Dead Poet Society Concert Review Archives

Highly Suspect with Dead Poets Society Concert Review
February 28, 2023
The Castle Theatre
Bloomington, Illinois

Highly Suspect returned to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois on Tuesday, February 28th. They sold out The Castle Theatre again. The band was here in 2017 and sold out that show as well. We know from research that listening to live music increases endorphins and serotonin. Tuesday is as good a night as any to get those good brain chemicals at a live show. Live music is probably as good if not better for boosting your mood. The winter is dragging on in central Illinois. Most of the locals had work the next day but are old pros at going to bed late and getting up early.

Opening for Highly Suspect was Boston rock band, Dead Poet Society. The band formed while band members were attending Berklee College. The band consists of vocalist, Jack Underkofler, guitarist, Jack Collins, drummer Will Goodroad, and bassist Dylan Brenner. You may have heard their song “CoDA.” on Spotify’s Dirty Rock playlist. The band was unassuming with a simple, four-piece stage set up. No certain style in their clothing as they wore generic jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. The music was all over the place. Each live song sounded different from the song before it. There were punk undertones with a Deftones feel and then some math rock breakdowns. The crowd really enjoyed their set. For fans of cleopatrick, Franz Ferninand, and just creative rock. You can learn more about Dead Poet Society on their website: wearedps.com

DEAD POET SOCIETY

Grammy winners, Highly Suspect, is touring in support of their fourth studio album, The Midnight Demon Club. The album was released on September 9, 2022. While some critics say the album is not as strong as their previous albums. I think that The Midnight Demon Club is one of their best albums. Some of the songs are more electronic but still rooted in great guitar riffs and poetic lyrics. The single, “Natural Born Killer”, reached number one on U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. The video is a statement on pharmaceuticals with an avant guarde harbinger of death with ice cream cones of drugs to help people cope with their life traumas.

Highly Suspect squeezed onto the stage at The Castle Theatre. Their backdrop was Highly Suspect in dripping paint and an awesome artwork to go along with The Midnight Demon Club song list. Unfortunately a lot of the artwork was covered by the light bars behind the band. Regardless, we were there to listen to the music and get our fix of Serotonin.

The band took the stage on time and wore unique t-shirts and jeans and some MCID gear. Vocalist, Johnny Stevens, was wearing a Selena t-shirt. They started the night with Bath Salts. Their setlist consisted of old and new songs. The fans knew every new song off of The Midnight Demon Club. The album is so catchy. If you listen to it, next thing you know you’re singing the lyrics,

“I-I hate myself
But I’m loving this
Yeah, I could never fix my shit
But I’m so good at judging it”

Rich Meyer took over the vocals when performing the song “Arizona” acoustically. His voice is amazing. The song sounded so sad that you wanted to hold your lighter in the air and just feel the song. During “Claudeland”, Johnny lit up a cigarette so we knew it was the final song.

The full setlist:
Bath Salts
Mom
Bloodfeather
23
Canals
Ice Cold
Natural Born Killer
Midnight Demon Club
Arizona
Serotonia
Human
Lost
For Billy
Lydia
Claudeland
—————–
encore

Look Alive, Stay Alive
Pink Lullabye

In many ways, Highly Suspect is one of the true bands who are pushing the envelope of rock in a place of their own. They are not doing what everyone else is or trying to get more views or go viral. They are artists lyricizing our fears, pointing out what’s f*cked up, and feeling the heartache of lost loved ones. Their live show never disappoints and you should see them if you can.

You can find out more about Highly Suspect on their website:
HighlySuspect.net

Highly Suspect

sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-12135590

Badflower Concert Review with Dorothy and Dead Poet Society
August 19, 2021
Illinois State Fair Grandstand
Springfield, Illinois

Badflower Tour 2021

The Illinois State Fair has always brought in great acts and this year was no exception. The lineups included, Sammy Hagar (which unfortunately was cancelled due to weather), Kane Brown, I Love The 90s Tour, Bret Michaels, and George Thorogood. Badflower with Dorothy and Dead Poet Society appeared on Thursday, August 19th.

It was a hot and humid Midwest day. The weather did not keep the fans away. In addition, the fair also tested fans for Covid prior to entry if they were not previously vaccinated. The future of live shows are going to be through vaccination or testing requirements. They also had a free vaccine tent for those who wanted it. Badflower has already gained diehard fans who traveled from far and wide just to see them. I had previously seen them live at Spring Fling in Peoria, Illinois in 2019 at their set right before headliners, Incubus.

Dead Poet Society began the night. They are a rock band from Boston, Massachusetts who met while at Berklee College of Music and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The band consists of vocalist Jack Underkofler, guitarists Jack Collins, bassist Taylor, and drummer Will Goodroad. I was pleasantly surprised by their ethereal sound which was similar live to Badflower but their sound also reminded me of Royal Blood. They had a short set but it was filled with quality, catchy songs. The band had previously toured with Badflower and a lot of their fans were fans of both. Learn more about Dead Poet Society on their website.

Dead Poet Society

Dorothy was the second band to take the stage. I have heard Dorothy before on the radio and in commercials. I was looking forward to seeing them live for the first time. The hard rock band is from Los Angeles, California. Dorothy consists of vocalist Dorothy Martin, drummer Jason Ganberg, guitarists Devon Pangle and Eli Wulfmeier, and bassist Eliot Lorango. Their album, ROCKISDEAD, catapulted them into fame and features hard rocking songs like “Missile”, “Wicked Ones” and “After Midnight”. Their second album, 28 Days in The Valley, was co-written and produced by Linda Perry.

Vocals started off kind of strained but probably attributed to the humidity and the dust in Central Illinois. As the evening went on, Dorothy Martin sounded phenomenal and is a band that you do not want to miss. What you probably do not realize is the whole band is very talented. I was in awe of guitarist, Devon Pangle and his amazing playing. Dorothy asked the crowd about their life goals. She talked about surviving addicition and admitted she was addicted to Xanax for ten years, she is an alcoholic and almost died twice. She reminded us that if she can make it, then we can too. The band played “Medicine Man”. Dorothy announced their new album will be call Gifts From The Holy Ghost. For more about Dorothy go to their website here: https://dorothyonfire.com/

Dororthy

Badflower is a band was formed in Los Angeles, California. When I had previously seen Badflower and at the time, I did not understand their appeal. I was not familiar with them at all. Then, I started listening to their music and it hooks you. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Josh Katz, lead guitarist Joey Morrow, bassist Alex Espiritu and drummer Anthony Sonetti.

There have been comparisons of Josh Katz to Kurt Cobain. I did not understand that comparison until seeing them tonight live. His lyrics are a brutally honest dialog in the head of a generation. He can say these things in a poetic way with a passion that is soul-stirring and emotive. You probably have heard Badflower songs like “The Jester” and “Ghost” on the radio but you need to listen to “Family”, “Daddy” and “30” to really gain an understanding of the genius that is Badflower.

The band started the night with “Soap”, “Drop Dead”, and “30”. Josh Katz’s voice starts with a beautiful falsetto and in the next moment will blow you away with powerful screams. The die-hard fans in the audience were treated to the live debut of “Don’t Hate Me” as well as a new song that was just released while the band was on stage “F*ck Boi”.

Josh asked the crowd who had seen the band before and about half the crowd said they had not seen them before. He joked that you may have though they were bigger based on their radio play but you were just getting in on them early. It is always good to know a band before they get too big to afford their shows.

Their website: Badflower. You can pre-order their album This is How The World Ends that is out on September 24th. You can also see them on their remaining tour dates.