Like many people, I only knew a couple of songs of State Champs before All Time Low's Future Hearts Tour this last spring. Out of the 4 sets I saw on the tour, they ended up being the rowdiest crowd and most fun (aside from the normal ATL fun). State Champs were smart in announcing "The Shot Boys Of The Summer" tour while ATL's tour was happening and it built up enough hype for me to buy a ticket to the Pittsburgh date of the tour.
Doors opened at 6, with the show starting at 7. The first band to go on was a band called Northbound. They were very successful in warming up the crowd for the night, seeing as most of the Altar Bar was already filled with teenagers and college students (aka. most of the pop punk fan base). Northbound played a good 25 minutes and then a band played named Let It Happen. They played about the same length and then the night really started to warm up.
Tiny Moving Parts was next up, and they didn't disappoint. This was the band that seemed to get everyone start moving. They blasted through a 30 minute set and didn't slow down for a minute. Right after their energetic performance, the main opener of the night started. If you haven't heard of Hit The Lights, you should take a listen soon. I have a feeling this band inches closer everyday to touring with the bigger names like The Story So Far. They played an amazing set and the crows was finally ready for the hour long performance for State Champs.
State Champs came out and immediately blew everyone out of the water with their song "Simple Existence". The crowd went absolutely crazy and the moshing began (Yes; at a pop-punk show). There was a lot of crowd surfing, moshing and thanking the other bands of the night (And my parents still don't understand). Seeing as the almost sold out crowd moved with the music for nearly 50 minutes, making everyone tired and very sweaty. The band ended with the song "Hard To Please". The crowd gave a final hard mosh, but when the band went off they wanted more. An encore was in place and they immediately came out and played both an acoustic rendition of "If I'm Lucky" and their hit "Elevated". A lot of the crowd sang the lyrics as they went off with one final bang.
If you have the chance, catch State Champs on this tour. They show so much potential and are sure to be a big player in the upcoming year. You can check out the remaining dates here and I linked their newest song and video below.