Daisy Grenade Sell Out Brighton Music Hall and Leave No Doubt About Where Pop Punk Is Headed
Daisy Grenade walked into Brighton Music Hall on Tuesday night carrying the weight of a statement they'd made just days earlier at their Warped Tour debut. Standing on one of punk's most storied stages, the duo had addressed the festival's long-documented issues head on: “Predatory and abusive behavior has been tolerated by this scene for far too long. We want to acknowledge the harm that has been done, while simultaneously showing you what the future of this scene looks like."
Tuesday night at a sold-out Brighton Music Hall showed us what that future looks like.
Brighton has a tendency to oversell, and this was one of those nights where the back of the room by the merch table was as packed as the floor. Nobody seemed to mind. The crowd that filled every inch of that venue had come ready to headbang and scream along.
The duo, Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittaker, don't play instruments on stage, leaving the shredding to their band, who were more than up to the task and entertaining in their own right. What Dani and Keaton bring is harder to manufacture: dual vocals that don’t compete with each, and somehow sound better in a live setting than on the record. They also carry a stage presence that makes a packed room feel like it's being performed to personally. “How to Hide a Body" was the certified highlight, a banger that had the entire floor headbanging in unison and hit harder live than I thought it would.
The setlist drew heavily from So Much to Say, their third EP released just last month, covering every track from the new record. Among the night's most entertaining moments was “Emily," which continues the band's tradition of pulling an Emily from the crowd, fitting them with bunny ears, and having them dance onstage with the band. Tuesday's volunteer was a particularly enthusiastic guy whose commitment to the bit had the room in stitches.
A cover of No Doubt's “Hella Good" was another highlight. Everyone in the room knew every word, and the choice felt pointed in the best possible way from a band making a very deliberate statement about women's place in this scene.
Between songs, they didn't shy away from addressing the moment. “The world really sucks right now. Let's scream about it" was one of the more honest things said from a stage this year. They also spoke about their recently released short film, an 18-minute project that ties together every track on the new EP into a single cohesive story. It’s co-directed by Nigro and Whittaker on two of the tracks, with female directors brought in for the rest. After asking the crowd how many had seen it, and casting some good-natured jabs at those too afraid to raise their hands to admit they hadn’t yet, they landed on some good advice everyone in the room should take to heart:
“Go make art that means something to you. If it means something to you, that's enough. That's how you change the world."
For a band this early in their run selling out Brighton Music Hall on a Tuesday night, it doesn't feel like advice they need to take themselves. They're already doing it. And they’re doing it at full speed.
Visit daisygrenade.com for upcoming tour dates.
DAISY GRENADE SETLIST:
A Beautiful Woman Is A Weapon, I Guess That's Why They Call Her A Bombshell
Got It Bad
Are You Scared Of Me Yet?
Don't Sweat It
Emily
Rent To Own
How to Hide a Body
Hella Good (No Doubt cover)
Cult Classic
Real Horror Show
Good Luck (Wish You Hell)
It Must Be Me
So Happy
Guts
Girls Are So Lucky
Riot
Sick in the City
Encore: Hypocrite
