POP EVIL AT WHITE EAGLE HALL IN JERSEY CITY
Pop Evil’s “The Skeletons Tour” stopped at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ. The venue has some new renovations and was very warm and inviting. There were stained glass ceilings and even a balcony upstairs. The lighting and sound at White Eagle Hall was great!
Avoid took the stage first, which is a hard rock band from Seattle. I saw them live once when they opened for The Plot In You at Gramercy Theatre in NY and loved their set. I’ve been listening to their music since and am sure they will do their own headline tour soon. The frontman Benny did a fantastic job of moving all over the stage. He jumped around the entire time and connected with his fans. He could be seen leaning into the crowd to sing with them throughout the set. At one point, he jumped in to crowd surf but was accidentally dropped. This didn’t stop his energy one bit. He got right back up laughing and continued the show! Toward the end, he went back into the crowd, and the crowd held him up as he stood and sang. These are the benefits of no-barrier shows! Their most famous song is “Flashbang!” Which is from their 2020 The Burner EP with over 2 million plays on Spotify!
Before The Word Alive hit the stage, I walked around to find a good spot to take photos. While walking around, I saw a fan holding up a onesie with The Word Alive’s logo! I recognized this fan from our VIP experience with The Word Alive before the show, so we began talking. Her name was Nicole, and she was standing next to her sister Kaylyn. They both attended the show with their husbands. When talking to Nicole, she told me that Telle, the lead singer of The Word Alive, had been a big part of her pregnancy journey. She even had Telle make a Cameo video for her husband to help reveal the surprise that they were pregnant! When talking to her about the onesie, I discovered that her other sister Jessica made it for her, which was so sweet. They are one big happy The Word Alive family! The band signed the onesie and wrote: “Welcome To Your New Reality.” The guys also signed a setlist for Nicole and wrote that they sent love to her starting her family, and thanked her for bringing her mini to the show! I don’t know if I would have my baby wear that onesie or if I’d frame it! It was an extraordinary moment, and I was so happy that Nicole shared it with me and allowed me to share it with all of you.
The Word Alive came on stage, and the crowd got excited. Telle made sure to connect with all of his fans throughout the set. He could be seen fist-bumping them, singing into their phones, and pointing to them. You could tell the band has a powerful connection with their fan base. At one point in the show Benny from Avoid even came on the stage to sing alongside Telle! They also played their newly released single, “New Reality”, which has quickly become a fan favorite. The band said New Jersey was a special stop and had the loudest singing crowd on tour so far! Their new album will be coming out soon, so keep an eye out for it!
Pop Evil took the stage last as the headliners of the tour. It was my first time seeing them live, and their stage setup was very impressive! They didn’t remove the black sheet covering the drums until right before they came on stage. It was one of the most incredible drum kits I have ever seen. I loved how they had two bass drums with designs from their new album. The members slowly appeared on stage, with the frontman Leigh making his grand entrance. He made sure to point out that Benny from Avoid celebrated his birthday with them on tour and that it’s remarkable when members of the bands spend their birthdays together. He told the crowd to make some noise for the opening bands. Leigh explained that being on tour with them is an honor and that the music scene doesn’t need to be so competitive. Instead, all of the musicians should be coming together as a community.
Leigh talked about their brand new album that came out called Skeletons. The album came out on March 17th and has been a huge hit already! Their debut single off the album, “Eye of the Storm”, already has over 7 million plays on Spotify! It has been one of my favorites since it came out last year, and I couldn’t wait for the album. It recently hit number three on the rock charts as well. Why is the album called Skeletons, you may ask? Leigh joked and said that when interviewers ask him that question, and he’s too tired, he replies because they felt like it. The crowd laughed, and eventually, he gave a serious answer, but not before making more jokes.
Leigh said thank god music returned after the pandemic. He talked about how the band had to return to the drawing board, and the bands who wanted to be here for their fans stayed in the scene. Leigh said he respects musicians still grinding it out, but isn’t knocking those who left. He said the band wanted to make an album to give back to their fans. With all the madness going on, he asked the crowd if they still checked their Myspace, which made everyone laugh again. Leigh said that one thing everyone does have in common is skeletons. He said he appreciated everyone coming out to a rock show on a Sunday night. Leigh asked for everyone to take care of each other in the pit. He pretended to buckle himself into the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future and returned to 2013 for the next song. It was called “Torn To Pieces”, and you could tell he and the crowd got emotional about it. This song has almost 45 million plays on Spotify! Check out Pop Evil, The Word Alive, and Avoid on the remaining dates of '“The Skeletons Tour”, which will last until the end of April!