LIVE: POP EVIL – September 9, 2021

Venue: The Machine Shop

City: Flint, MI

Date: September 9, 2021

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

There are bands you have to see when they roll through town, especially when it is at a venue that is one of your favorites; the combination of Pop Evil and The Machine Shop create the perfect storm.  Getting to the venue with time to spare, I was able to catch the two opening bands on the evening’s bill, with BRKN Love kicking off the festivities.  The foursome hit the stage and didn’t let up through their forty minutes on stage.  Armed with tracks from their 2020 debut self-titled release as well as a great cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” they not only set the mood for the evening, but entertained and wowed their fans and picked up quite a few along the way.  Front man Justin Benlolo led the band through their allotted time and reminded us that rock in alive and well and kicking ass as we return to live music in Flint.  Next up was Zero 9:36 and they continued the evening of great rock and roll from another relatively young band making their statement night after night venue after venue and letting us know they are here to stay and only going to get better and bigger.  Having only heard of them peripherally, I was impress and settled in to enjoy their set.

After the two openers warmed up the crowd, it was time for the headliners Pop Evil to once again grace The Machine Shop stage as they have down for years.  Promoting a new album, Versatile, they came armed with new tracks, old tracks, and even a Metallica cover that I don’t think most of us were ready for.  They hit the crowd instantly with three tracks that kept the energy up and music flowing when they played “Deal With The Devil” and “Torn” from Onyx and sandwiched newer track “Let The Chaos Reign” from the new release between them.  Leigh and band kept the pedal to the metal and we all strapped in for a great rock and roll ride through their catalog, with each album from their discography contributing at least one track to the setlist.  Before jumping into older stuff, they made their way through two more tracks from the 2021 disc when they played “Survivor” and crowd pleaser “Work” which saw Kakaty engaging the crowd to sing the chorus with him as the band provided the perfect foundation, especially on the latter.  With guitarists Dave Grahs and Nick Fuelling holding down the melody and riffs, the setlist was anchored by drummer Hayley Cramer and touring bassist Joey Walser.  The band dug deep into the catalog for 2008’s “100 In A 55” and following that punch with “Footsteps” before launching into a cool cover of “For Whom The Bell Tolls.  The bands self-titled 2018 release was the source of a couple tracks including “Be Legendary” and set closer “Waking Lions.”  Rounding out the set they had a great one-two punch of “Trenches” and “Monster You Made Me” screaming through the venues sound system to help drive us to the end of the evening before dropping the aforementioned “Waking Lions” on the crowd.  With their tour in full swing with about a month of dates left, there is plenty of time to grab the new album and hopefully find a date near you.

Setlist: Deal With The Devil – Let The Chaos Reign – Torn To Pieces – Survivor – Work – 100 In A 55 – Footsteps – For Whom The Bell Tolls – Be Legendary – Take It All – Breathe Again – Trenches – Monster You Made Me – Waking Lions

[Show as slideshow]

FULL SET OF POP EVIL SHOW PHOTOS HERE

POP EVIL LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

[Show as slideshow]

FULL SET OF ZERO 9:36 SHOW PHOTOS HERE

ZERO 9:36 LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

[Show as slideshow]

FULL SET OF BRKN LOVE SHOW PHOTOS HERE

BRKN LOVE LINKS:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries