Last night Albany natives, State Champs, came home to celebrate 10 years of their second LP Around the World and Back. The sold-out show and stout 100 person guest-list filled the room with beloved friends and family. It made for a high-energy, yet intimate experience.
Not only did the band scream through Around the World and Back in its entirety, but also boasted older pop-punk heavy hitters in an eight-song, ‘anti-encore’ post set, as frontman Derek DiScanio jokingly stated: “We hate encores.”
First off, Empire Live featured Richmond Virginia’s Broadside opening the show with explosive volume. Tension was high as their setlist teased fans on the sound board. Moments later the venue was packed between concrete columns, splitting the crowd back to each corner of the bar.
Frontman, Oliver Baxxter, came out in style, swinging as his rhythm section spun in harmony. With only a breath of space after the opener “I Think They Know,” the band intensified with “Heavenly,” and “Storyteller.” Banger-after-banger, as the kids would say. The set reached a peak with the bands popular “Coffee Talk.” The crowd was insane. Nostalgia was growing. Interesting enough, the band was named a Need To Know artist by Alternative Press back in (you guessed it!) 2015.
Things have a way of coming back full circle, don’t they? For State Champs playing small clubs and basements in their hometown made this show much more meaningful. The weight of 10 years of came crashing down in the forum of crowd surfers, fans jumping and those screaming each and every word. It was instantaneous: The second the band kicked off with “Eyes Closed.”
And to think we thought we made this place our home
You should know, I’m still wondering
Around the World and Back Set
The album has become a lost art in modern music. Punk rockers, State Champs, threw that out the window with the albums second track “Secrets.” Admittingly being one of the bands (and fan) favorites, the drum heavy track features intricate syncopation and driving kick drum from Evan Ambrosio. Fans were jumping even before Ambrosio’s hi-hat clicks and Tyler Szalkowski’s raging guitar. The album’s intensity grew as each song played. Little breaks in-between each burst of energy. We were all lost in a moment in time. All of us were connecting with the band, singing along, grasping onto that thing that made State Champs’ music so special to each and every one of us.
When you believed in me it brought us together
Everybody says that it won’t last forever
Close your eyes, don’t cut the ties, it makes sense
Lyrics from the album’s title track “Around the World and Back” are sprinkled throughout. Funny how themes of love, music’s overplayed motifs, eclipse into self-growth and discovery. Each moment, show, and festival played has all bled into this homage of coming home. Now proud of all you have accomplished. Although, it may still feel like yesterday, State Champs cut right through. They are precise and seasoned in their craft, yet humble and energetic as if Empire Live was the last show they would ever play. They are still hungry for more.
You pulled me in like a tidal wave
And let ourselves just float away
With no direction, or a way to rewind
The Band closed their 21-Track Setlist with throwbacks “Elevated” and “Remedy” of their debut album The Finer Things (2013). Newly released “Common Sense,” paired with “Mine is Gold” and “Light Blue” fused the State Champs catalog into a seamless sound. With more than half the crowd alleging to be Albany bred, and fans from the beginning, it was hard to diffuse veterans from those experiencing State Champs for the very first time. Family screamed every word backstage and others squished to the sound board as the pit grew and fell with peaks and valleys of the album. Shoulder to shoulder good-ole pop-punk energy, made it feel like State Champs still had something to prove.
There’s too many ways to say goodbye
But it’s quite the opposite this time
….We’re making history our history.
Don’t miss out: ATWAB Final Shows
State Champs have hand selected this special eight-show tour highlighting their hit record Around the World and Back, released October 16, 2015. “Okay so maybe it’s a little more than 10 years,” but it hits just as hard as it did when released. Don’t miss out as the band heads to Brooklyn Paramount this Friday, January 16 alongside Cartel, Real Friends and Broadside for a three-show run with this lineup. EPIC.
Friday Jan 16 – Brooklyn Paramount (State Champs Debut Headline)
Sat. Jan. 17 – House Of Blues Boston
Sun Jan. 18 – The Fillmore Philadelphia
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