Set It Off Took DC “Elsewhere”
Date: January 26th, 2022
Venue: The Fillmore Silver Spring
Silver Spring, MD
What’s up, everyone! Derek here, a.k.a. The Photographic Ginger and I’m back again with another incredible night of music in our nation’s capital. Have you ever gone to a concert and then the music of the show and the artists are playing on repeat for weeks following the show? Well, that’s the current situation I’m in because, spoiler alert… Set It Off are just so damn good! That’s right, in celebration of their upcoming album Elsewhere, Florida’s favorite Pop/Punk band finally got the chance to tour again after the craziness of the last couple of years.
As we arrived at The Fillmore Silver Spring just outside of DC, the opening act of the evening was wrapping up his set. No Love for the Middle Child a.k.a. Andrew is an indie/alternative artist who made a name for himself writing for the likes of Meek Mills, Jessie Reyes, and more but is now putting all of his musical abilities into his own work. The most recent of releases is his triple single “Losing Feeling” which features the title track as well as two other songs including “Secondhand Heartbreak.”
Next up was a pop-punk band direct from Sydney, Australia. Stand Atlantic is fronted by lead singer and guitarist Bonnie Fraser and the band has been rocking for a decade since forming in 2012. To kick off their set, they took us all the way to “Jurassic Park” as the guitars kicked in and the head bobs commenced. Their set provided hits across all three of their albums including the title track off of 2018’s Skinny Dipping. The moment that the pit really opened though was during their latest release with “pity party (feat Royal and the Serpent)” off their upcoming album F.E.A.R.
As their set continued, they introduced Maryland’s own Saxl Rose to accompany them on saxophone through a couple of songs, one being “Lavender Bones.” The fans loved every moment of their set and those unfamiliar were quickly converted. To close out their set, “Deathwish” (feat. nothing, nowhere.) got the crowd off their feet, literally, as the crowd surfing was activated. Finally, to finish it off and burn the place to the ground, they kicked the energy to 8000 as the guitars and drums hit a high speed with “Molotov [OK].”
Finally the time had come. The stage had taken on a vibrant neon theme while being accented with neon ferns, mannequins with large cameras as heads, and the typical concert decor… 10’ tall skeletons. Leading up to the start of the show, a voice came over the room announcing that the time remaining until showtime, as noted by the Midnight Society, while also indicating that “casual Friday has been suspended,” and congratulating employee 73 for being employee of the month amongst other fun and strange announcements. The final announcement informed us that “Experiment #0143 will commence now” and then it all began!
As soon as the band took the stage, the lights illuminated everything, and paired with the colorful makeup and clothing, it created a beautiful spectrum of color, much like that seen in the album cover of the forthcoming Elsewhere album and their latest single. Speaking of which, that’s also how they audibly began the evening, with “Skeleton” and “Projector” setting the tone right as lead singer Cody Carson and bassist/guitarist Zach DeWall ran across the stage hyping the crowd up. Carson’s vocals have come to be well known on the pop/punk scene as he has such incredible control and a tone that creates originality, all while being able to speak both quickly and rhythmically much like that found in parts of certain songs like the two they had just played.
The great thing about a Set It Off show is there are just so many hits in their discography that make you want to constantly sing and dance along and that’s exactly what the crowd did all night long, especially so during songs like “Why Worry” (a personal favorite of mine) and “Ancient History” as synchronized claps added to the mix. But perhaps you weren’t a fan of the large crowd surrounding you while singing and dancing. Well, you could do your own “Lonely Dance.”
When I first discovered the music of Set It Off it was around 2016 and my first encounter with their sound came from the title track of their album Duality. It was instantly clear that many of their fans had been around a while as the crowd became a sea of dual triangle symbols formed by hands.
Amongst the high-energy evening, there were a few moments that slowed things down. Carson shared a touching story about his father’s passing from cancer and how it inspired the song “Unopened Windows” and within it, the Irish melody to “Danny Boy” remains because of him and his father’s connection to it. Closing the song, Carson played the melody solo on the clarinet. Keeping with the theme of memorable moments, Carson spoke about the unrealistic expectations that the world puts on us to remain “Happy All The Time” which led to a beautiful moment as the crowd joined together to create a choir-like atmosphere.
Because it was their first tour in over two years, they made sure to give the fans all they had and that also meant squeezing in as many songs as possible, which is why they created a 9 song career-spanning medley including “Dream Catcher”, “Upside Down” and “Partners In Crime.” After that wild ride of songs, the guys changed it up a bit as drummer Maxx Danzinger took to center stage to sing “Bad Guy” while Carson took over on drums.
To close their set, they “Hypnotized” the crowd as arms swayed back and forth ending with the lyrics “Go f*ck yourself.” But the end wasn’t there yet. As the team exited the stage, they were requested back for an encore and did just that with one of their biggest classics, “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” and the crowd went absolutely wild once again.
So what more do you need to hear? This tour is amazing and there’s so much more goodness on the way as Elsewhere drops on March 11th, 2022. Make sure to buy and stream the album but also make your way to a live show if you get the chance because this is a band that only gets more amazing in a live setting. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve been listening on repeat to relive this incredible night of music!
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
