Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
Rams Head Live filled with a screaming crowd of fans for UK’s beautiful and talented Marina of Marina and The Diamonds! Most of the fans adorned little hearts on their cheeks drawn from eyeliner, emulating Marina’s adorable tattoo.
Marina’s set included unique outfit changes, dramatic lighting, creative set design, and some humor based around her puppy on tour with her, which turned out to be an adorable pink stuffed animal.
Marina is a powerful idol for her fans, with lots of her lyrics inspiring her audience to be empowered and take control of their sexuality and happiness. Her set was a great mix of hits from her recent album “Electra Heart” and her 2010 album “The Family Jewels”.
Marina and The Diamonds setlist:
- Homewrecker
- Oh No!
- Mowgli’s Road
- Lies
- I Am Not A Robot
- The State of Dreaming
- Power and Control
- Bubblegum Bitch
- Starring Role
- Obsessions
- Valley of the Dolls
- Sex Yeah
- Primadonna
- Shampain
- Hollywood
- Radioactive
- Fear and Loathing
Encore: 18. Teen Idle 19. How To Be A Heartbreaker
Opening for Marina and The Diamonds was an up and coming Swedish electronic pop duo, Icona Pop. You can currently find their hit single “I Love It” featured on popular TV shows.
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
To some people, the Friday after Thanksgiving means Black Friday shopping for great deals on holiday gifts. But this year, to All Time Low and their fans, friends, and family in the Baltimore area, it meant a packed Rams Head Live for an epic welcome home concert to the Baltimore native pop punk band! When All Time Low took the stage, the energy level went from 100 to 10,000! The moment Jack appeared on stage the tradition of girls throwing bras on stage started and the venue roared with screams and the lyrics to “The Reckless and The Brave.” There is no mistaking the hometown love this band gets! Alex dedicated “If These Sheets Were States” (one of the songs from their latest album, “Don’t Panic!”), saying this song expresses what it’s like to be without all of us in Baltimore while they are on tour. Looking around, you would notice some girls in the crowd crying, simply from being in the same venue as their favorite band. It is quite inspiring to see a hometown band make it big.
All Time Low setlist:
- The Reckless and The Brave
- Shameless
- Forget About It
- Damned If I Do Ya, Damned If I Don’t
- Coffee Shop Soundtrack
- Somewhere In Neverland
- Lost In Stereo
- For Baltimore
- Remembering Sunday
- Jasey Rae
- Poppin’ Champagne
- If These Sheets Were States (Pillowtalk)
- Therapy
- Time-Bomb
- Weightless
- Dear Maria
All Time Low shared the stage with three other great bands to create a great line-up of down to Earth punk/alternative bands.
The Summer Set
The Summer Set setlist:
- Intro
- Chelsea
- Must Be The Music
- Punch-Drunk Love
- When We Were Young
- Fuck You Over
- Young
- Legendary
- Someone Like You
- The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)
Hit The Lights
The Downtown Fiction
The Downtown Fiction setlist:
- Alibi
- Is Anybody Out There
- She Knows
- Thanks For Nothing
- Way Out
- Your Voice
- Happy (Without You)
- I Just Wanna Run
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
LIGHTS filled 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. with her amazing hits and had the crowd popping! The 25 year old Canadian star, Valerie Poxleitner, is just as charming in person as you see in her music videos. When listening to her recorded music, there is no denying that her voice is beautiful. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much more beautiful her voice is live! She is one of those rare artists where her live voice is better than her recorded voice – and that is a very good thing. Her lyrics and music speak to many age groups – from preteens to adults, her fan base spans across a broad spectrum. But the one thing her fans have in common is how much they adore LIGHTS. 9:30 Club was bursting with excitement and energy while LIGHTS was on stage – especially when she took her first step on stage for her set. It was no surprise that an array of colorful lights lit the stage for an artist named LIGHTS. She also had a microphone stand that lit up red during her performance of her numerous hits. LIGHTS is a must see artist – she has so much talent and it shows. Seeing her live is a guaranteed good time. Unfortunately after this tour, LIGHTS will be taking some time off from touring BUT it is a good thing because it’s so she can take time to write more music for us to enjoy!
