Sleeping With Sirens - Union Chapel, London, 25/08/16

State Champs blew me away.
I'd expected them to be good - they released an EP titled 'The Acoustic Things' back in 2014, and guitarist Ryan Scott Graham is also the sole member of Speak Low If You Speak Love, so it's not like they're unfamiliar with the acoustic thing - but I hadn't anticipated them being capable of almost stealing the show.
After I saw State Champs headline The Hippodrome I decided to listen to them more, but almost a year has passed and I still haven't done that. Experiencing their half an hour set tonight, I have no idea why, but I know for a fact that I'll be doing everything I can to get to their set opening the main stage at Reading on Sunday.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Derek DiScanio's vocal tone is one of the most aurally-pleasing I've ever encountered. Put that voice in a live environment, combine it with beautiful guitar work and multiple appearances of the fabled percussive egg... That's a beautiful mixture. It was appropriate that the show was being held in a church, because it was as though we were genuinely hearing the voice of an angel.
I'm joking: about the angel thing, not about Derek being a wonderful singer. If there was any doubt in my mind, it was completely erased during 'If I'm Lucky', which Derek performed completely solo. Tyler Szalkowski rejoined him to play 'Stick Around' for the first time since 2014, and based on the cheers that erupted from the audience when Derek announced the name of the song it's definitely a fan favourite despite its age (and the fact that it originated on one of their EPs, rather than their debut album).
Going by the audience, it would have been easy to assume this was a State Champs headline show. Derek encouraged the crowd to sing along if they knew the words and from the first note of 'Elevated' the people singing their heart out to every word almost overpowered him. It was certainly the most pop-punk choir I've ever heard! He joked that he "thought it was going to be a quiet stare at us show, but you guys are doing just fine", enthusing "you sound brilliant" as the singing grew louder and more passionate. State Champs were already announced as support when this show went on sale, and based on the reaction to them it seems like a large portion of the crowd might have bought tickets purely for these guys.
A complete contrast to the "sweaty packed show at the Underworld" that they put on the night before, Derek excitedly shared that it was "probably the most unique, different show we've ever got to play". State Champs own the room when they perform acoustically. Yes, they do pop-punk well, but it looks like they might do acoustic even better... Don't be too surprised if they announce an acoustic tour sooner rather than later. 

Setlist:

Elevated
Simple Existence
Losing Myself
If I'm Lucky
Stick Around
Easy Enough
Secrets

Notice how I said that State Champs almost stole the show? That's because nothing can beat Sleeping With Sirens when they perform acoustically. Just look at the success their acoustic EPs ('If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack' and 'Live and Unplugged' respectively). It's unprecedented.
Put that talent in a live environment, you have something special. Make that live environment a structurally beautiful church with amazing acoustics and an enthusiastic fan base? You're in for the show of your life.
Successfully mixing all of the eras of their career in a varied and well-crafted set, this was the Sleeping With Sirens show that I'd always wanted to see. There were songs I'd never heard live before reimagined in the acoustic style, interspersed with multiple covers: Sublime's 'Santeria' and 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls, with snippets from 'Killing Me Softly', 'Can't Get No', and - bizarrely - Nickelback's 'Photograph'. If I were to say there was something for everyone at this Sleeping With Sirens show, I wouldn't be lying.
Of course, the fact that the show was in a church became a strong motif through the set, and while it was bordering on cringe-inducing there were a few genuinely comical moments from vocalist Kellin Quinn. When introducing 'Scene One', Kellin quipped "this song's about love, so hopefully it will help you find love... Getting into your bedroom and doing what the Lord made you to do!". After encouraging everyone to stand up (being in a church the entire audience was sat in pews facing the stage), he ended the song by announcing "please be seated, God bless you!". Guitarist Nick Martin gestured the crowd to stand up at a few more points later in the evening, and like the loyal congregation listening to the Lord's words they all did: there's not much that the loyal fans of this band would question being asked to do.
Nick was certainly grateful to all of the fans in attendance, and not just for their unquestioning obedience to all of his demands. He took a moment towards the middle of the set to "say thank you to all the people who get there very, very early. Your dedication means the world to us, and getting to put on a show like this for you guys is awesome".
At the end of the set Kellin thanked everyone and said he actually had fun at the show, to which the crowd started cheering. He clarified "that's not about you, all respect to you guys, but that's about me. I actually had fun doing this, I had fun making music".
That much was obvious. Compared to shows I've seen in the past they were much more relaxed, all of the members were happily interacting with the crowd (drummer Gabe Barham even coming out from behind his kit to go up to the microphone and share how much fun he was having), and the interactions between the members themselves (including the witty banter flying back and forth across the stage) seemed much more jovial.
Kellin said early in the night that the set was "so weird and so different" because it was all coming from the band members: "if I forget the words and fuck up, that's on me. If we play the song too fast, that's on us too". If the increased risk of mistakes would make most bands nervous, it seemed to do the opposite to these five. I've never seen them look more relaxed or comfortable up on stage, every member having a big smile on his face.
This was a bucket list show for me. When I started listening to Sleeping With Sirens I always aimed straight for 'If You Were a Movie...', and getting to hear a couple of the songs from that EP live was a dream that I'd thought would be unattainable. When they announced the show in March I knew I had to be here, and while I wish there'd been less of a leaning towards the newer material and more older surprises, I also really appreciate and admire the work that they did to play a career-spanning setlist in a stage time of only an hour. I can't wait to see which songs they'll choose to perform as a full band at Reading.
With Kellin dedicating 'Santeria' to his friend Machine Gun Kelly, who was in the audience at the show, I'm keeping all of my fingers crossed that they might perform a certain collaboration at the festival on Sunday (Sleeping With Sirens follow State Champs on the main stage, while MGK is performing later in the day on the Lock Up stage). I'm going to be watching their entire set just in case, so here's hoping.
Nick did announce that they're going to start working on a new album soon, and they will be back over here "as soon as possible": I'm sure it's going to be interesting, whatever they do next. I just know that if they ever announce another acoustic show in the UK, I'm going to be there. This is an experience I already want to relive. 

