Veteran pop-punk mainstay State Champs have been busy hitting the road on their high-energy North American Live On Tour Twenty Twenty Four trek across the continent with longtime genre maniacs, Knuckle Puck and Meet Me @ The Altar alongside newcomers Daisy Grenade, and New Aesthetic, with their collective energies set on conquering Anaheim, California and the House of Blues.
When it comes to State Champs themselves, I’ve been a fan since I reviewed their album Apparently, I’m Nothing back when we were simply a Tumblr blog. I have since seen them 3 times, with 1 of those times being horrible in terms of house audio crippling Derek DiScanio’s vocals. So, with them coming through Southern California on this new tour, I knew I had to break that memory and have fun with one of my favorite pop-punk bands on heavy rotation throughout the week once again.
The additions of Knuckle Puck, Daisy Grenade, Meet Me @ The Altar, and New Aesthetic were simply icing on the cake. An outstanding lineup for an incredibly reasonable price. So, I headed out to Anaheim during the warm Wednesday evening and encountered a plethora of my aged pop-punk fans which is always a treat, a friendly reminder that our part of the scene is still thriving.
I made my way to the quickly forming line and got forced ID checked even though I wasn’t drinking as did the rest of the growing line, an action I do wonder why it was enforced for this specific show. But, other than that protocol, the House of Blues staff continued to be outstanding, friendly, and top-class (Aside from an asshole bartender I saw causing multiple scenes throughout the night in the pit). And just before we knew it, the line would begin to move inwards towards the music hall at exactly 6 PM, no later, nor earlier.
It wouldn’t be long before the first night’s act, San Diego’s own group of degenerates, New Aesthetic, would take the stage and quickly begin to get the crowd riled up, moshing, and kicking off a great night of live music and community. This would be the group’s first time playing the House of Blues and would excitingly comment that the experience was the “coolest thing ever.”
New Aesthetic quickly proved themselves to the growing crowd, as more and more would fill the hall’s main floor, joining in on the massive party that was completely welcoming to these newcomers. Alongside a handful of high-energy picks, New Aesthetic would also perform their latest single, “Losing This Game,” which grabbed attention instantly as fans could be heard cheering with a few around me jumping to Spotify and quickly adding the track to their liked playlist.
However, the biggest “no-no” New Aesthetic would pull throughout the night was the insult of calling Anaheim Los Angeles! Like, how dare these San Diego elites pull such a stunt! All jokes aside, the guys in New Aesthetic would constantly take time through their set to thank the bands on the bill, and the crowd for coming out so early and for giving them a chance.
Overall, I enjoyed the sound New Aesthetic is putting out there, and it’s safe to say the youth SoCal pop-punk scene is going to be in safe hands if these are the type of bands we are putting out into the scene. It’s also an amazing reminder of just how fun a show is when you get to the venue early for each opener on the bill. A lot of the time, you won’t be disappointed.
And just like that, New Aesthetic would wrap up and time would quickly move forward as Daisy Grenade would hit their time mark, rush the stage, and quickly command the crowd with infectious energy and enough jumps to power Coldplay’s concerts via their jump pads. I quickly realized during their first song, “Sick in the City,” what made this group so special, and found myself feeling FOMO that I hadn’t truly checked out their stuff sooner.
Daisy Grenade presented the wild crowd with a strong enough stage presence that the tour might as well have been their own. The crowd ate up their energy and gave it back tenfold in beautiful fashion. However, I would find myself standing near quite the obnoxious couple who only had criticism to throw the band’s way. From making fun of their songs, their kickass dance moves, and the overall way Daisy Grenade presented themselves. I’ve never stood near a more distraught and shit heel set of “pop punk, Warped era” fans in my life. Like holy hell, I would love to see them attempt to do better.
Crap couple aside, Daisy Grenade’s high-energy, everyone-is-welcome style created a wonderful atmosphere that was joyful, angry, and just the right amount of aggressiveness to get the blood flowing and everyone jumping right out of their shoes. They would also engage in a handful of Disney-based jokes that got me laughing and the rest of the crowd ready to continue to “mosh for the mouse.”
Pumping through “Guts,” “How to Hide a Body,” and their sensational cover of Nirvana’s “Polly,” the Daisy Grenade hype train would continue leaving fans wanting more as they performed their final song of the night, “Hypocrite,” which was just a wall of pure fun. I went into their performance knowing of them to leaving becoming what I’d consider a long-term fan in the making.
Daisy Grenade’s performance had amazing crowd interaction, and outstanding New York punk vibes that combined perfectly with the Southern California “fuck you” pop-punk movement. They got my feet moving, and my heart pounding and just kept the entire night filled with good vibes and the creation of lasting memories.
The fantastic display of girl power in punk would continue with the wonderful Meet Me @ The Altar. This group has been making crazy waves in the genre, carving out their permanent placement among the pop-punk greats and I was more than hyped to finally experience their sound live.
Keeping in tune with each band thus far, Meet Me @ The Altar would hit their time cue perfectly, wasting zero time, getting the crowd engaged right away, and opening up the pit during their performance of “Say It (to My Face).” The crowd interaction between frontwoman Edith Victoria and concertgoers was fantastic, continuing the trend of pop-punk bands knowing how to perfectly work a crowd in their favor.
The band would also throw out a few fun memory builders in the form of an all-lady pit that looked like it was the most fun thing of the set. Funnily enough, a member of that pit would lose their phone which resulted in the other members of the pit with help from the band reuniting said phone with its owner. So just a fun reminder that if you’re moshing, keep track of your items!
