Pop Evil recently came through Oklahoma City stopping at the Beer City Music Hall on the “Skeletons Tour” to support the release of their newest album. They had the bands The Word Alive and Avoid on this tour with them. The evening started out with Avoid taking the stage, and holy cow!!! There was no easing into it when they took to the stage. Vocalist, Benny Scholl immediately began interacting with the crowd making them feel like part of the show. He kept telling the crowd he wanted to see a mosh pit, but unfortunately, the crowd did not give him one. Once he realized the crowd wasn’t going to throw down, he asked them to at least spin in place, and that is when the crowd finally gave him what he wanted. Once they started spinning, Benny quoted the retired NASCAR driver/announcer Darrel Waltrip by saying “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let’s go racing”. And this is in fact what happened. The energy this band brought to the stage was infectious. I can’t wait to see them again.
The Word Alive from Phoenix was next up. Benny, vocalist for Avoid, got up on stage to lend his hand during one of The Word Alive’s songs, wh ich wowed the crowd. The Word Alive kept the fans involved and entertained. Vocalist, Tyler Smith asked who had never seen the band before, and one fan in particular that had raised his hand continued to go absolutely crazy during their set. Tyler pointed out this fan and told the crowd that this guy was his new favorite person. The Word Alive dedicated their song “Life Cycles” to Pop Evil as a thank you for inviting them on this tour.
It was now time for Pop Evil to headline the evening. Pop Evil is one of those bands that put all they have into their music. This band never disappoints. Whether you are a casual fan, or a die hard fan, you are going to be singing along and throwing down when you see them or hear their music. Pop Evil never gives less than 110% when they are on stage, and this night was no exception.
When you have over 20 years in the industry, and the kind of catalog that Pop Evil does, I would imagine it would be hard to decide what is on the set list each time. The band played the perfect mix of some of their hits, and also adding in some songs from their newest album “Skeleton’s”. The hot and sweaty crowd was jumping and singing along with every song. I am personally a huge fan of drummer, Hayley Cramer, as she is such a bad ass drummer. She puts on one hell of a show from behind that kit.
Pop Evil gave it all to the crowd for roughly an hour and a half, including a four song encore. The band showed their versatility by giving us the entire gambit of their catalog. They played heavier songs like “Deal with the Devil”, “Let the Chaos Reign”, and “Paranoid(Crash & Burn)”. They then showed the softer side when they played “Torn to Pieces” and “100 in a 55”. Head over to the band’s website at http://www.popevil.com to check out the rest of the tour dates, as well as festival appearances the band is going to make. Make sure and get out to a show if they are coming to your area!!!
