While I can try to chalk it up to work trying to ruin my life, it just wasn’t in the cards for me to see Spiritbox. A few months prior to this, Everytime I Die called it quits after disputes between the frontman and the rest of the band. They were suppose to be on tour with Spiritbox supporting the headlining act, Underoath. I’m sad because I would’ve liked to have seen one of Danny’s favorite bands for the experience. I imagine it’s not easy witnessing a band you love break up like this. Maybe this concert just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it was cursed for both Danny and I. I’m hoping I’ll see Spiritbox back on tour soon as they’ve become wildly popular. Brain ‘Head’ Welch of Korn said he was a fan, and I hope that leads to a possible tour together because that would kill two birds with one stone for me.
Once upon a time, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to see Poppy as well. She was originally suppose to open for Gojira and Deftones in 2020, but well, we all know what happened there. Fast forward to 2021, Poppy announced she’d be leaving the tour with Deftones to headline her own tour. I eagerly looked up tour dates once they were announced, only to find that she was playing in NYC while I was going to be at Disney in October. Luckily, Covid was back to ruining fun for everyone during the fall season, and the tour got postponed to 2022. If I can’t see Poppy in NYC, no one can. The date Poppy was coming to the city was still problematic as 3/30 is right in the mist of year-end chaos at my job, but alas, I made it work.
I’m not sure how, but I managed to work a full day, get ready in less than a hour, head to Webster Hall on the train and make it there at 7pm for when the doors opened to the venue. I’m pretty sure I was running on adrenaline because I had only ate half of my burrito from lunch, but still felt fine and was somehow not tired at all during the night. It even took me a while to wind down when we got home, but I still eagerly got to work the next day at 7:30 in the morning. The things your body can do when you’re in survival mode is amazing.
This was my first time at Webster Hall. Ironically, I’ve been to a lot concerts in my life, but very few have been in NYC. So far, I’ve only been to Hammerstein Ballroom, Terminal 5, Gramercy Theatre, and Madison Square Garden. I’m not a fan of small, stand only venues because it’s claustrophobic being in a crowd when you’re as short as I am (4’11 to be exact). Fortunately, there is a balcony at Webster Hall and we were there early enough to snag a spot. I had clear view of the stage with no one in front of me, which made me super happy. It was also my first time since the pandemic that vaccination status wasn’t being considered to enter an indoor venue. I’ll admit, I’m still a little weary being in crowds in general because I’m so used to the restrictions now. I still wore my mask through the majority of the performance to be safe.
Mz Neon opened the show before Poppy took the stage. She’s a LA-based musician, originally from NYC, who uses her music to express her sexuality as a trans woman and challenge the misconceptions of those who identify outside of the binary gender spectrum. Her sound falls within the industrial hip-hop and hyperpop genres with a defying bass and a taste of rock elements. Neon’s lyrics are very bold, and not for judgmental snowflakes that are on the conservative side. I thought her songs Cop Fucker and Pussy Stick (like I said her lyrics are not for the faint of heart lol) were bangers live. Neon also had a strong presence live that made it difficult to take your eyes off the stage. I admire her for going up there for a half-hour, practically by herself, and completely owning her performance. I’m happy Neon is getting the chance to perform her music in front of receptive crowds during this tour. She was getting so much love from the crowd the entire performance.
Poppy. I learned about Poppy on YouTube when there was quite the viral buzz of her bizarre videos going around the community. Poppy’s videos showcased her as this android-like being, who spoke in a soft voice, in very strange scenarios, which were usually satirical commentary on social media culture. Out of curiosity, I visited her YouTube channel to discover she was also a musician. It was then, in 2017, that Poppy entered my musical atmosphere, and I fell in love with her song, Lowlife. Funny enough, her music back then was more bubblegum pop, but there was still a dark underlining element to her. If you watch her video for Lowlife, you will see her sitting in the same matter as the infamous Baphomet.
