I have seen Pop Evil a few times. Once here in Colorado and then at least 2 other times at festivals. They have always put on a good show, and they have so many good songs. I was interested in going when I heard they were coming back To Colorado. What was even better was they were going to play in Colorado Springs which meant it wasn’t as far to travel. However, even with all that said I wasn’t sure I was going to go. Since Jess and I bought a house this year, we had to cut back on some concerts, and this was looking like it was going to be one that was going to be cut. Then 2 weeks before the show the local radio station was giving tickets away all week. That Monday they started giving them away I tried to win them but was unsuccessful. The following day when they were giving them away again, I was able to get through the phone line but I had to answer a question about Pop Evil to actually win the tickets. The question was how many original members are still in Pop Evil. I had no Idea and guessed based on the info Jess found on google. I said “1”? The DJ told me no but gave me another guess so I said “3”. She tells me that I am wrong again but was willing to give me another guess, that’s when I said “2” and she told me that was correct. She must have been in a really good mood that day or didn’t want to deal with a bunch of people, either way I was thankful she gave me so many chances.
The day of the show I was hoping to get a good spot, so we left early and got to the venue around 2:30. We were the first ones there. Just after we parked, we saw the radio station dropping off the singer and drummer. We had heard them on the radio on the ride up. We were still in the car so we weren’t able to ask them for any pictures. Since we were the first ones there and had a front row spot we sat in the car for a bit since it was hot out and I was trying to let my phone charge. We watched a lot of people pull up but most were dropping food off. So, we stayed in the car then all of the sudden this car pulls up and this lady gets out and her husband runs around and grabs her stuff and takes it to the front of the line. I was a little annoyed but didn’t say anything. The lady had a walker, so I just let it go and didn’t say anything to her since technically we weren’t in line. After that Jess and I got in line behind her as we didn’t want others to come and get in front of us as well. We stood there and made friends with that lady who was in front of us. I think we were there for about an hour when the clouds rolled in and it started raining then hailing on us. We had umbrellas and it wasn’t coming down that hard so it wasn’t a big deal. Then around 4 I decided to walk up the street to grab some food. On my way there it really started raining hard. By the time I was walking back it was still running hard and the streets were starting to flood. I think it was about 15 minutes after I got back that it stopped. Once it stopped raining more people started showing up and got in line with us. There was one couple that was behind us and they were really drunk. It was a little entertaining watching them. They were part of the VIP group that the radio station also gave tickets away too. However, they were so drunk and obnoxious when they went in for the VIP they ended up getting kicked out within 5 minutes. I was ok with that since this meant less people we had to compete with to find a good spot on the rail. Once they let us in security searched me and ended up finding a couple shooters I had on me. I just played dumb though he and I both knew what I was trying to do sneaking them in. It wasn’t a big deal and after that they let us in, and we were able to get a spot on the rail right where I was hoping to be. Once we had our spot, Jess went to get merch and grab us a drink. I think it was within about 30 minutes that the first band hit the stage.
The opening band was Lava Gato, they were a local band from Colorado Springs. I had never seen them before, but they were entertaining. They engaged with the crowd and the guitarist was fist bumping people. The bassist was getting the crowd to mosh around behind us. They had a heavy sound to them and I think they did a good job warming the crowd up for the next 2 bands. I managed to get a pick from the guitarist at the end of their set.
Lines of Loyalty was the next band that played. This was another band that I had never heard of before that night. They had a hard rock sound to them, and they were also entertaining. Though I don’t remember them engaging with the crowd as much as the opening band. Though they were good, not sure I would go see them again unless they were opening up for another band I was already going to see. I will say that it was cool watching the singer/guitarist play his guitar behind his head. I also managed to get the set list from them.
Pop Evil came out playing Paranoid one of their newer songs. When they hit the stage of course the place went crazy. Though the crowd wasn’t as crazy as they were for the opening band where they were encouraging pits to start. Though I feel like Pop Evil isn’t really a pit type of band. This didn’t stop everyone from dancing and singing along to almost all of their songs. They played a total of 17 songs even though their set list only shows 16. During their encore they dedicated 100 in a 55 to the local radio station. They also changed the lyrics to 45 in a 100 since it was the radio station was celebrating 45 years of rock. They not only changed the words slightly, but they also played it as a slower version of the original song. I would have preferred to have heard the original version, but I was just glad they added this song to their set list. The singer and the bassist along with the rhythm guitarist were really engaging with the crowd. The singer talked to the crowd and tried to get them to engage. The bassist and the other guitarist were tossing out picks left and right. The lead guitarist, not so much. He actually didn’t make much eye contact with us in the crowd and he was stingy with his picks. I don’t know why some people in bands are like that. I still managed to get 3 picks. All of them were handed to me from security. I even managed to get the set list from them. The security guy who caught me trying to sneak in shooters was the one who gave me the set list. I told him how much I appreciated that and he told me no problem then went on to say next time I want to sneak shooters in just take them before I go in. I laughed and told him ok. As always, all and all Jess and I had a good time. Of course if I get the chance to see Pop Evil again I probably will.
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