Pure Noise Records is one of the coolest record labels out there today. They have such a wide variety of bands under their label name that seem to produce nothing but bangers release after release. One thing that has happened quite a few times in previous years is the label basically showcasing their artists but doing a label exclusive tour. They seem to switch every tour with it being hardcore/metalcore driven or pop-punk driven. This year was a pop-punk driven tour.
The real pop-punk artists on the bill consist of Bearings, Real Friends, and State Champs. Just Friends and Four Year Strong are apart of what I would call pop-punk adjacent genres. I bought presale for this show as soon as I could, not only did I know every band on the bill, I enjoy all of their music respectively, and I had seen all of them besides Four Year Strong. I had the pleasure of going with two friends who I had not been to a show with in quite awhile. We attended the Tempe, AZ date at one of my favorite venues The Marquee Theatre. For it being my first club show back, I was stoked for it to be State Champs headlining who have always put on a great performance all three times I have seen them.
We sat in line for awhile before we saw Cody from Real Friends and said hello to him. He came and talked to us for few minutes which was really cool, we’re big fans of his, he was a very nice guy and great performer. Once we got in, we scoped out the merch tables to see if anything piqued our interests and then we headed towards the stage. Bearings was up first and much to my chagrin there were not too many people in the crowd. I love these guys and think they should be playing front of thousands, one day these crowds will learn. After their set, Just Friends went on stage and made sure to get the moods up and required everyone to groove with them. The instrumentalists in that group are amazing, they just get it and it seemed effortless to them the whole time. They are always a seriously fun band to watch. Real Friends mad their long awaited return to live shows just before this tour with their new vocalist Cody Muraro formerly of Youth Fountain. Real Friends played old songs and new ones that called for entering the circle pit even though I had no plans to at the start. I love this band a ton, so it was great to have them back doing what they do best.
After an exhausting set from Real Friends, we grabbed some fresh air and watched Four Year Strong towards the back for a break from the action. I am not the biggest easy-core guy but, I am happy to say I got to see Four Year Strong, they definitely are one of the more underrated bands in the genre and put on a good live show. Now that we had some energy saved for State Champs, we knew we could go all in for the duration of their set. We pushed our way towards the front where we knew it was gonna get busy and everyone would be moving. Hundreds of crowd surfers, awesome push pits, and plenty of energy the whole time. They stacked their setlist with all their best songs that left us going home with no voice and zero energy. Oh yeah, and in need of a shower desperately.
Overall, it was a great first club show to be back at. There is nothing quite like the energy at a pop-punk show, especially after such a long time with shows. Every band has not missed a step over this break we had without them which gave me comfort and excited me for all the rest of the shows after.
Live From The Pit 