Setlist:

Scene Five: With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear
Scene One: If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn
Gold
Free Now
Who Are You Now?
Go Go Go
Santeria (Sublime cover)
Save Me a Spark
Iris (The Goo Goo Dolls cover)
The Strays
-
If You Can't Hang

State Champs - The Hippodrome, Kingston, 03/10/15

I have a strange relationship with pop punk bands. I either love them instantly (Seaway, Forever Came Calling) or it takes me a very long time to really appreciate them (Neck Deep, Real Friends). Because I bought my tickets to this show the day before, I didn't have time to listen to any of the bands - it meant I went into this concert knowing one State Champs song, and having no idea what I really thought of Roam and Knuckle Puck. 

Because of seeing No Devotion beforehand, I was certain that I was going to miss the beginning of Roam, but thankfully I managed to walk in as the opening chords of 'Warning Sign' started. It was actually lucky that the guys made it too - the band had had trouble with getting through the Eurotunnel, apparently only pulling up half an hour before their stage time.
Hailing from Brighton, Roam are one of the standout bands in the UK pop punk scene - their debut album isn't out for another few months, but with their first two EPs they've gathered quite a loyal following.
Roam are one of those pop punk bands that you have a lot of fun listening to, but after a while you notice that most of the songs sound exactly the same. The one exception to this rule was 'Cabin Fever', the song they performed from their upcoming release. I can't exactly put my finger on why it was stood out - the chord structure was a bit more developed, and the drum line was markedly different (potentially because their photographer, Elliot, stepped in on the track), but other than that it still sounded like Roam... It just left me feeling excited for what they could potentially do in the future.
I think Roam are a band that could grow on me, because I did really enjoy their live show: the crowd was going absolutely insane, and it was the best reaction for an opening band that I think I've ever witnessed. They might have had a better reaction because they were the only UK act on the bill, but it was inspiring to see them flying the flag for our brand of pop punk (even if they do sound rather American in their music!). Being able to perform a nine song set as a opener is also extremely impressive - most smaller bands only play five or six songs in a half an hour, but because Roam's songs are so speedy they managed to squeeze in many more songs. If this is the kind of show that they can put on at this early stage of their career, the album release is really going to catapult them to new levels. The band shared the fact that they have a music video for another new song coming out in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for that. 

Setlist:

