State Champs + Knuckle Puck + Roam @ The Asylum, 18th September 2015
First up at tonight’s sold out show is Eastbourne pop punk outfit Roam, representing the only home grown talent on the bill this evening. Opening with ‘Warning Sign’ and ‘Over Your Head’ from their most recent EP ‘Viewpoint’, released earlier this year on Hopeless Records, it’s obvious that there’s a large proportion of the crowd that don’t need persuading tonight. The crowd remain both vocal and active throughout the entirety of the bands set, which includes an airing of new track ‘Cabin Fever’ from the up-coming debut full length. The interplay between vocalists Alex Costello and Alex Adam provide a different dynamic throughout the songs, with Costello leading and encouraging the crowd throughout. Closing with ‘Head Rush’, the closing track from 2013’s ‘Head Down’, it’s clear that Roam were a great opening choice for this three band package.
Knuckle Puck find themselves on our shores this evening in promotion of their debut full length Copacetic, released on Rise Records following a number of successful EP’s. Opening with ‘Disdain’, the band play a set that covers a range of their material including ‘But Why Would I Care’ and ‘Oak Street’ from 2014’s ‘Whilst I Stay Secluded’, ‘No Good’ from ‘The Weight That You Buried’ and ‘Gold Rush’ from 2014’s split EP with Neck Deep. It has to be mentioned that the audience was much more responsive to tracks from the earlier EP releases as opposed to the full length, however if that is due to preference or lack of awareness is unclear. It should also be recognised that although Knuckle Pucks sound could be considered a little more rough around the edges than the other bands on the bill, they still put in a great shift.
State Champs are currently growing at a rate that no-one could have predicted, that was until the release of 2013’s The Finer Things, one of the most concise and melodic releases in recent pop punk. Having just come off tours with both All Time Low and 5 Seconds of Summer, this sees State Champs on their first ever UK headline run, just before the release of second album Around The World and Back in October. In my personal opinion, State Champs are the next band from this scene to join the ranks that All Time Low and 5 Seconds of Summer occupy, being arenas and main stages, due to their accessibility and ability to write a great hook.
Opening with ‘All You Are Is History’ from the upcoming record, the band flit between new tracks and those from The Finer Things although fans note that both If I’m Lucky and Critical are not performed which is surprising considering this is a headline set.
In terms of new songs, all that are performed are those that have been released already and it’s obvious that the band will return once the album has been released to perform a set more based within that albums tracks. That being said, all tracks from The Finer Things retain their high energy and sing along moments with the crowd getting involved at every possible opportunity. A shout out should be given to lead vocalist Derek DiScanio who not only gave a great vocal performance, but also managed to handle all vocals himself instead of relying on the audience a lot as can often be seen in high energy performances.
Returning for an encore of ‘Losing Myself’ and ‘Elevated’, it’s interesting to compare where the band are heading compared to where they first came from. And although they haven’t strayed from their original sound and style, it’s clear that their audience is most certainly going to grow and grow. And grow.
Review: Dan Earl