neck deep @ The Rave - Milwaukee
October 29th, 2024: neck deep @ The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
neck deep | Photos Courtesy of: Allie Loven
The iconic Welsh pop-punk band, Neck Deep, rolled into Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday evening of October 29, 20204 for one of their last stops on ‘The Dumbstruck Dumbf*ck North American Tour.’ The band arrived at The Rave with support from The Home Team and Super American participating in the venue’s “Halloween Concert Series.”
Neck Deep started their career in 2012 and released multiple EPs gaining traction quickly before officially signing with a label only a year later. Over the past 12 years of watching Neck Deep grow as musicians and performers, the band’s momentum, energy, and talent have never wavered. Neck Deep could arguably be considered one of the most influential pop-punk bands of the 2010s and is still maintaining that reputation even now, in 2024.
The room and balcony were filled to the brim with fans waiting in anticipation for Neck Deep to take the stage. They kicked off their set with “Dumbstruck Dumbf*ck” and a high energy level on stage. No matter how many times this band performs, every time they take the stage they offer something enticing and new while keeping fans remaining comfortable throughout their set. A few ways that were noted at The Rave on October 29th specifically was through the lead singer, Ben Barlow’s, fan and crowd interaction.
Not only did the band give an outstanding performance, but they dedicated “She’s a God” to being a “girl pit only.” In the music industry females being represented is always important, and covering this show for The Photo Ladies made that moment even more special. Not only were all the girls in the pit showing people what they brought to the table, or crowd at that, but it also brought a sense of comradery for girls in the pit. Whether someone was next to a stranger or a best friend, the girls were provided with a safe space to scream the lyrics to “She’s a God” with minimal fear of the physical backlash to join in. The snarky comments from the crowd about a “girl pit” only hurt the people making them. The girls in the Milwaukee, WI Neck Deep crowd made it known that women belong in a heavily male-dominated industry too. To ignore the inequalities in the music industry, especially with sexism would be complacency. Neck Deep has made it very clear they stand for equality and human rights all over social media and has been seen making very important statements at shows, but to experience and see it first hand is not only reassuring but also comforting for fans.
With the Milwaukee date being the third to last show on this leg, expectations from the band were unclear. Unsurprisingly, the band delivered a fully energetic set filled with 17 songs to the general admission fans, 14 were on their main setlist, but then the band also provided the fans with a three-song encore as well.. Neck Deep played a good variety of songs from their discography, even including releases from almost a decade ago. Fans new and old, whether it was their first time or hundredth time seeing Neck Deep, left in high spirits and feeling good about their night well spent.
SUECO @ House of Blues - Chicago
October 18th, 2024: SUECO @ House of Blues - Chicago, IL
SUECO | Photos Courtesy of: Allie Loven
On October 18th, Sueco, the LA singer/songwriter and rapper, stopped at the iconic House of Blues—Chicago. The artist has been touring North America in honor of the summer release of Attempted Lover, his third full-length album.
The tour has been doing very well with many sold-out, or almost sold-out shows.
It’s fair to say Sueco’s traction from the start on social media to constantly doing tours is phenomenal. Not only did Sueco start independently online, but Attempted Lover is his first independent record. Comparing the artist’s past shows to now, his energy is up, and so are his fans’ [and his venue capacities].
Throughout the night he engaged with fans, even having the crowd “tipping” himself and his supporting band members to “strip” after reading a fan’s sign, bringing a crowd member on stage, and getting into the crowd as well. With all of that said, beyond all the craziness within the crowd, good and bad, Sueco remained authentic and enthusiastic throughout the whole night. Something about his performances has a way of capturing his audience not only with music but personal connection as well.
He played a good mixture of his catalog, but, for clear reasons, leaned heavy on the AttemptedLover tracks. Support from Sueco fans could be felt through the movements in the floorboards. By the end of the night shouts for an encore filled the room, and as always, Sueco delivered.
The Front Bottoms @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville
October 20th, 2024: The Front Bottoms, Eliza & The Delusionals @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY
The Front Bottoms | Photos courtesy of: Emily May
New Jersey indie rock/pop band The Front Bottoms performed two sold-out performances at Mercury Ballroom on October 19th and 20th. I was lucky enough to cover night two, and what a night it was! The venue was packed this evening with a long line of fans waiting to enter when doors opened. Consisting of Brian Sella (lead vocalist/guitar) and Mat Uychich (drums) as the main duo, they were joined on stage by touring members AJ Peacox (guitar/backing vocals), Natalie Newbold (bass/backing vocals), and Erik Kase Romero (guitar/backing vocals). The band formed in 2006 and have grown a large and passionate fan base over the years. “Welcome to night two!”, announced Sella early in the set. The band had visited the Louisville Sluggar Museum earlier in the day, with Sella having brought a bat on stage this evening. “We’ll have batting practice later in the set, ok?”, he announced before continuing the music. The band released their latest album You Are Who You Hang Out With in August of 2023 and performed several tracks from the album this evening, including “Outlook”, “Punching Bag”, “Batman”, and “Emotional”, which he played on a guitar with hot dogs on it!
Sella was very engaged with the crowd, chatting quite a bit between songs, asking about and calling out all of the costumes that fans wore this evening, such as a jester, vampire, skeletons, Shrek, and Spiderman. He then gave out money to the winners, Spiderman and the jester. It was a fun part of the set. More fun ensued later when Kurt Skuse, the guitarist for the opening band Eliza & The Delusionals, came out on stage to drink beer from Mat Uychich’s shoe before running back off stage! The time finally arrived for batting practice, for which Sella had the band’s (I assume) tour manager come out onto the stage with a few t-shirts and threw them at Sella for him to hit into the crowd. The fans scrambled to be one of the lucky fans to grab one, with Sella being a good hitter! The band ended their set with “Finding Your Way Home”, with Sella thanking the fans and saying how the band feels so lucky to get to play music, before playing a three-song encore. They ended their set with “12 Feet Deep”, “Father”, and “Twin Size Mattress”.
Opening the show this evening was Australian indie rock group Eliza & The Delusionals. With 2 albums and 3 EPs under their belt, their most recent album is this year’s Make It Feel Like The Garden. The band performed mostly songs from the new album, along with “Halloween” from their 2022 album Now and Then, their 2019 single “Just Exist”, and a great cover of Phoebe Bridger’s song “Motion Sickness”. The band was in good spirits, with guitarist Kurt Skuse joking with the crowd by saying, after asking if everyone was exited for The Front Bottoms, that “Actually, they aren’t here and we’ll be playing a double set!”, which got a lot of laughs. Later in the set, singer/guitarist Eliza Klatt and Skuse talked about how the band had to go to Bass Pro Shop when they got to the US, as they don’t have them in Australia (Skuse and the drummer were wearing Bass Pro Shop hats). Skuse then asked the crowd if they looked cool, to which the crowd clapped and cheered. “Good”, he said. “We were afraid we looked ridiculous!”. After saying how this was the band’s first time ever in Lousiville, Klatt thanked everyone for being so welcoming. It was a great night of music with a fun and uplifting energy!
Eliza & The Delusionals
Fontaines DC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Toronto
October 11th 2024: Fontaines DC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Toronto, ON
Fontaines DC | Photos Courtesy of: Peyton Mott
The Irish-born band Fontaines DC stormed the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto supporting their recent 4th album release, Romance. Fontaines DC has been around well before they blew up in the last year, their musicality is reminiscent of punk before, channelling the stage presence of the like of the Sex Pistols or the Ramones with a modern take on the sound of punk. their experience is proven as a vibrational intro was played, singer Grian Chatten grinned, appearing in a long black trench coat just before leading into the titular track, "Romance".
The band has been one of the few artists successfully bringing back the authentic feeling and community of punk in the 21st century. Between violently green flashes of strobes, the audience catches glimpses of the effortlessly cool instrumentalists playing through their newest tracks "Favourite" and "Sundowner" ” tossing in some deep cuts like "A Lucid Dream" from their 2020 release.
Fontaines DC puts on an unmissable show, shows running through 2025 globally.
Violent Femmes @ Paristown Hall - Louisville
October 4th, 2024: Violent Femmes @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Violent Femmes | Photos Courtesy of: Emily May
Beloved Milwaukee folk-punk band Violent Femmes brought their current tour to a sold-out crowd at Paristown Hall on October 4th. This tour sees the band performing their first two albums in full- Violent Femmes (1982) and Hallowed Ground (1984). The venue was packed this evening, with fans filling out the floor and balcony, ready to have fun. The band performed Hallowed Ground first, with the crowd singing and dancing from the first note! The band was having fun on stage and seemed to be enjoying interacting with the crowd and performing these songs! At the end of this set, there was a brief intermission before the band came back out to perform their iconic debut album. Although the crowd was enjoying themselves during the first set, there seemed to be a shift in energy as the band performed this album. Performing such hits as “Blister In The Sun”, “Kiss Off”, “Add It Up”, “Please Don’t Go”, and “Gone Daddy Gone”, to name a few, the crowd was enthusiastically singing along, dancing, and smiling with each track! The band chatted a bit with the crowd throughout the evening, but they mostly let their music do the talking. It was a really special night of music that left the crowd buzzing long after the music stopped!
UPSAHL @ Paradise Rock Club - Boston
September 30th 2024: UPSAHL @ Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
UPSAHL | Photos Courtesy of: Julia Finocchiaro
Indie pop singer UPSAHL brought the fire (and ice) to Boston on her stop at the Paradise Rock Club for the Melt Me Down tour. Consisting of two themed acts, fans were in for an incredible show and a setlist jam-packed with songs spanning UPSAHL’s entire discography. For the first act, “Ice,” the singer opened with her latest single “Tears on the Dancefloor,” followed by “NO HANDS (SIDE A)” and “Monica Lewinsky.” She donned a silver puffer jacket, later removed to reveal a light blue two-piece set underneath. There was rarely a moment where UPSAHL remained on the stage as she ran back and forth and occasionally sat on the edges to be more up close and personal with fans in the front row. Act 1 closed with a dance party to “SLAYYYYY (SIDE B)” as she ran off stage to prepare for the second act.