LIGHTS setlist:
- Fourth Dimension
- Peace Sign
- Second Go
- Timing is Everything
- Siberia
- February Air
- Where The Fence Is Low
- (solo)
- Heavy Rope
- Heart of Glass (Blondie cover)
- The Last Thing On Your Mind
- Flux and Flow
- Suspension
- Toes
- Banner (encore)
LIGHTS shared the stage with Arkells, a Canadian rock band from Hamilton, Ontario. LIGHTS sung two duets with the lead singer of Arkells, Max Kerman – one during Arkells’ set and one during her set. The crowd at 9:30 Club was lucky to be graced with the Arkells’ presence that night, for the band had been invited to the Hamilton Music Awards. Thankfully they chose that D.C. was too important of a city to skip. Before taking the stage, they found out that they won two awards – “Songwriter of the Year” and “Rock Recording of the Year” both with their most recent album, “Michigan Left.” Listening to their album and seeing them live, there’s no surprise that they were awarded those two awards.
Arkells setlist:
- Michigan Left
- Book Club
- Ballad of Hugo Chavez
- Pullin Punches
- Kiss Cam
- On Paper
- You Make My Dreams ft. LIGHTS (Hall & Oates cover)
- Where U Goin
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
Brandy is back and she is here to stay! The R&B/hip hop star performed for a sold out crowd of loving fans at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD. Whether they were new fans or have been fans since her debut in 1994, everyone enjoyed being in Brandy’s gracious presence. Brandy rocked the stage dressed classily in all black and accessorized with a glamourous rhinestoned microphone. I am pretty sure I can speak for everyone that we are all glad Brandy is back! Make sure to check out her single “Put It Down” featuring Chris Brown!
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
Rams Head Live filled with “rock on” horns from fans of the post-grunge rock band, My Darkest Days. The night was filled with energetic hard rock bands – the openers were Otherwise, Surrender the Fall, and Sons of the Radio. After those three bands got the crowd’s adrenaline up, My Darkest Days took the stage and really put on an awesome climax to the evening. There would be no mistaking any of these five rockers for anything other than hard rockers! From Matt Walst’s voice to Sal Coz Costa’s spikey mohawk, you know you’re in for a rocking concert, and they didn’t disappoint. They’re so full of energy that they move and jump around the entire stage without losing a chord – they even managed to throw back a few shots from Matt without missing a beat.
My Darkest Days setlist:
- Sick and Twisted
- Save Yourself
- Move Your Body
- Again
- Stutter
- Perfect
- Every Lie
- Nature of the Beast
- Come Undone
- Casual Sex
- Save Me
- Porn Star Dancing
Otherwise
Surrender the Fall
Sons of the Radio
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
To start, congratulations to the bassist of Silversun Pickups, Nikki Monninger, on expecting twin girls! While fans miss her being on tour, Sarah Negahdair of The Happy Hollows does not disappoint as a fill-in bassist on the tour. The sold-out Rams Head Live roared with fans excited for the alternative indie rock band from Los Angeles to perform. Silversun Pickups fans said the show was absolutely amazing, and one could tell the fans were happy from the energy in the venue while the band was on stage. Their set included a good mix of their newer and older hits.
Silversun Pickups setlist:
- Skin Graph
- Royal We
- Bloody Mary
- Simmer
- Here We Are
- Little Lovers
- Mean Spirits
- The Pit
- Catch and Release
- Panic Switch
- Dots and Dashes
- Lazy Eye
Cloud Nothings
There was not much to enjoy about Cloud Nothings. The only thing to like of the indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio was a little bit of their long jam sessions. Their songs seemed to be never ending. Their song “Wasted Days” lasts for 8 minutes and 54 seconds – too long. There was also a lot of screaming in their music – not heavy metal screaming – screaming for dear life.
Atlas Genius
Atlas Genius was a great way to start the evening. This indie rock band from Adelaide, South Australia performed songs off their EP, “Through The Glass”. The crowd loved their performance, and they were great eye candy for the ladies. Atlas Genius seems very down to Earth; during their set they took a photo of the crowd on one of their phones and posted it online. They also met fans at their merch table after the performance.
