - Dreamsonic: Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Animals As Leaders - Clearwater, FL
6/26/2023 - Animals As Leaders - Charlotte, NC - No tickets yet...

Up next I have the Plini show which I'm really looking forward too. Haken is in town this weekend and there is a slight chance I might catch that show but I dunno. I'm also excited to see Animals As Leaders announcing a show the Monday after I get back from FL to see Dreamsonic. The whole reason I bought tickets to that was for Animals As Leaders, oh well I guess I'll see them twice .

[lonestar]

Getting pumped for seeing Korean rockers Rolling Quartz tonight!!

[lonestar]

Rolling Quartz delivered a stunning performance tonight, such amazing poise and professionalism from such a young band on their first US tour. Vocalist Jayoung was especially impressive, a tremendous powerhouse singer with immense stage presence. Keep an eye on these girls, they definitely are the real deal.

https://youtu.be/GmCbC43704Q

[cramx3]

Last night I saw Haken/Arch Echo.  I already wrote something up in the Haken thread if anyone cares....

But I did want to go back and do a review of the Set It Off / Scene Queen show last Sunday.

May 7th has become my anniversary for meeting my gf on our first date.  Last year the day happened to be the first time my gf saw Set It Off as they did a pop up show locally after their other show as an opener got cancelled.  So we celebrated our one year anniversary together with Set It Off.  Not bad considering it's one band that we both really enjoy and they've kind of become "our band" if you know what I mean.  Well, we booked our vacation to Aruba together and a couple days later Set It Off announced a US tour and the local show was going to be while we were flying home from Aruba, but lucky enough they would be playing the next day, May 7th, in Philly.  So we both extended out PTO at work to take Monday off and while we both were sooo tired from the night before, did the 90 minute road trip south to Philly.

I have only been to the Theatre of the Living Arts once before in 2020 for Devin Townsend / Haken.  I guess a lot has changed on South St over the years since because that is one bad area now.  Just didn't feel very safe hanging around outside the area and it sucks that Jims Cheesesteaks which is next door was shut down so we didn't get cheesesteaks like we planned.  Anyway, the show was sold out and was packed when we got in as the 2nd band was playing.  We went to the bar, grabbed a drink and tried to go to the floor and they wouldn't let us.  Turns out drinking was limited to only the bar area which according to the bar tender, is not normal for the venue and only done because the crowd was overall a very young crowd to prevent underage drinking. OK, we looked around, the guy isn't wrong.  It's literally 50% under 21 year old females. Which is not the concert environment I'm used to at all.  We finished our drinks while the second band was playing and we didn't have a view at all so it's kind of pointless to talk about that set.  My gf and I just enjoyed our time together as we watched child after child get taken away by paramedics from overheating.

It was definitely a different vibe here.  I know Set It Off draws a younger and more female crowd, but I can't help but think a large amount of the young females were there for Scene Queen who came on next.  We changed positions to get on the floor and have a view of the stage for her set.  I don't even know how to explain this music.  It's not that far off of nu metal with a singer who pretends to be Barbie.  Just a guitarist and drummer on stage so you know most of the music (if not all) was compltely fake.  There were moments of heaviness and some moments were it was a little more hip hop like.  The lyrics were definitely not for children though.  VERY dirty lyrics  almost all the songs were named "Pink " blank like Pink Paper which was about using pink rolling papers  It was really just ridiculous, but the girls ate it up.  You could hear all the girls in the crowd singing a long and really enjoying it.  I will admit, I thought it was fun even if I thought it was also terrible.  Just something so different for me. One of the reasons they are touring with Set It Off though is because they both collaborated on a new song for each band.  So near the end of Scene Queen's set, Cody (singer of Set It Off) came out and did the Barbie and Ken song together.  Once again, not good music, but a fun moment.  And I've got to give credit to the headlining singer coming out to do a song with the opener.

We moved back to the bar and found a spot that had a view in the back so we could have a drink AND watch Set It Off.  Which was a much better spot for us than previously.  Another band that heavily uses backing tracks, but they are just so much fun live.  Cody may not be for everyone, but he's a great front man. Gets the crowd going, moves around a lot, pulls out all sorts of tricks such as playing keyboard for one song, playing drums for another, and pulling out a sax for a solo to end a song.  They did a VERY different set list from last year with a lot of focus on older stuff and they did their two new singles, including the one with Scene Queen who came out and performed it with them.  Just a very fun set as usual for them.  Love the energy and the crowd feeds off it being very energetic the entire set.

I mentioned this in another thread, but the highlight of the show was when during the intro to Loose Cannon, Cody was talking about letting loose at the show and he said "you got shit on your chest?" and then immediately realized the saying is "shit OFF your chest" and just couldnt sing the first verse because he was laughing so hard.  And to top it off, Scene Queen after singing the song with him takes the mic and goes "I heard you say something about shit on your chest???" and more laughter.  I LOVE moments like that and luckily I even recorded it.

And to top off, Cody shook my hand before leaving the stage! (we had snuck back onto the floor for the encore)



Set It Off & Scene Queen LIVE @ Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia 2023

[lonestar]

Set it Off was definitely fun, and you're spot on about their frontman, he has excellent command of the crowd. I was in a conundrum with them cause I needed to hold a spot in the pit are to ensure the rail for Nemophila, so whenever he made the crowd jump or move left and right, I always just surged forward 

Then the moment their set ended I bolted for the rail and scored.

I don't know your schedule Marc, but I can't recommend seeing Rolling Quartz when they come through NYC highly enough. They're playing Mon may 22 at the Mercury Lounge just a great live hard rock band.

[cramx3]

The rest of May looks like this for me,

May 18th - Clutch @ Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ
May 23rd - Avatar, Orbit Culture & Veil of Maya @ Webster Hall, New York City NY
May 27th - Alestorm & Gloryhammer @ Irving Plaza, New York City NY

Not entirely sure I'm up to two nights back to back in NYC to make it happen since I'm not even familiar with them.

Edit to add, I'm also bummed that I'm not seeing The Interrupters tomorrow to open up the summer season at the Stone Pony.  Taking one for my gf to be with her family the entire weekend instead.

[Anguyen92]

My May is as follows.  Two unique experiences and demographics.  One show has a Japanese Band that wears Wolf Masks.  The other show leans more towards pop rock and adult contemporary.  Didn't expect Matt Nathanson opening for Matchbox Twenty on this tour.  Just saw him back in March in a very local show in a small venue and enjoyed it, so seeing him as an opener is a nice plus. 

Man With A Mission - Regent Theater - Los Angeles, California.  May 15th, 2023.
Matchbox Twenty with Matt Nathanson opening - FivePoint Amphitheater- Irvine, California.  May 28th, 2023.

Don't know what I'm going to do in June.  Hoping A7X tickets at the Forum can drop its prices a little more, but that's wishful thinking.  Should I go see Tarja at the Belasco Theater in June?  Her show is under the $25.00 tickets and it's all GA.