by Aja Landolfi, editor in chief
1,080 people sold out Irving Plaza in New York City on March 5th, to come together for a night filled with music. The tour everyone was there to see was Set It Off’s “The Fight For Something Tour.”
Opening the show was Saywecanfly from Canada, The Ready Set from Indiana, and Tonight Alive from Sydney, Australia. The headliner everyone was there to see was Set It Off.
Upon arriving at the venue the line to get in was super long. It went down the block and around the corner, but that’s to be expected at a sold out show. Doors opened at 6pm and the show started promptly at 6:30. This factor did upset some people, since the line was so long and the staff working for the venue weren’t working very fast or efficiently to get fans inside, many fans were let into the venue late and unfortunately the show started on time which meant that some people missed either part of or all of the first opening act’s set.
“It was my first concert so it was really exciting because I’ve never been to one before. I really liked the opening acts and the headlining band Set It Off because I’ve heard of the bands but I’ve never listened to them but after that night I will be listening to them. I also liked how they got the crowd involved,” sophomore Ivana Pitino said.
The first opening act was Saywecanfly. Braden Barrie stepped out on stage dress in a white button up shirt and black blazer with his acoustic guitar and traveling band. He played songs off of old albums like “Song of the Sparrow” and “The Distance That Took You Away.” He also played “When I Come Home,” “Darling,” and “Driftwood Heart” off of his new EP Darling, which came out on October 23, 2015. Barrie then finished off his set by singing a fan favorite “Intoxicated I Love You.”
At the bridge of the song it turns very angry and Barrie said, “Okay this is the angriest part of the song, so please if you know it sing it with us,if you don’t know it you’re going to learn it very quickly, it goes like this “I don’t love you and I never did, you’re just a number in my pocket so get the hell over it.”” The crowd screamed this line over and over again and Barrie didn’t stop until he heard everyone in the venue screaming the lyrics back to him.
Next up was The Ready Set (TRS). From the moment they stepped out on stage The Ready Set brought a crazy amount of energy with them. Lead singer Jordan Witzigreuter was jumping all over the stage and reaching out to connect with the fans who were dancing and singing along. Some of the songs they performed were “Higher,” “Give Me Your Hand (Best Song Ever),” “Hollywood Dream,” “Killer,” and a favorite fan throwback “Love Like Woe.” The Ready Set also played their newest single “Good Enough” which is going to be on their newest album “I Will Be Nothing Without Your Love” which is set to be released on April 8.
Tonight Alive was up next fronted by Jenna McDougall. The crowd went wild when they stepped out to the stage. Tonight Alive’s act got the fans ready, many people decided to start crowd surfing during the middle of their set. Some older songs they played were “Amelia” and “Lonely Girl.” They also sang the songs “To Be Free,” “Human Interaction” and “How Does It Feel?” off of their new album Limitless.
Finally it was the moment everyone was waiting for and Set It Off stepped out and took the stage. The band is made up of Cody Carson (singer), Max Danziger (drums), Dan Clermont (guitarist), and Zach DeWall (guitarist).
As soon as Set It Off stepped out on stage the crowd went crazy. None of the excitement and energy that was experienced from the crowd during the opening acts could be compared to the excitement of seeing Set It Off. The band’s arrival started a chain of events from mosh pits, to head banging, and even crowd surfing.
“The lead singer Cody Carson walking on people was definitely a big surprise but it added an extra flare to the concert. They were the last act and waiting for them was worth it! Jordan from The Ready Set was cute. Seeing Jenna from Tonight Alive was amazing because she is such an inspiration. I had a fangirl moment where I thought she looked at me. It was lit,” sophomore Christina Maldonado said.
Throughout their whole set Carson went absolutely insane. He was jumping into the crowd, and crowd surfing himself. At one point during the night he decided to jump up ontop of one of the speakers by the stage. Carson stayed there for a few minutes before standing up and standing on the crowd, while they all held him.
Once Carson was happy and finished singing on the crowd he yelled “Trust Fall” and fell forward onto the crowd, and tried to crowd surf back to the stage. However, this didn’t work as the fans weren’t able to hold him up and they gently dropped him to the ground. Instead of trying to rush back to the stage Carson stood in the middle of the crowd while everyone made a circle around him and finished the song. He then made everyone bring it in for the biggest group hug he has ever had.
Some of the songs they performed were “Forever Stuck In Our Youth,” “Bad Guy,” “Duality,” “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing,” “The Haunting,” and “Dream Catcher.”
Every member in the band made sure that they connected with the audience the whole show. Whether it was reaching out to hold hands, dancing, or getting the crowd to clap and sing along the band made sure that for the night their fans felt like family. This intimate connection left fans leaving the band with big smiles on their faces and not being able to wait until the next time they come to the city.