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
Switchfoot kicked off their fall tour at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD on September 26th! The band said that Baltimore is a special place for them, and that before their show they stopped at Camden Yards to check out the Orioles game.
The band played hits from their latest album, Vice Verses, and some of their older hits. The light effects on this tour were extraordinary and the energy flowing through the venue from both Switchfoot and their fans was captivating. The lead singer, Jon Foreman, made sure to interact with everyone in the crowd. He did something I haven’t seen happen at Rams Head Live before – he went up to the second level and sang from over the balcony with a bunch of fans crowding around him. Near the end of their concert Jon also ran through the crowd on the bottom floor of the venue and high-fived everyone in his path. I love seeing band members connect with their fans in this manner, and it really enhances the concert experience for fans. I truly enjoyed shooting this concert; it was like a big arena rock concert put into a more intimate setting.
Switchfoot setlist:
- Afterlife
- Stars
- Dark Horses
- The War Inside
- Gone
- The Original
- Restless
- Your Love is a Song
- Dare You to Move
- Needle and Haystack Life / Hello Hurricane
- Vice Verses / Thrive
- Mess of Me
- Lonely Nation
- Meant to Live
Encore: 15. Where I Belong 16. The Sound
Review by Christa Settle
After seeing this viral hit by Psy hit the #1 spot on Spotify and #3 on iTunes currently, I felt the need to blog about it. I believe that this is one of the first times that an Asian pop single has reached so high up on the Top Lists in America. It may just be due to the viral dance craze that Psy’s music video of Gangman Style has taken on, but I see much more in this.
One of the reason why I love music so much is because it unites all of us. Not just in one country, but all over the world. I witnessed this when I homestayed in Japan back in 2008. With language barriers and cultural differences, it can be hard to communicate and bond with someone from another country. But the solution to this is music. Even though language barriers and cultural differences weren’t much of an issue between my host sister and I, I felt that I was really able to bond with my host sister and her classmates and friends through music. They knew the songs that were hits in America and knew a lot about our hottest musicians and bands, and they introduced me to theirs. Even if you don’t speak a language fluently or at all, music in another language still speaks to you. You can still feel the pain, love, happiness, etc. in a voice and in music. Music is an amazing tool. Japan has a lot of American artists that dominate their citizen’s iPods along with their own, and now I’m happy to see that music from another country is topping the charts in America.
My Japanese host sister posted this status on her Facebook the other day: “its funny watching my news feed, every one of my SILS friends(who literally are scattered around the world) mentions/likes a video of/put a picture of dancing ‘gangnam stylle’. guess you are the greatest, oppa PSY!! :D”. SILS stands for the School of International Liberal Studies at her Japanese university, Waseda University. The students in their sophomore year have to spend the year abroad and as she says, they are all scattered around the world. Yet the one thing that they all have in common right now in all the different countries is this song! That status once again reminded me of the power of music.
So what I have to say about this single is, thank you Psy, for making such an awesome viral song that is a worldwide hit!
I want to know, has anyone looked up a translation for this song in their language? I looked it up in English, and it is about a type of girl from a certain part of Korea. Here they are for your reference, courtesy of kpoplyrics.net
“Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that
I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style ah”
Trespass America is a first year festival coming from the minds of Five Finger Death Punch, featuring some big names in the metal scene, Pop Evil, Trivium, Killswitch Engage and Five Finger Death Punch themselves headlining.
Starting off the night was Emmure, I am not very familiar with their music, so really had noidea what to expect going into it. I was not a fan. I thought that they were an odd choice for this tour considering that their style of music is more rap biased than metal. They are not a band I would be excited to go see again.
Setlist:
1. Sunday Bacon
2. Children of Cybertron
3. Protoman
4. I Thought You Met Telly and Turned Me Into Casper
5. Dogs Get Put Down
6. Demons with Ryu
7. Drug Dealer Friend
8. 10 Signs You Should Leave
9. Solar Flare Homicide
Pop Evil is one of those bands that I always try to go see when they are in my area, they have a very powerful live sound and always entertain the crowed. Lead vocalist, Leigh Kakaty has relentless energy on stage, he does a great job of incorporating the audience into their set. Off the bat I noticed that something was different, guitarist Tony Greve was not accompanying them. I later found out that this was a recent development that Tony had left the band. This was a devastating hit as a band, he was a phenomenal guitarist, and a lot of fun on stage. Guitarist, Nick Fuelling stepped up to fill Greve’s shoes. Unfortunately, Greve has rather large shoes to fill and Fuelling really fell short for me. He just wasn’t as active in the band and his skills weren’t up to par with the rest of the band. I still strongly support this band and hope the best for them, but I hope they are able to incorporate Fuelling as a more cohesive part of their band.
