I am really slipping here. Just a day after the 4th celebrations were over, my sister and I headed up a VERY big hill to catch the Popular MonsTOUR at Pittsburgh University. That means we got a lot of action thanks to the headliner that was Falling in Reverse.
Admittedly, I was expecting that venue to be bigger because Falling in Reverse are HUGE right now. Ronnie Radke can talk about how he’s an underdog all he wants, but these guys seem like they are at their peak right now. And for good reason, they have some hella catchy songs! I’m not anywhere near as big a fan as my sister is, but I can appreciate a good beat when I hear one. As for the other acts supporting this tour, at least at our stop, it was stacked!
First on the stage was Crown the Empire, who I feel have been a band for quite some time, but in actuality have not. In fact, their squirrely lead singer, Andy Leo, announced that the Pitt stadium was the biggest venue they’ve played that wasn’t a festival. Crazy. His voice is so unique that of course they sounded good. He was just soaking up every second of the crowd’s love, and I was happy to hear their unexpected but crazy catchy new single, “Superstar,” make the cut on their short setlist. Next on the stage was Underoath, and I have to say I am beyond confused how these scene vets were not in the bigger opener slot. It makes no sense! They’re still hot off the heels of their relatively new full-length release, Voyeurist, so there were a few songs off of there making the setlist. But it’s so hard when you have such a stellar back catalog! I was sad to see nothing off of Erase Me, but was pleased to hear their two newest singles in the mix.
Next up was Ice Nine Kills, who, similar to Motionless in White, have amassed quite the rabid fanbase over the past few years. I mean, they just came of a co-headlining tour, so obviously they’re selling tickets. While I appreciate the band’s love and honoring of the horror genre in both novel and film form, they just didn’t do anything for me. I found myself yawning several times during their set. Every song had something extra coming out on stage, but it all presented in a very B-level fashion. The funniest by far was the man in the shark costume for their homage to Jaws, and then lead singer Spencer Charnas honking an old bicycle horn during the song dedicated to It. I don’t know if laughing was the intention, though. Everything else just felt a bit muted. I would have expected a lot of those tracks to sound bigger, and while some of them started that way, the rest just seemed to shrivel up soon after.
The main event which was Falling in Reverse though, was a good time. There weren’t many gimmicks throughout the course of their set, just blasting instruments and terrific crowd work. You know it’s going to be high energy when Radke demands jazz hands during the first song. Any hit they’ve had over the past three years made the cut, and then there were even some new surprises! The audience was treated to the new video shot for their interpretation of Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” while they did a costume change. My favorite bits of the evening though belong to three things. The first was getting “Situations” from Radke’s time as Escape the Fate’s front man (pre-prison) – so good. The next was setting the audience up for a wall of death twice and then fooling the heck out of them by covering Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and then playing their super corny track, “Bad Girls Club.” What most made me happy though was seeing Radke’s honest facial reactions to just about everything. This is a man genuinely appreciative for everything the fans have allowed him to accomplish.
I’m sure if you like these guys you already have a ticket, but if you’re on the fence, I say take the leap!