Neck Deep | Milwaukee, WI

As Neck Deep is finishing up their second The Peace and the Panic tour, midwest pop-punk fans filled The Rave on a rainy Friday night. I will admit I missed the first two openers due to traffic, but I arrived shortly before WSTR went on. The crowd seemed to have a large variety of people, from dedicated fans to people who had never heard of them before. Despite the range of fans, WSTR put on a great performance. I personally had never heard of them before, but after their set, I was truly impressed. Their stage presence was outstanding. This made it much more enjoyable for new listeners.

Following WSTR, Trophy Eyes made one hell of an appearance. As a Trophy Eyes fan, I was obviously excited, but it was hard for anyone not to be. Frontman, John Floreani, made a lot of crowd contact and also had a great stage presence. They mostly played songs from their new album The American Dream. Their set truly was a performance; with appearances from Neck Deep members and taking away part of their drummer’s set the crowd was ecstatic. The Trophy Eyes members truly know how to engage their viewers with their entertaining stage personas.

Finally, what the crowd had been waiting for, Welsh pop-punk band Neck Deep opened with the single “Motion Sickness.” Immediately the mass of fans went wild. The group of guys displayed their crazy personalities throughout their show, for example, they had a “barbershop” on stage. They continued playing songs off of The Peace and the Panic like “Parachute“ and “In Bloom.” For the older fans, they also did some throwbacks such as “I Couldn’t Wait to Leave 6 Months Ago” and “What Did You Expect?.” The mix between presentation and performance made this October night an unforgettable one.