Act 2, “Fire,” had UPSAHL in a nearly identical outfit, except this time her puffer jacket and set underneath were bright red, with a tiny white t-shirt added to the mix. Fittingly, when she got to “WET WHITE TEE SHIRT (SIDE A),” the singer took a water bottle and sprayed the crowd. But before that, she invited her sister Ryan up to perform ”Arizona,” talking about how the two of them would always perform together when UPSAHL was first starting with music. The set wrapped up with her hits “Drugs” (which included a fun back-and-forth singalong with the audience), “People I Don’t Like,” and “Sad Sorry After Party.” The US leg of the Melt Me Down tour wraps up next week before resuming in the UK and Europe later in November. Musical trio, Khruangbin played Washington D.C. on September 23 – the first night of their two sold-out shows at The Anthem. From Houston, Texas, Laura Lee, Mark Speer and DJ Johnson captivated the audience with their instrumental rock and psychedelic feel. Laura Lee always shows up with a great fashion look – this time dressed in pink from head to toe, she looked striking amid the fog and vibrant lights.
Foster the People @ Emo's - Austin
October 3rd 2024: Foster the People @ Emo's - Austin, TX
Foster the People | Photos Courtesy of: Bernadette Castillo
Foster the People made a stop at Emo’s for a sold-out show with ACL Fest Nights to kick off their upcoming appearance at Austin City Limits Music Festival. ACL Fest Nights make it a bit more accessible for people to see their favorite artists who are also playing at the legendary music festival without having to buy festival passes. Instead, fans can purchase individual tickets to smaller venues across the city!
The crowd was buzzing as soon as I walked in the doors, and local artist, Skateland, had already captivated the audience as the opener, with many singing along to his songs. It was immediately apparent that his sound was the perfect complement to what would be the headliner’s indie-pop vibe.
The set for Foster the People was delayed for about 20 minutes as the crowd continued to grow restless. But as soon as the band took the stage, the room was transformed into a massive dance party with near constant cheering from the crowd. Song after song, nearly everyone in the crowd was dancing throughout their entire set.
Phosphorescent @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville
September 27th, 2024: Phosphorescent at Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY
Phosphorescent | Photos courtesy of: Emily May
Nashville-based artist Phosphorescent (stage name of singer-songwriter Matthew Houck) brought his current tour, An Evening With Phosphorescent, to Louisville, KY on September 27th to a modest but passionate crowd of fans. What might have normally been a larger turnout was hampered by rain and the Louder Than Life Festival this same weekend. Houck has been performing as Phosphorescent since 2001 and has amassed a dedicated fan base over the past 20+ years with his electric stage presence with his backing band and his thoughtfulness and talent as a songwriter. This evening was a bit of a different approach, in that Houck opened for himself. “Good evening”, he said after coming out on stage. “I’ll be opening up for Phosphorescent tonight! Thank ya’ll for coming out in the rain.” With just him and his electric guitar, he explained to the crowd that he would play some of his older and popular tracks acoustically before bringing his band out for the full band experience. “With a new album out, I didn’t know if we, as a band, would have time to play a lot of the old favorites, so I had this idea.” Performing such favorites as “C’est La Vie No. 2”, “The World Is Ending”, “Any Old Miracle” (a Vern Gosdin cover from his Full Moon Project), “My Dove, My Lamb” (mentioning that he doesn’t get to play this song too often but loves it), and “Terror In The Canyons (The Wounded Master)”. A really impressive part of his solo set was how quiet and respectful people were while he played!
Towards the end of his solo set, he talked about how he’d had the chance to score a movie directed by a Canadian documentary filmmaker named Paul Schrader called ‘Oh Canada’. “I got the idea to look over my own life and some old songs I had done, some of which gelled so well with the movie. So, I got to re-record a few of my old songs from when I was young and didn’t know what I was doing. They sound much better now!”. He ended the set with some of those songs! He then brought out his band and revved up the energy a bit, starting the set off with “Revelator”. He and his band had fun together on stage and with the crowd, who was singing along to each song. Houck would periodically acknowledge fans in the crowd with fist bumps and seemed particularly enthusiastic about a young boy in the crowd, to whom he gave one of the set lists as they finished their set. Performing 9 songs with the band, including “Impossible House”, “Wide As Heaven”, “Wolves”, a cover of “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”, and their popular hit “Song for Zula”, they left the stage briefly before coming back out for a 3-song encore that had the crowd singing their hearts out! It was a great night of music and well worth braving the rain to come out for!