Setlist:
1. Hero
2. Daisy Chain
3. Shinedown
4. Monster You Made
5. Epitaph
6. Boss’ Daughter
7. Last Man Standing
Trivium is a band I have always heard of and seen on larger tours, but I haven’t listened to much. Every time I have seen these guys, they exude confidence. while I haven’t heard too much of their music, I really enjoy their live set. Tonight was a bit different, there were some issues with the sound, and Hefty’s voice got lost behind the rest of the band. This was somewhat of an uppset for them.
Setlist:
1. In Waves
2. Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
3. Rain
4. Caustic are the Ties that Bind
5. Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis
6. Throes of Perdition
This was the band I came for, Killswitch Engage preforming once again with Jesse Leach. Once I heard the news that Leach would be rejoining Killswitch, I was ecstatic. He was by far my favorite singer for this band, his vocals are so smooth and his on stage performance was unmatched by the former / past lead, Howard Jones. Seeing Killswitch with their original lead singer was quite the spectacle, on stage the guys looked so refreshed and optimistic I think it was a real treat for not only the crowed but for the band too. They put on a phenomenal show, and I’m really looking forward to where they take it in the future.
Setlist:
1. Rose of Sharyn
2. Fixation on the Darkness
3. This is Absolution
4. No End in Sight
5. My Last Serenade
6. A Bid Farewell
7. Life to Lifeless
8. The End of Heartache
9. My Curse
10. Holy Diver [Dio cover]
Lastly was the masterminds of the whole festival, Five Finger Death Punch. I still associatethese guys as a “new band” even though they have been on the music scene going on 7 to 8 years now, it still amazes me that they are putting on their own tour and land main stage sets on large festivals. But it is well deserved. I will say these guys are constantly on tour or working on a new album I respect the amount of passion they have for what they sing about and are willing to put in the hours to get that done. That being said, their live performance is quite the spectacle, Lead Ivan Moody is such an animated in your face character on stage, I can’t help but to watch him most of the time. In addition, Jason Hook. He is such a talented and enthusiastic guitarist, the crowed absolutely loves them. The only issue I had, was I have seen it before, I have seen them about 3 times this year and every time was a similar set list, similar stage show. Its a great set, but it would be nice to see some variation. If you ever have doubts about them… don’t they are a force to be reckoned with.
Setlist:
1. Under and Over It
2. Burn it Down
3. American Capitalist
4. Hard to See
5. Coming Down
6. Bad Company [Bad Company cover]
7. White Knuckles
8. Far From Home
9. Never Enough
10. War is the Answer
Encore:
11. Remember Everything [Acoustic]
12. No One Gets Left Behind
13. The Bleeding
Emmure
Pop Evil
Trivium
Killswitch Engage
Five Finger Death Punch
Photographs and Review by Christa Settle
I was so excited to cover this tour! You couldn’t ask for a better line-up of bands together in one night. I’ve been a fan of The All-American Rejects since 2005, Boys Like Girls since 2008, and The Ready Set since 2010. Photographing these bands perform and interact with their fans really made me love them all so much more. I’m sure it’s the same for the rest of the concert attendees as well.
When The All-American Rejects perform, they really bring it all! Lead singer Tyson Ritter moves all around stage and really puts his whole heart into performing their music. He gets down on his knees, he wraps the microphone cord all around his wrist and arm, and he even lays down on the stage and belts out the lyrics to their hit songs “Dirty Little Secret”, “Move Along”, “Give You Hell”, and more! His energy on stage is amazing and his commentary to the crowd is entertaining. He told the crowd, “I’m scared of all these girls in the front row! Because behind all your excited eyes is a cold-hearted woman ready to harpoon a man’s dick off!” as he introduced one of his songs which he said was about taking that harpoon back. But Tyson doesn’t steal the whole show, there’s Nick Wheeler (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mike Kennerty (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Chris Gaylor (drums, percussion) and Matt Rubano (bass guitar) who are all full of amazing energy, often jumping in mid-air while strumming their guitars and just rocking out having a great time on stage performing for the fans.
