.png)
August 30, my friends and I set off on an adventure to Chicago to see Set It Off at the Subterranean. Not only was it my first time seeing Set It Off outside of Warped Tour, but it was also the first concert ever for my friend. So, we had high expectations for a fantastic show. Set It Off surely did not let us down. Opening for Set It Off was De'Wayne Jackson and Chapel.
De'Wayne Jackson
I went in to this show not expecting to like De'Wayne at all. His genre of music falls more in line with alternative rap, and I'm not a big rap person. However, De'Wayne pulled me in from his first moments on the stage and has gained a new fan. Wowie, the energy radiating off of him was insane. He was very energetic, it was hard to keep up with him. He seemed very humble and it was honestly adorable. The dance moves? Holy heck, did I love watching him dance on stage. Being a solo act, you would think it would be harder to keep up the hype and energy, but not for De'Wayne. He was very involved with the audience, even though many of us did not know his music. There was a point where the audience just could not stop cheering for him, and the genuine smile and happiness from him was contagious. I genuinely plan on listening to him more. I hope to see him again sometime soon. Please, go give him some love, his Twitter is linked below.
Chapel
I had seen Chapel previously with Pierce the Veil back in early 2017. So, I went in expecting pretty great things from Chapel this time around. They did not let down, yet again. The duo consist of Carter Hardin as vocals and guitar and Kortney Grinwis on drums. First off, these two are hilarious on stage. Kortney is so smiley and fun to watch, I adore her. I could honestly just watch her play drums for the rest of my life and be content. I stan her 100%. Then Carter, oh my boy Carter, had me dead. He spent at least a good five minutes just making noises into the mic that turned into Vine quotes. It was so funny. He also talked about the new show "Insatiable" on Netflix. Carter just had me dead with his random talking on stage. Then there was his killer dance moves. These bands were on fire with their dancing. Jokes and banter aside, the performance was incredible. I loved them the first time I saw them and loved them even more after this show. I see them going far in the future. Show these two some love, they deserve it! I linked their Twitter below.
Set It Off
Wowie, Set It Off! Boy do they know how to put on a show. The last time I saw them was Warped Tour 2016, so the crowd was massive and there was only so much the band could do. This time, the crowd was smaller, it was a smaller show, and there was no barricade. The band took full advantage of the lack of a barricade and interacted with the crowd like crazy. At least once a song, Cody Carson would interact with someone in the crowd in some way, either taking phones and recording himself or the crowd on fan phones, holding hands, singing to fans directly, letting fans sing, or even crowd surfing or stage diving. It was insane. I wish more artists did this at shows, they definitely set a high bar. The boys were all just full of energy and you can just tell that they love what they are doing and care for their audience. Then there is the fact that they took the time to meet us after the show and take the time to actually talk to us. It was not just a quick picture and go, it was actual conversations. I always appreciate when bands take time to talk to fans. It was even nicer that they met with us since they were being told they were suppose to leave, yet they just moved some and still met with whoever was there. Between Dan's brilliant smiles, Cody's interactions, Maxx's killer drumming, and Zach's random "I'm too tall for this stage" moments, Set It Off knows how to put on a show and keep the audience's attention. I will try my hardest to NEVER miss another Set It Off show in Chicago, their show was that fantastic.
I would 100% recommend seeing all these bands. They all know how to put on a show and are kind to their fans. I hope to be seeing them all again in the future. Check out all their Twitters below and give them some love.