In the middle of a busy weekend of shows for me, Pop Evil was the second of three and night two at the MN Music Hall. The ‘Music Over Words Tour’ has just recently gotten underway, and I was pretty excited to see Pop Evil again as it had been a while. There was a much different mood at the venue this night from the previous night. The doors must have opened on time as there was no line when I got there, (about a half hour after doors). Once inside the main floor was full, but the balcony was closed off for this one. I took a look at the extensive merch table before heading to my corner to prepare for the night.
Palaye Royale took the stage first after a brief power issue on stage. From the first song, I was really impressed by these guys. I hadn’t heard of them before this show, but they were the perfect choice to start out the night. All of the band members were full of energy and were all over the stage. The singer actually climbed up on something by the wall and sang for a while. He also got down into the pit to sing up close to the fans and shared a drink with one woman up in the front! Palaye Royale certainly had a set full of powerful songs that got the crowd going and ready for more. I’m certainly going to look for them to return to Minnesota!
Next up was Black Map. I’d heard their song, ‘Run Rabbit Run’, on my rotation on Pandora, so I knew I’d like them. What a show they put on! They had the crowd moving and singing along the entire time. The trio didn’t move a lot as the two up front had to sing from time to time, but their set was refreshing. There was no fancy props or stage effects needed, just the band and some fantastic music. I was told by friends on Facebook that I would enjoy their set and they were certainly correct. Even when walking around the venue after my first three songs, I saw people singing along and having a great time. Black Map’s first Minneapolis visit was certainly a memorable one and I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to seeing them in the future.
By the time the stage was ready for Pop Evil, there was plenty of room on it for the band. The drum set was a extra five feet above the stage, which I knew would make for an interesting time getting photos. As soon as they took the stage, the crowd went nuts. Pop Evil’s stage presence has greatly improved from the last time I’d seen them. What I mean is that the set seemed so much more put together than last time. Lighting was better and it looked like some real thought was put into it. Other than that, it was a basic open stage with plenty of room to rock, and rock they did. The first few songs were a great mix of old and new like ‘Ways To Get High’ and my personal favorite, ‘Boss’s Daughter’. They slowed it down and gave some of the band members a rest break mid-set for ‘Monster’ with only a guitarist and singer Leigh. An all around fun night, Pop Evil put on a wonderful live performance and closed out the second of three night of shows quite nicely!
Setlist
Ways To Get High
Boss’s Daughter
Torn To Pieces
Lions
Ex Machina
Deal with the Devil
Monster You Made
Silence and Scars
Colors Bleed
Hero
Art of War
Be Legendary
Take It All
100 in a 55
Encore
Footsteps
Trenches
As always, get out and support live music and I’ll see you out there.
Ben from Black Map here. Love these photos! Is it possible to send them to us so we can share them individually? we will of course give photo credit and tag y’all of course.
cheer,
Ben