Where Has My Friend Gone? To The Home Team!
After sitting hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic you enter Sacramento, California. The sun has set and the headlights turn on and you feel that pre-show excitement running through your veins. You get to the Ace of Spades to see the line for general admission wrapping around the block. The humid heat brushes your face as you exit the car and go stand in line for what feels like an eternity for the doors to open. This is what many fans felt on the November 7, 2025.
MAKARI
Makari comes out onto the stage, fans stand still as the room becomes full of stagnant air and heat. Some fans scream and shout, others waiting with anticipation for what’s to come. They kick off the set with their song “Transient” and the crowd starts to feel the vibe that’s being set.
Makari played a total of seven songs and during their set many fans shouted the words and other attendees became fans. It was a huge performance and they excelled in the spotlight raining down on them. The opening act didn’t feel like an opener, they felt like their own headliner–which is the tone for The Crucible of Life tour. Makari wraps up their set and the fans chant “one more song…one more song!” Instead they watched the band disassemble their set and sing to the music playing over the PA system.
ARROWS IN ACTION
Shortly after Makari got off stage, you stood in the crowd, people watching. Vic Viramontes, lead singer of Arrows in Action, takes stage to tune and set up the rest of their stage and the fans on the barricade go nuts. He checks his microphone and the fans yell in excitement.
Before their set Arrows In Action played a little conversation piece prior to coming out on stage. It gets a solid laugh from the crowd that turns into cheering as they walk on one at a time. First, Vic, then Jesse Fremmel (drums), and lastly Matthew Fowler (guitar).
Their set opens with a newer release “Empty Canvas” and the crowd immediately becomes fully invested into their set. As they play through their set you hear their pop/emo-based music and start to become enamoured with the aesthetic of their sound — all until the band starts the intro riff to their controversial song “All The Ways I Can Die.”
The song became controversial due to its topic of depression. The band said during the song’s release that their manager was “very hesitant to have the song recorded and on the setlist,” little did they know this song would become a hit and accrue over 14 million streams just on Spotify alone.
Arrows concluded their set with “Cheekbones.”
THE HOME TEAM
Lights dim. The crowd goes silent. The Home Team takes the stage. Opening their set with “Turn You Off” then immediately transitioning into “Brag” & “Hell”. The fans went crazy the whole set, singing, dancing, head banging.
The Home Team played the majority of their newly released album “The Crucible of Life” which accelerated them into this sold-out tour. The album features many relatable topics of love, heartbreak, reassurance, etc with catchy melodies and choruses. The band has accrued over 259 million streams over their 12 year career.
Brian Butcher, vocalist, dominated the stage with, as Jesse from Arrows In Action says, “his sexy little dances” which made the crowd move. Brian’s ability to command the crowd and his stage presence is by itself amazing to watch, however, is only amplified by John (guitar) and Ryne (bass) doing their synchronized dances, spins, jumps, and movements.
The band shot for the stars with this tour and has a 20-song setlist for their set which runs about an hour and a half long. The set list features their top hits and older songs such as “Slow Bloom”, “Walk This World With Me”, Roommates”, & “Love & Co.”
The band played their slower song, titled “Rat Queen” which featured Matthew Fowler of Arrows In Action. This feature truly showed fans how much these two bands enjoy each other which radiates this energy into the crowd.
The Home Team concluded their set with their hit song that has achieved 14.6 million streams on Spotify, titled “Worthy”. The energy was electric even at the very end of their show, which says a lot of this band’s fan base and stage presence.
THE HOME TEAM SETLIST
Aces of Spades, Sacramento, California (11/7/2025)
Turn You Off
Brag
Hell
Overtime
Right Through Me
Roommates
Honest
Love & Co.
She’s Quiet
Fashion Forward
Love When You’re Used
All Squeezed Out
Rat Queen (feat. Matthew Fowler)
Walk This World With Me
Slow Bloom
Somebody Else’s Face
Watching All Your Friends Get Rich
Loud
Danger
Worthy
FINAL THOUGHTS
While this is the first time RØKKR has covered a Home Team show, this is my second time seeing them within the year. I watched them open for Dance Gavin Dance on the 27th of June in Wheatland, California.
During that show, many fans including myself were experiencing them for the first time and felt like they should’ve headlined that show. The Home Team is a band that is tenacious and has been on the road the majority of the year, yet they don’t lack the energy. They bring the energy up to 11 every time they hit the stage and I believe that they deserve the success they have received. This band is fighting to be the top and I truly believe they will achieve that.
As far as the tour, Sacramento was their second show this tour and it may be too early to tell but I’m predicting that the consensus of this tour will be “Worthy” of great reviews. The set design incorporated their album art for “The Crucible of Life”, the lighting was great, the mix was amazing, and you can feel the care and love they put into this tour. Apart from being an established fan of this band I will say I believe we are witnessing The Home Team make pop-rock good again.
In conclusion, I think if you are a fan of the band and the show in your city/town is sold out it's worth the shot to try to find a resold ticket to experience this lineup and show. It felt so—refreshing to see a band take control of the time allotted and come swinging with a long setlist and making it the best experience possible.
Rating 9/10
