Concerts I've Seen in 2025 (So Far)

No intro paragraph I've seen a lot of good concerts this year and I wanna talk about them lmao. I have tickets to a few more upcoming shows that I'll be updating this blog with as I go to them.

Dropkick Murphys
Openers were Teenage Bottlerocket and The Menzingers. Teenage Bottlerocket was straight punk, high energy and fun but not super my style, and The Menzingers were more like sad indie punk. I would have absolutely been crazy into The Menzingers if I had discovered them in like 2017 as opposed to in 2025. Dropkick Murphys was excellent, I've been into them for years and their live performance was everything I was hoping it would be. Such a good show 10/10 would see them again. Bonus points for opening with Captain Kelly's Kitchen, which is one of my two favorite songs from them.

Ninja Sex Party
Opener was TWRP, who I got to see last year when they toured with Magic Sword! I love TWRP and their second performance was even better than their first. They're like funky rock with fun synth hooks, and they continued to play with NSP after their set had ended. Ninja Sex Party was also awesome, another band I had been into for years prior. They're another kind of funky comedy rock group, and the two bands played off of each other very well. The show had a comedy routine aspect to it that was fun and added to the music performances. I enjoyed the mid-set Korn tribute. If you ever get the chance to go see an NSP and TWRP show, do it. Seriously. Well worth walking a mile in the rain to and from my car. I got like one super blurry pic from the end because they didn't allow phones during their show except the encore.

Pierce The Veil
Openers were Daisy Grenade and Sleeping with Sirens. This was by far the largest concert I have ever been to. I unfortunately missed Daisy Grenade due to the INSANE traffic on the way to the venue that tripled the drive time, but I did at least catch the back half of Sleeping with Sirens. Sleeping with Sirens had been on my periphery for a while, a lot of my friends were super into them growing up, and I'm glad to have gotten more acquainted with their work. A favorite song of mine from their set was Bloody Knuckles. Pierce the Veil was super good, another band that I knew about but had never gotten into. I really enjoyed the songs they played from their new album, and I'm excited to sink my teeth into the rest of their discography.

ONE OK ROCK
Opener was Stand Atlantic, which had made the strongest impression of any opening band I've ever seen. They're an Australian pop punk group, and they really knew how to work a crowd. A few favorite songs from their set were WARZ0NE, SEX ON THE BEACH, and KISSIN' KILLER COBRAS. Instant additions to my playlist. ONE OK ROCK was incredible. I had heard a few of their songs in the past (Vandalize, Delusion:All, and Neon) but hadn't fully gotten into them. They're a Japanese rock group with a similar vibe to Stand Atlantic, and they had this super cool light and video setup that I really enjoyed. Standout songs from their set were C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y and Make It Out Alive. 

Justice
Opener was The Flints. They kinda had a 2010's indie sound that reminded me a bit of Tame Impala. They were pretty good, but not my flavor. I don't really have a lot to say about them beyond that, as I was a little late to the show and missed a lot of their set. Justice was EXCELLENT. The entire show was one unbroken set with seamless transitions between all of their songs, and a crazy laser light show to match. I think this is the best concert I've seen all year, which, considering some of the previous shows, is impressive. Their encore was a lot longer than I was expecting, more akin to a second set than a quick few extra songs. I picked up a vinyl of their newest album at the show that I'm very excited to listen to. Another must see if they're nearby. 

Bear Ghost
Opener was Spaceman Bob, who I'm not 100% sure how to describe. Like space themed party rap? They were really fun, I enjoyed their blacklight-centric costume choices and they had a lot of really fun crowd interactive parts. I got to talk to them at the merch booth after the show and both members of the group are really cool! I hope they have fun with the rest of the tour. Bear Ghost was pretty good, they played like all of my favorite songs during their set which was a nice surprise. The lead singer's family had flown in to watch them perform so he had to censor all of the songs with swears in them (for the kid) which led to some fun audience jokes. As part of the encore they invited a couple people onstage to sing the song (Sirens) while they did instrumentals and it was such a blast everyone was so hyped up.

The Mountain Goats
Opener was Craig Finn. He had a sort of folky story song vibe to him that wasn't really my flavor, but I still liked him because I kind of just end up liking most musicians I hear perform live, even if I don't end up listening to them afterwards. The Mountain Goats were EXCELLENT. They played a wider variety of songs from across their discography, and it was nice to hear a lot of their older tunes. They did not play Rain in Soho, but they did play Sax Rohmer #1, so I did still end up crying a bit lol. The crowd was super nice and super into it, too. Personal favorite songs from their set were Let Me Bathe in Demonic Light, The Young Thousands, Sax Rohmer #1, The Grey King and the Silver Flame Attunement, and Bones Don't Rust. They concluded with No Children, which is such an incredible song to hear live.

Upcoming:

Hozier
These tickets just fell into my lap??? I'm not like a massive Hozier fan but I'm really looking forward to seeing him live, I heard his shows are excellent.

Stand Atlantic
This time as the headliner! I'm very excited :3 Daisy Grenade is the opener and I'm so excited to get a second chance to see them perform.

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Mood: Tired
Listening to: THE WORLD REVOLVING - Toby Fox
Reading: Witches Loving Werewolves - Ela Bambust
Watching: Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)
Playing: Deltarune
Eating: Snickerdoodles
Drinking: Water