Pop Evil Visits Chicago’s Concord Music Hall
Pop Evil has massive anthems and built a new rock’n’roll institution on a foundation of showmanship, raw relatability, and hard rock hooks, both forward-thinking and timeless from frontman, Leigh Kakaty, lead guitarist Nick Fuelling, rhythm guitarist Dave Grahs, bassist Joey “Chicago” Walser and drummer Hayley Cramer. No matter the headline-grabbing declarations from legendary icons, lamenting the changing of the guard, the slow-burning success of Pop Evil demonstrates the hunger for hard-hitting honest music persisting worldwide. What a terrific way to commemorate the debut of the "SKELETONS" album on March 17th, with a nationwide tour beginning the same day. Pop Evil's 28-date tour featured special guests The Word Alive and AVOID. We had the opportunity to attend the April 22nd tour date in Chicago to participate in the excitement. People were lined up outside the venue over an hour and a half before showtime, anticipating the excitement that was going to ensue for this show.
Courtesy of Concord Music Hall
With a high-intensity opener like AVOID, you could almost feel the energy building up. The crowd got into it from the first note when the house lights darkened and the opening music for “Gator Fest” began. Rolling through a 7-song, high-energy set that included songs from their new album “Cult Mentality,” which was released last year. When Benny Scholl and the lads from AVOID take the stage, you know you’ve chosen the proper opening band if you’re looking for crowd surfers and mosh pits. The set list for AVOID included the opener “Gator Fest”, “Cowabunga”, “Blast Off”, “Whatever”, “Hostage at a Beach Party”, “ Can’t Take this Away”, and “Song about James”. This crowd was well warmed up for The Word Alive.
The Word Alive released a new song named “New Reality” in early March, and it has since gotten positive feedback and numerous streams. This was clearly a sing-along tune for the audience, and an excellent addition to an already hit-laden set list. As the house lights darkened again, The Word Alive hit the stage with a different type of excitement in the crowd, eager to give it their all and sing along with every song. Telle Smith, the lead vocalist, has this energy that he uses to pump into the audience that makes you feel wonderful and want to sing along to every song. The fans were ready to sing their hearts out from the first song, “2012” until the end of this set. The set selection included “Nocturnal Future”, “Thank You”, “No Way Out”, “Overdose”, “New Reality”, “Life Cycles”, “Heartless (Kanye West cover),” and “Trapped.” It was undoubtedly one of the best band/crowd vocal exchanges. As we noticed earlier in the evening, it was a diverse audience. Tonight’s audience included “old school” hard rockers and metalcore devotees.
Pop Evil, which has been a driving force since 2001 with some lineup changes along the way, is unquestionably one of the bands that could bring these bands together and have everyone in that venue party together. Leigh Kakaty seized charge with the first song “Paranoid (Crash and Burn)” off the new “SKELETONS” album as Pop Evil took the stage and the crowd erupted. There was no calm in the venue; every fan sang along to every song, and even if you didn’t know the words, the adrenaline in general made you want to rock out. Ryan Kirby (singer for Fit For A King) collaborated with Pop Evil on the album’s song “Dead Reckoning.” Benny Scholl filled the Kirby segments with pinpoint accuracy. These fans committed their hearts and souls to the band members tonight, only to have them return it 100 times over. With a 17-song set list that included several songs from the new album as well as some old school Pop Evil, this was the set that provided the crowd their final burst of energy for the night.
Review By:
Jess Helmecy
Photography By:
Jim Helmecy Jr.
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