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Last October Set It Off announced that they would be joining Australian pop-punk band, Tonight Alive in their U.S. leg of their world tour. This co-headlining tour brought with them a blast from the past, The Ready Set, and new birds SayWeCanFly. I was lucky enough to catch the sold out show at NYC’s very own Irving Plaza.
First into the ring was SayWeCanFly. SayWeCanFly only officially consists of front-man Braden Barrie, yet Braden and his back up buds took to the stage hard and gave it everything they had. Their sound was your stereotypical 2005 “emo” pop-punk band. You can hear influences from The Ready Set, Death Cab for Cutie, and Cute Is What We Aim For. While their stage presence was lacking, that didn’t seem to bother the crowd as they sang back their lyrics. One of the great things about popular pop-punk acts going on tour together and hitting cities within close proximities of one another is that fans are more than likely to hit up multiple dates. This fact is great for newer acts because it gives the crowd a chance to learn the songs and enjoy the show more now being able to interact with each artist. For me, this band is a hit or miss. They have a decent sound but that sound quickly fades to white noise as its already been done between 2003-2008.
Next to fight for the stage was The Ready Set. The act has been around for years and we often forget that Jordan Witzigreuter is more than just “Love Like Woe”. His high energy, electropop sound quickly got their packed crowd moving. After seeing Jordan barely being able to fit all his energy on stage, you begin to wonder why this show wasn’t held at a much bigger venue with more room. Acts like The Ready Set know what they are doing on stage and need the room to breath. Watching Jordan try to contain his excitement to fit onto the too small stage made me think about how much more incredible this whole show could have been if the artists didn’t have to hold back so they wouldn’t fall into the crowd.
Finally it was time for the main event: Tonight Alive Vs. Set It Off. Tonight Alive got to the stage first and set the bar ever so high. Anyone that questions whether or not females should be apart of the pop-punk world need to watch Tonight Alive live and shut their mouth. Jenna is hands down my favorite female front-person. Her incredible vocals are met with such an impressive stage presence that each time I see Tonight Alive, there is no question that it will be an amazing show. Tonight Alive has gone from opening for The Story So Far and Man Overboard at a small Brooklyn venue without a barricade to Co-headlining a major tour and selling out a 1025 capacity venue. As people poured into the hall, fighting their way to witness this remarkable band, Jenna reminded us all that “the universe doesn’t make mistakes.” She let us know that “when you feel powerless, figure out what it is and change it.” Finally, she had us all chant “I always have a say, I always have a fucking say”. They played both old (“Listening” & “Amelia”) and new (“To Be Free & How Does it Feel?”) music; and of course a song that almost didn’t make it onto their latest record Limitless, “Drive.” After all that was said and done Tonight Alive proved why they are growing fast within the pop-punk world.
Now it was time for Set It Off to prove if they could hang with the artists from down under. It became very apparent that Irving Plaza’s small stage was simply not enough for front-man, Cody Carson. Carson spent much of his time in the crowd, to which no one complained. At one point the crowd got a little carried away, literally, with Cody as you heard him say, “Ok, let’s get me to the front real quick guys.” Throughout their set, the energy stayed consistently. The boys reminisced about the first show that they ever played in NYC. It was at Santos Party House, only 5 people came and the promoter left without paying them. For both Tonight Alive & Set It Off to go from such a small thing in the music scene, to each becoming great forces to be reckoned with is not only impressive but inspiring. Cody gave the crowd some advice on becoming whatever your heart desires; “tell those who question [and] put down your dreams to fuck off. Then prove them wrong with your actions”. Set It Off ended the night with their hits, “Swan Song” & “Why Worry.”
By the end of the night everyone there had rolled with the punches and was ready to start swinging in order to achieve their dreams. As far as who ‘won’ the verses (Tonight Alive or Set It Off), go check them out on The Fight For Something Tour, and decide for yourself; you’ll never get anywhere in life if you just allow people to make up your mind for you.
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