State Champs // The Home Team // Broadside // European Winter Tour – Live Review // The O2 Institute // Birmingham
After a long day of work, it was time to head back to one of Birmingham’s best venues, the O2 Institute, for a night of American Pop-Punk. The lineup consisted of Broadside, The Home Team and State Champs: 3 bands with incredibly devoted fanbases whose energy was consistently high and contagious from the moment I entered the venue’s main room. It wasn’t long until the first band of the night, Broadside, hit the stage.
Broadside took to the stage to an uproar of applause and good vibes, and the room was packed. The performance was ridiculously tight, and the entire audience was bouncing along from start to finish. Honestly, you wouldn’t be a fool for believing that Broadside were the headliners of the night from the sheer professionalism of each moment of their performance, and I cannot wait to see them live again as soon as I can. My personal highlights were One Last Time and Cruel, and I definitely recommend catching them as soon as they’re playing near you.
Photography:
Dan Stapleton
Up next were The Home Team, who put on one of the tightest sets I’ve had the pleasure of seeing so far this year and set an even higher standard for the night to come. Damn good song writing mixed with a ridiculously energetic performance created a spectacle that I couldn’t not watch. The band’s sound blended Alt-Rock and Pop-Punk into a gorgeous blend of catchy Pop-Rock that I still can’t get to leave my head. Simply fantastic, and the crowd absolutely agreed as the roars erupted constantly.
My personal highlight was Hell, which I have not been able to get out of my head since watching the set.
Photography:
Dan Stapleton
Finally, we had the night’s main attraction hit the stage: American Pop-Punk royalty State Champs. There’s a reason why State Champs are one of the most beloved bands in the genre right now, and this performance was a perfect example of why. From the moment they hit the stage, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. From the ridiculous levels of energy to the tightness of the performance and the obvious love the band have for what they do, it’s no surprise why the fans were loving it so much. From the waves of crowd surfers to just the contagious energy, the set was simply a lesson in how to do Pop-Punk properly. My personal highlights were Losing Myself and Criminal, but not a moment of the set was a miss.
Honestly, there isn’t much left to say regarding the night, it was simply a damn good show with every band being headliner worthy. What a night.
Photography:
Dan Stapleton
