Monday, April 2, 2018

Concert Review: Pop Evil - March 24, 2018



On a chilled Saturday night, I drove to the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, to see Pop Evil’s perform as a headlining act. They were touring behind their latest self-titled release and I was excited to hear some of the new songs in concert. I was also excited to see this band live again, as it had been over a year since the last time I witnessed their magnificent concert.

I arrived early to see the opening acts, as I like to do, and was rewarded with a real treat. The first act of the night was a New Jersey based band called Ronin and they were exceptional. If you get a chance to see this band live, do yourself a favor and do it! I was so impressed by their quick set that I wanted to hear a longer performance. Alas, that was not going to happen. They gave a short, impressive, opening set and then it was time for the next act.

The next two bands of the night were just not for me. They weren’t awful, and they had stage presence, but I just wasn’t into their music. Perhaps it was the anticipation of Pop Evil coming on later, perhaps it was that Ronin had set the bar so high, but whatever the reason, I did not care for the next two acts. I kept an open mind, but I won’t be seeking out music from either of those bands.

As for the main treat of the night, Pop Evil was incredible as always. Although I did like their performance last year more than this year. If for no other reason than the fact that last year’s show was longer with more songs. I did think it was odd that Pop Evil was only playing 16 songs on this tour. That’s small for a headliner and the entire show was only 75 minutes. If they were co-headlining with someone, I would get that, but they were on their own. They should have given us 85-90 minutes and 19-20 songs. That was the only complaint I had though. Pop Evil has honed their live show through endless, rigorous touring, and they are a well-oiled machine that just knows how to give a performance.

And for me, it was a chance to release my inner rock demons. Where else can a corporate 9-5 guy go to unleash his pain by screaming “Be Legendary” and “Take It All” at the top of his lungs? Not to mention random high fives by strange dudes. That’s the power of rock and roll. It is an intense feeling that when let out into the night can be as powerful as anything in the human experience. Due to the maximum volume of the speakers, I was able to scream as loud as my diaphragm would allow and not bother anyone around me. And sing-screaming along with my Pop Evil favorites was a cleansing experience. It felt so damn good to rock that hard for an hour and change. And I was grinning the entire time.

Ten years of Pop Evil and they are still going strong. The setlist consisted of a few songs from the first two records and a large dose of the later hits as well as a good amount of songs from their latest release. “Hero” and “Monster You Made” got huge ovations and reactions from the crowd, rightfully so. They are two of the bands most beloved songs and always sound exceptional in concert.

“Silence and Scars” was the highlight of the night for me. I absolutely love that song and it was the first time that I got to hear it live. They did the song justice with a wonderful performance. I was on top of the world by the time the song was over.

Hearing “100 in a 55” brought back memories of the first time I ever saw the band. It was in that very building, although the layout was much different. Starland Ballroom had a facelift a few years ago and the design, while similar, is much more open than it was when Pop Evil first started performing there. Thinking back to the night I first saw the band filled me with joy. I could remember hearing “100 in a 55” for the first time and watching people sing along to it. I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, these guys are great. And look how many people know this song. This band is something special.” That song cemented the decision for me to go buy their first album. It was one of the best music decisions I’ve ever made.

Pop Evil came once again, conquered once again, and kicked serious ass once again. I am already looking forward to the next time that I will see them live again, even though I have no idea when that is going to be. Hopefully it will be sooner than a year from now, but whenever it is, I know it’s going to be a fabulous night of real rock and roll!

Setlist
Ways To Get High
Boss’ Daughter
Torn To Pieces
Waking Lions
Ex Machina
Deal With The Devil
Nothing But Thieves
Hero
Art Of War
Monster You Made
Silence and Scars
Be Legendary
Take It All
Encore
100 in a 55
Footsteps
Trenches

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