Pop Evil Tour Rocks UCH

Leigh Kakaty - Pop EvilUpstate Concert Hall was rockin’ Friday night Nov. 22, 2013 as Pop Evil, The Letter Black, Eve To Adam and Black Oxygen brought their fall tour to the Capital Region.

This was a really good show from top to bottom. Every band was really good. It was really awesome to see Pop Evil again. I hope I get to see them on one of the many summer festivals in 2014. The big surprise of the night for me was The Letter Black. I wasn’t expecting them to be bad or anything, they just exceeded my expectations. They are starting to get some airplay on Sirius/XM Octane. I hope to see them in the summer of 2014 also.

One Day Waiting opened the show. They are a local hard rock/alternative metal band from the Hudson Valley area. These guys were pretty good, and the more shows they get under their belt, the better and more relaxed they will be. I would like to see these guys again after they get a little bit more experience and see how the progress. Good opener.

Technical difficulties forced what seemed to be a long break between sets, but Black Oxygen finally hit the stage. Black Oxygen is a rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. They were ok. They were able to get some life back into crowd, which was dead after the delay, so that was a plus.

Eve To Adam hit the stage in the three spot. The alternative/hard rock band from New York City set the tone for the rest of the night, which would be f ‘in kick @$$. E2A brought a ton of energy with them on stage. They have a very good stage presence. You can tell they were having a blast out there jamming for all of us.

Lead vocalist Taki Sassaris gave a speech about people who have left an impact on the lives of all of us and that their memories would live on forever. He then dedicated the next song “Immortal” to John F. Kennedy, a poignant tribute to the man who was assassinated 50 years ago.

E2A was followed by The Letter Black.  This was my first time seeing this Christian Rock group out of Uniontown, PA, and I have to say that lead vocalist, Sarah Anthony is a must see. She is vocally amazing!  Sarah also has a ton of energy on stage which I love in a vocalist. Sarah had the whole crowd really into her and the band. Mark Anthony was great on his vocal parts as well. When this band comes to your area, go check them out , you will not be sorry. This band just came right out and brought the house down.

Headliner’s, Pop Evil are now set to hit the stage. I have not seen this band since they were one of the opening bands for the Tresspass America tour with Five Finger Death Punch. Upstate Concert Hall re-fogs the venue and now we are ready for Pop Evil to tear the roof this place.

Leigh and the boys hit the stage with ” Deal With The Devil” and the crowd goes nuts. Vocalist Leigh Kakaty is friggen awesome live. He has such energy and passion in his performance. Getting to hear “Monster You Made” and “100 in a 55” live was just amazing.

Davey has that cool, chill factor about him. He threw his pick behind his back, over his shoulder and caught it right on cue to hit his next note. Matt on bass is insane. Matt does not stand still. He’s all over the stage. DiRito just brings it live and he loves to play to the crowd which was eating everything he did up. Nick was always jamming up-front playing to crowd. He’s really good on guitar. And, Chachi is a beast on drums. I wish he had a drum solo on this show. A source of mine who was at the garage sessions for Pop Evil at Q-103 earlier that day told me that Chachi has tendinitis in his elbow but will play, so maybe that’s why he had no solo. Riot plays the drums like he is in a street fight with them. It’s f ‘in sick to watch him stand up and beat his set with his drum sticks. I wish the venue had more lights on him because he is awesome to watch.

Everybody in the crowd sung every song with the band from “100 in a 55” to “Monster You Made” to “Last Man Standing.” Standing was the first of the two encore songs. The next song that played sounded very familiar but it wasn’t a Pop Evil track. Next thing you know Leigh starts singing “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor as an intro into the last song of the night “Trenches.”

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