Punk rock on a Sunday night is the perfect way to end a gloomy day. The rain showers poured up until the doors opened at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The eager PUP fans who lined the building were able to dry off as openers Potty Mouth and illuminati hotties performed. Potty Mouth, a rocking female collective, were the perfect addition to an already stacked tour lineup. Not only did I feel personally represented, but I was inspired. To see a group of women not only on a tour like this, but absolutely killing it too, was a highlight of my night. Specifically, in punk rock music, you don’t see many women on stage or in the crew. This felt extremely special to me because the second opener, illuminati hotties, had a few women as well. Their performance was quite different from the first. The self-proclaimed “tenderpunk” pioneers were ambient and soft while maintaining their punk exterior.
Long awaited headliners, PUP, had stepped one foot on to the stage and the filled room erupted in applause. The Toronto-bred foursome performed songs off of their 2019 release, Morbid Stuff. Noisy and angry, the group stage jumped as crowd surfers alike crashed into the photo pit. As the lyrics echoed through the venue, fans chanted the lyrics and pressure built on the barricade. I didn’t find the experience to be all that morbid, as the album title suggests. PUP was the cherry on top of what was once just a gloomy night turned into something memorable.
****
By: Veronica Anderson | Exclusively for @Music, Why Not!
****