SET IT OFF AT RAMS HEAD LIVE IN BALTIMORE
Pop-rockers, Set It Off, kicked off the first night of “The Dopamine Tour” in Baltimore on Monday night at Rams Head Live! with support from Rivals, In Her Own Words, and Scene Queen. Everyone put on a great, energizing show and put the tour off to a good start.
Set It Off’s most recent album Elsewhere came out in 2022, but the band is already releasing and teasing new music. They played their newest single “Punching Bag”, as well as another new song that hasn’t been released yet, and Baltimore being the first show of the tour was some of the first to hear it. On stage, the band expressed their gratitude for how well “Punching Bag” has been received, as lead singer Cody Carson talked about how they’ve recently gone independent and the song is currently the ‘number one most added song to rock radio’ - the convergence of those two things happening at once is obviously really cool for them and honestly they deserve it. You can tell just by listening to Cody speak that these guys are genuine and do what they do because they truly love it.
I love the energy of being at the first show of a tour where everything is still fresh and exciting, and a bit unknown of what’s going to happen. It wasn’t a sold out show, but it was far from an empty room either, and the crowd was really hyped up and engaged the entire time. It’s hard not to be entertained when by the third song of the set, “Killer in the Mirror”, lead singer Cody is already jumping into the crowd to stand on heads and crowdsurf with a big smile on his face. They ended their set with a two-song encore, finishing off with “Why Worry” from their 2014 album Duality.
On a personal note, the last time I saw Set It Off was not long ago in March at Wembley Arena in London opening for All Time Low, with a very good friend of mine who recently passed away. Set It Off was one of her absolute favorite bands and I was right behind her at that Wembley show watching how giddy and excited she was watching Set It Off play. So, the entire show I couldn’t help but think about her and how excited she would be watching them start a new tour and releasing new music. As I was standing in the back of the room listening to them end with “Why Worry”, it just made me think about how short life is and not to ever take any moment for granted, as cliche as that may sound. I’m so glad I was able to attend the show, because I know Mandy would’ve been there screaming every word.
If Set It Off is coming to a city near you on “The Dopamine Tour”, I would highly suggest making it a point to go see them.