Her pop songs didn’t really speak to me, but I was still intrigued with Poppy nonetheless. It wasn’t until she released Scary Mask with Fever 333 that I realized she was transitioning to a new metal sound. That was the instance when my heart for Poppy exploded. It’s as if I was waiting for her to transform into her final form. “I wear my scary mask when I’m afraid I don’t belong.” I can relate. In 2020, she released I Disagree, and the album was perfect. It’s all I listened to that year. Poppy managed to mesh pop with heavy metal and industrial rock, while maintaining a duality to her performances and aesthetic that was both bubblegum and dark in nature. I was and still am obsessed with metal Poppy.
Poppy is amazing live. She skipped on to the stage as the band jammed to the beginning of Lessen the Damage, a song off her latest album Flux. After seeing Poppy in the flesh, I thought to myself, “mhm, she’s human after all.” She’s not as robotic as I would have thought given the character she has portrayed in the past. She was playful and having fun, all while screaming her head off later on in the song. Poppy is quite paradoxical. She’s adorable, but fierce. She’s edgy, but sweet. Poppy carries the “I’m cute, but have demons in my dreams” aesthetic well. She’s also quite stunning in person. I’ve always been in awe of her art pop style that is avant-garde and soft grunge. She’s less Powerpuff pastel pink these days, but I love seeing her dark side now including her return as a brunette.
I realized in that moment that I haven’t really seen many women live since I started going to concerts 20 years ago. All of my favorite bands are comprised of only men, and you don’t see many women in the metal scene. So far, I’ve seen Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless), Maria Brink (In This Moment), Amy Lee (Evanescence) and the ladies of BABYMETAL. I was sad to find out Brooklyn wasn’t on the women’s leg (as I call it lol) of Slipknot’s latest tour, which featured both In This Moment and Jinjer. Sadly, Jinjer had drop out of the tour due to the war currently ravaging their home country of Ukraine. As I said before, I’m hopeful I’ll see Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox soon.
Poppy played all my favorites… Scary Mask, BLOODMONEY, Concrete, Anything Like Me, All the Things She Said, and of course… I Disagree. Seeing some her newer songs like Lesson the Damage and As Strange as It Seems live made me appreciate her latest record more. Flux is a great album, but the loud and chaotic metal elements are toned down greatly this time around. However, lyrically, the album resonates with me more. So Mean, Her and As Strange as It Seems were all songs I really related to in the aftermath of leaving a bad relationship where I was left to reconcile all my anger, guilt, confusion, and lost sense of self.
Setlist:
1. Lessen the Damage
2. X
3. Scary Mask
4. BLOODMONEY
5. Concrete
6. Sit / Stay
7. Bleep Bloop
8. Flux
9. All the Things She Said (t.A.T.u. cover)
10. Her
11. Breeders
12. Stagger
13. CUE
14. Anything Like Me
15. Hysteria
16. As Strange as It Seems
17. Never Find My Place
Encore:
18. I Disagree
19. Bite Your Teeth
20. Say Cheese (tour debut)
The crowd below us was high energy and intense. So much moshing and chaos ensued down there that I was glad I was on the balcony LOL. It’s ironic because I’m a fan of heavy metal and the chaos, but I don’t like being in the actual madness. The crowd was definitely turnt up to the fullest. The Poppy chants. The singing along to the lyrics so loud that sometimes you couldn’t hear Poppy herself. When Poppy started I Disagree with her infamous Japanese lines, the crowd sang so loud that I thought the building was about to collapse. Even the vibrations of the crowd moving on the balcony scared me. Luckily, this was a younger, more liberal crowd. We didn’t have to worry about middle aged women telling us their whole life story. Like listen bitch, the only reason I left my house today was to see Slipknot, not to interact with any of you infestations.
Overall, the show was heavy, lively and so much fun! Poppy has a great band behind her, and the stage lighting effects throughout the concert reminded me of the classic Nine Inch Nail light shows. I also love how they effortlessly incorporated the now infamous clip of Will Smith yelling at Chris Rock to keep his wife’s name out his fucking mouth into the encore. LOL. I’m really thankful I got to see this show in the midst of all the craziness at work. It gave me the energy and euphoria I needed to power through stupid life, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to accompany me to the concert.
Concert season hasn’t ended yet! Just 47 more days until I see Slipknot take the stage in Brooklyn. I’m also hoping I’ll get lucky, and snag decently priced Deftones tickets for the show at Pier 17 in NYC. Stay tuned…
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