Have you ever seen a vocalist surf a crowd on a large air mattress? I have.
I have to be honest. I really didn’t know what I was getting into with this show tonight as my knowledge of just about every band was minimal. You ever do that? Just go to a concert and hope for the best? I did a little prior research on all these bands playing tonight however, so I know there were all a good fit for Loud Flash.com. But when I arrived at the Commordore Ballroom in Vancouver to see Caskets, DeathbyRomy, Crown The Empire and headliner Set it Off, I was a little worried. Prior to the Caskets set, they were playing an hour of solid dance music and it was already a party on the dance floor. Seemed like a great idea however, as it certainly got the female dominant audience worked into a frenzy on the dance floor. I will say that the first 3 bands did an amazing job and I was thoroughly entertained as all of them rocked the Commodore Ballroom really hard. Headliners Set it Off could not ask for a better mix of supporting acts to get this audience almost to the point of exhaustion.
Lets talk about the Los Angles based band Set it off. They are a 4 piece band consisting of Cody Carson (lead vocals), Zach Dewall (guitar), Maxx Danziger (drums) and touring guitar/bassist Robert (Bobby) Joffred.
They have been releasing music since about 2008, with 5 full albums and a smattering of EP’s, with the latest album being Elsewhere released in 2020. The music I would classify as radio rock but definitely can lean on the hard rock side of things. They are currently in the midst of a 32 city tour in North America on the ‘Deathless Tour’.
The stage setup is pretty cool, with a devil in the background with flames (not real flames mind you) as they explode on stage with one of their new singles called “Parasite”. This song actually hits pretty hard, and the audience is jumping pretty madly over their heroes.
Song 2 with “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” from the Duality album (2016) But you know, you could describe this band this way too, as they can go from a radio friendly rock band to cranking out the high gain guitar with some edge and thats what we hear in song 3 with “Fake Ass Friends”.
At song 5 “Partners in Crime” (Cinematics, 2012) we get the return of vocalist Romy Flores of DeathbyRomy back on stage with some vocal help. When they have a female fronted band with them on tour they will do this for example Kalie Wolfe (of Rivals), or Ash Costello (of New Years Day) who was the original guest vocalist on that song. I like it, gives the show some variety when bands do this, as well as exposure for the guest singer too.
“The Haunting” at song 6 where Cody says “its about you gave gave gave your heart and soul to someone and all you got was a knife in the back”. Really enjoyed Cody’s in-between song banter, and how he introduces songs and explains the lyrical side story throughout the show. He does such a great job of commanding the audience and is not shy at all about his feelings one way or another on various topics.
After “Evil People”, “Kill the Lights”, “Forever Stuck in Our Youth”, Cody gives some sound advice and tells the audience if you were thinking on getting back with your ex “DONT fucking do it!” and gets into “Ancient History”. Ok, this is a first for me, as around mid song a queen size air mattress is brought out, and Cody surfs the crowd with it. He still manages to sing on it and at one point he flops flat on it, no idea how he stays on it, and still sings the rest of the song just about flawlessly at the same time. Definitely an extraordinary show highlight!
Song 12 with “I”ll Sleep When am Dead” we see a change up with Maxx taking the vocals and Cody on drums. Maxx can hold is own on vocals too and likewise Matt on drums.
Fast forward to Song 14, well lets call it a medley of 10 songs here. You cant blame them for giving their fans the most they can in one night. Song 15, Cody starts off “Swan Song” with his acoustic guitar and thereafter the band joins him.
After “Killer in the Mirror”, and Cody explaining about how he thought his career was dead with “Why Worry”, they do an 1 song encore with probably their biggest hit “Punching Bag” to end the night on a happy note.
You know, this entire Deathless Tour package is a really solid lineup of bands. All of them are really captivating with strong musical skills and vocals. I was really impressed with how this show went. Yes I was a little worried I was getting into a overly bubble gum pop night, but it wasn’t that at all. All these bands pulled a 100% effort in their sets, some were here for the first time and they provided exactly what the audience wanted to hear and see. Cody is a charismatic frontman, and the rest of the band comes off very professional. They provided a few surprises here and there, as well as, doing an 18 song set, plus a 10 song medley which is pretty darn good value on a Sunday night. Check it out this tour when it rolls into your city!
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