The All-American Rejects setlist:
- Dirty Lil’ Secret
- Fallin’ Apart
- My Paper Heart
- Beekeeper’s Daughter
- I Wanna
- Walk Over
- Swing, Swing
- Mona Lisa
- It Ends Tonight
- Gonzo
- Move Along
Encore: 12. Kids In The Street 13. Heartbeat 14. Gives You Hell
This was my second time seeing Boys Like Girls live but my first time photographing them. Their set included songs from their recent EP, “Crazy World”, and of course all of their hit songs from their 2008 self-titled album, and their 2009 album “Love Drunk”. The best part of seeing Boys Like Girls live is how down to Earth they are! Their whole set is about connecting with their fans! They spend time between a few of their songs to talk to the crowd and interact with them. Martin Johnson, the lead singer of Boys Like Girls, climbed up on the guardrail and held hands with a bunch of excited fans. He walked along the guardrail from the middle of the crowd to the end of the left side of the crowd holding hands and singing right to the fans. Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Morgan Dorr (bass guitar, backing vocals) spend a lot of their time looking right into the eyes of many of their fans and pointing and waving to them. John Keefe (drums) also interacts as much as he can. John was the first one on stage, and he stared right at his fans while getting the crowd clapping for the rest of the band to join him on stage. They also invited one lucky girl to sing the female verses with them of “Two is Better Than One” which is sung by Taylor Swift on their album. The lucky girl was ushered on stage, given a mic and a stool and sang with Martin, while Paul recorded it all on the girl’s cell phone.
One of the greatest moments of the show was during the last song, “Love Drunk”, when Martin stopped the song and said: “We are here. I’m here. Paul is here, John is here, and Morgan is here. And you all are here. You could go home and see tons of videos and pictures of our performance, but we are all here now. So why watch this on your three inch screen now? So let’s all put down our phones and cameras and enjoy being here right now. Now, let’s try this again!” Then the band started “Love Drunk” over again. I couldn’t clap hard enough after he gave that speech. I completely agree with what he said, and I love that someone finally said it. Just about everyone put down their phones and cameras. It was an amazing last song. It felt like finally everyone was really there together. After Boys Like Girls finished their set, they took the time to come down into the pit for a while and meet their fans. They hugged, talked to, and took photos with their fans. It was amazing to see a band care so much for their fans.
Boys Like Girls setlist:
- Be Your Everything Remix
- The Great Escape
- Hero/Heroine
- Heels Over Head
- Be Your Everything
- Life of the Party
- Thunder (mixed with Some Nights)
- She’s Got A Boyfriend Now
- Two is Better Than One
- The First Time
- Love Drunk
The Ready Set started the night out right by hyping up the fans with his high energy and bubbly electronica pop hits. Jordan Witzigreuter, the singer/songwriter of The Ready Set, is a storm of energy on stage, as he constantly jumps and runs around the stage. His touring band members were full of energy as well, most notably the drummer, who whipped his long hair while drumming! His touring members are: Cameron Walker (guitar, backing vocals), Deryck Stanek (bass), and Travis Rountree (drums). Jordan puts his heart and soul into his music and performing for his fans. His lyrics are well thought out and easy to remember. He definitely had the crowd chanting his lyrics, especially to his hits like “Young Forever”, “Love Like Woe” and “Give Me Your Hand [Best Song Ever]”. Jordan added a fun rendition to his set of the viral internet hit “Gangnam Style” by Psy where Jordan got on the drums and played to the beat for a few minutes of the track. The fans loved this!
The Ready Set setlist:
- More Than Alive
- Young Forever
- Spinnin
- Killer
- Carry Me Home
- Gangnam Style
- Give Me Your Hand [Best Song Ever]
- Love Like Woe
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