Meet Me @ The Altar would perform some of their best live songs in the form of “Now or Never,” and “Hit Like a Girl” before throwing gasoline into the crowd in the form of a kickass pop-punk medley that included Jimmy Eat World, New Found Glory, and Lit. It was crazy fun and further pumped my veins with adrenaline.
They continued to keep the House of Blues rocking with “May the Odds Be in Your Favor” before finishing up their set with a fantastic blowout of “Kool.” Meet Me @ The Altar did an amazing job of keeping the pit alive, creating a fun atmosphere unique to their style, and just overall reminding people why they’re a top player within the genre.
So, first off, sorry Knuckle Puck, but my first instance of knowing of your band was through YouTuber Jarrod Alonge. Thankfully, that beef has been cooked for many a good year now and I knew I was in for a fantastic show from these pop-punk legends in the making within seconds of them hitting the stage and the crowd surfers on the floor began to go crazy.
Like holy crap, Knuckle Puck’s performance was probably the most I’ve ever seen that many crowd surfers. It was crazy, it looked like fun, and I now wish I joined in. Within the band’s first few songs which consisted of “Want Me Around,” “The Tower,” and “Disdain,” I could tell quickly just how seasoned these talented musicians are when it comes to putting on a fiery live performance.
From their solid stage presence, summoning the crowd to throw surfers their way, and just the overall crazy amount of energy and good vibes on display Knuckle Puck is not a band to miss if you’re looking to experience a true to form pop-punk experience as you’re bound to have a crazy good time. But, I do need to know how frontman Joe Taylor has that much energy. Share the secrets man!
Also, a fun outlier throughout Knuckle Puck’s set was the sighting of a concertgoer using a Nintendo 3DS to take their photos. I’ve seen that trend come back in style so it was fun to see it happening in person.
Knuckle Puck would continue to power through their set with songs such as “Groundhog Day,” “On All Cylinders” and “But Why Would You Care?” before finishing up their set with a crazy good performance of their hit “No Good” which got the crowd surfers going in complete full force towards the stage. A beautiful sight for a set that truly did blow me away. The group’s unfiltered energy and love for performing create the most authentic live show experience I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing.
With Knuckle Puck now off the stage, and 9:30 PM quickly approaching, the lights would shut off and State Champs would take to the stage with an incredibly perfect kick-off with one of their newer songs, “Silver Cloud,” off their very recently released self-titled album. I love when bands play their new stuff and State Champs did not disappoint with this show.
State Champs’ stage production for this tour is top-notch, from the layout, the lighting, and overall quality. They presented themselves as top dogs within the genre creating a larger-than-life scene for their rowdy and hyped up crowd that continued to fill in from the lobby’s front bar. Also, have to shout out Derek’s awesome Sting shirt! Who doesn’t love that guy? One of the best.
The third song in and I got to hear my favorite, “Mine is Gold.” Now, I don’t know why that specific song is my favorite, it just is, and holy crap did it sound amazing and the energy from the crowd mixed perfectly with all the jumping and running around going on onstage with the band. I sang my heart out as did the rest of the crowd. Honestly cementing State Champs as a band that has now found themselves on my “I have to see them each time they’re around” list.
Continuing, State Champs would also perform a nice mixture of newer songs and older songs, for example, “All You Are Is History,” “Criminal,” “Light Blue,” and “Tight Grip” to name a few. As mentioned it was a very nice mixture from across the band’s entire catalog.
The clear thing I found while scoring the crowd while State Champs performed is just how connected their fans are, singing each lyric from these new set of songs, crying, laughing. It was a memorable sight to see just how much this band means to their fans and vice versa. At no point did State Champs seem to take any of this for granted. They love what they do and they do it very well.
State Champs would also medley together their songs “Perfect Score,” “Frozen,” and “Fake It” perfectly getting the crowd surfing, dancing, and screaming. I’m very sure everyone’s feet are screaming at them today just like mine are writing all of this out. But, I would do it over and over again without a second thought.
Like Knuckle Puck, State Champs is a well-oiled machine from their presence to the song selections. There’s something for every era of fan. Derek would go on to bust out an acoustic guitar for the tour debut of their song “If I’m Lucky,” which certainly got the crowd hyped and excited. Also, just like the Derek shout-out, I have to give one to bassist Ryan Scott Graham for his nifty dance moves at the start of “Remedy.”
State Champs would quickly make their way through “Elevated,” “Dead and Gone,” “Save Face Story,” and “Everybody but You” before wrapping up their set with their mega-hit “Secrets.” I’d be lying if I said State Champs’ Live On Tour Twenty Twenty Four wasn’t by far my favorite pop-punk show of 2024.
The atmosphere was perfect, the crowd-to-band love was amazing to experience, and the song selections were on point. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience to remind myself why I love this genre and scene as much as I do.
State Champs and company will continue to roll through city after city throughout the Live On Tour Twenty Twenty Four North American tour with tons of dates left to come. So, if this pop-punk circus finds its way to a city near you, I can’t scream loud enough that you should pick up tickets, put on your best pair of Vans, and lose yourself in the wall of high-energy fun that is this tour. Tickets can be picked up via State Champs’ official website including VIP options.
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Keep up with Meet Me @ The Altar: Instagram | Threads | TikTok | X | Facebook
Keep up with Daisy Grenade: Instagram | Threads | TikTok | X | Facebook
Keep up with New Aesthetic: Instagram | TikTok | X | Facebook
