State Champs announced their first UK headline tour a few months back and it was certainly the talk of social media, especially as people started to create theories as to who was going to support. Once it was officially announced that Knuckle Puck and Roam were supporting I could already tell it was going to be a killer night.
I travelled to Newcastle’s O2 academy to see them perform, Roam were first on stage and the room was already filling up. I was relatively new to Roam’s music as I first listened to them a month or so before I saw them live, nevertheless, I still fell in love with their melodic pop-punk vibes. As Roam were going to be followed by Knuckle Puck, and of course State Champs I went into the gig feeling like they were going to be almost unknown to the room, but the amount of people moshing and singing to their lyrics actually surprised me- they were definitely more than just a warm up act. Roam are one of UKs up and coming pop punk bands and I’m sure they’re going to gain a lot more success and recognition in the next few years. I wouldn’t hesitate to go and see them one of their own headline tours.
Knuckle Puck was next and I’m no stranger to seeing them live, they’ve toured with some of my favourite bands, played festivals like SlamDunk 2015 and they’ve never seemed to disappoint yet. Each set they play is always rough and ready but unforgettable at the same time. Again the amount of fans already in the crowd was amazing, but not surprising considering the release (and popularity) of their long awaited debut album, Copacetic, which I reviewed a few months ago. As I say in all my KP reviews, ‘No Good’ is always a personal highlight of their set and one that seems to be enjoyed by the entire room.
After a short set change it was time for State Champs to hit the stage. I spent the evening watching from near the back and it was amazing to see the crowd from that perspective as I’m usually amongst the action. With a mix of material from their older albums, especially The Finer Things and newer material from their upcoming release of Around The World everyone seemed so captivated and the room sung back in perfect timings. There was no doubt that their older songs was a lot more popular but that’s probably just because of how successful that album was- it was definitely the album that gave State Champs a good name.
Personally, I’m not really a fan of encores unless I’m in a huge venue as I don’t really see the point in them, but when State Champs came back on stage after they ‘left’ to play Losing Myself and Elevated (which was by far the most popular song amongst the crowd) it was very well received. The room was tiny so it made the entire experience a lot more enjoyable and intimate. I’m very excited to be able to hear State Champs new album in full in the coming months.