Warning Sign

Over Your Head 

Foresight

Nothing In Return

Cabin Fever

You Never Said

519

Safeguard

Head Rush

I'd seen Knuckle Puck before - five minutes of the end of their set at Slam Dunk this year. I wasn't too impressed, but I was also rushing between PVRIS and Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, so I didn't have too much time to stop and appreciate them. I'd always intended on seeing them again at some point, I just hadn't expected this point to come so quickly!
I had the same problem with Knuckle Puck that I had with Roam. Their songs just seemed to blend together, and I couldn't really differentiate between them towards the end of the night - it's been less than 24 hours and I already can't really recall what any of them sounded like. It was a shame, because I'd been really pumped about seeing them, but alas it just didn't really do anything for me.
I know I really enjoyed 'Gold Rush', the song that they released on a split single with Neck Deep - throughout the performance I realised that the show couldn't have possibly been any more pop punk, because there was a ginormous inflatable floating penis bouncing over the crowd. You can't have pop punk show without some inappropriately large genitalia making an appearance!
If there's one thing I can say about Knuckle Puck, it's that they're dedicated. When discussing the Eurotunnel problems suffered by the band, they admitted that they'd actually forged their passes to make it back into the country because "there was no way in hell that we were not going to show up to play some songs with you tonight". They also seemed so humble and appreciative of the crowd that they'd attracted, thanking everyone multiple times - for an American band who have only been together for five years, it is impressive that they're taking our country by storm so easily.
Because it was the last show of the tour, there had to be guest appearances, so after Ryan from Knuckle Puck went on stage (briefly!) with Roam, Alex Costello decided to repay the favour. His appearance on 'No Good' definitely added another level to the show, and it was so much fun - I do love spontaneous collaborations.
I'm going to listen to Knuckle Puck some more, because I think it might take me a little while to get into them; at least I know if I see them live again I'm bound to have fun.

Setlist:

Disdain

But Why Would You Care?

Oak Street

Gold Rush

True Contrite

No Good (ft. Alex Costello from Roam)

Pretense

You'll remember earlier than I said sometimes it takes me a long time to love pop punk bands, and sometimes I love them instantly - State Champs are definitely in the latter camp. I am absolutely in love with singer Derek DiScanio's vocal tone; he has a clear tone that makes it easy to understand all of the lyrics, and lyrical content is something that matters a lot to me: it's one of the reasons it can be difficult for me to really adore a band if the first time I really encounter them is in the live environment.
The only song I'd ever encountered before was opener 'All You Are Is History' - I heard it on the radio once, fell in love with it, and ordered State Champs entire back catalogue and pre-ordered their new album on vinyl five minutes later. Yeah, it was a bit extreme (and I've had no time to listen to them since...) but after seeing them I know that it was a good call. Derek said that the band were calling this their album release show, as it's the show they're playing closest to 'All Around The World and Back' launching (it comes out in two weeks) but he also said that it was a farewell to 'The Finer Things', their debut album. Because the new album isn't out quite yet, they only played two new songs - the aforementioned track and newest single 'Secrets', but they both stood out so brilliantly. All of State Champs music is fast and easy to dance to, but the newer songs really hook their claws into you and don't let you go. With the experience that State Champs have gathered over the last couple of years, playing multiple supporting slots and a few festivals (Slam Dunk here in the UK, and Warped Tour in America) you can tell it's been good for the band - they've honed their songwriting skills and are really standing out in their field for this point of their career.
In all honesty, there wasn't a song of their set that didn't impress me. This is State Champs third time in the UK but is only their first headlining tour here, and they also seemed very humble - Derek said they "never thought it would come to a place where we'd be halfway across the world" and thanked the crowd profusely for their support over the last few years.
No, I didn't have my socks knocked off by either of the supporting bands, but overall this was one of the most fun shows I've ever been to. It's certainly the most pop punk lineup I've seen! The bands all seemed like they'd had a blast on the tour, with every band saying that they really didn't want it to end - State Champs called it "one of the coolest tours we've ever done". When the bands on a tour get along well it's really easy to see, because everyone is so relaxed - it makes for a great environment, because the joking between the bands really livens up a show. With State Champs joking about the height of Roam's Alex ("I was going to do guest vocals, but Alex from Roam stole my spot! Where are you, Alex? No, you're way too tall to be Alex!") it really did get the whole crowd laughing - banter between bands is much funnier than banter with the crowd, because you feel as though you're among friends. Because this tour has been going on for so long, it's pretty certain that lifelong friendships have been cemented - I wouldn't be too surprised if these guys play more shows together before too long.
Just before playing their encore, Derek asked the crowd "if we come back next year after the album comes out, will you come hang out again?" and after the roar of cheers quietened a bit, he laughed and said "we're gonna announce that next week, keep an eye on the internet" - there are more tour dates coming, and they're coming soon! I'm hoping I'll be able to see State Champs again, because it would be great to see a show at which I actually knew the songs - I really enjoyed the music, but I think it would be better if I could more fully appreciate their live sound. I, for one, am extremely excited for the release of 'All Around The World And Back' - I can't wait for it to hurry up and get here!

Setlist:

All You Are Is History

Remedy

Secrets

Prepare To Be Noticed

Deadly Conversation

Simple Existence

Easy Enough

Nothing's Wrong

Hard To Please

-

Losing Myself

Elevated