Indianapolis, IN. – It was Friday night and Old National Centre was the place to be when local radio station 93.9X presented HIGHLY SUSPECT with opening act DEAD POET SOCIETY.
First up was Southern California based DEAD POET SOCIETY featuring Jack Underkofler (lead vocals, guitar), Jack Collins (guitar), Dylan Brenner (bass) and Will Goodroad (drums). Originally formed in Boston, MA. and coming out of Berklee College of Music, DEAD POET SOCIETY is definitely making a name for themselves in the ROCK genre. After releasing several singles and a few extended plays, they finally released their debut album, ! (a.k.a. The Exclamation Album) via Spinefarm Records. Rumor has it they are set to release their sophomore album sometime in 2023 and we can’t wait. If the next album sounds anything compared to what we witnessed Friday evening, it won’t take long for DEAD POET SOCIETY to become a household name. Not only did they get fans in the room before the main event, they filled the room and kept those fans engaged for the whole 45 minute – raising the energy to epic levels. If you are not familiar with this band, make sure to get them on your radar.
After a brief change over of the stage, it was time for the main event. You could feel the anticipation and a quick look around the Egyptian Room saw it filled to the back. Talking with fans before the show, most were super stoked to be seeing HIGHLY SUSPECT and the overall consensus seemed to be the band hadn’t been through Indy much and the fans were ready. And were they ever…from the moment band members Johnny Stevens (lead vocals, guitar), twins Rich Meyer (bass, backing vocals) and Ryan Meyer (drums, backing vocals), Matt Kotos (guitar, synthesizer) and Mark Schwartz (guitar, synthesizer, keyboard) hit the stage, the fans were either cheering or singing or both. Frontman Johnny Stevens started the show by first stopping and taking it all in, then bowing to the crowd before hugging all his band mates – you knew right then it was going to be a good night!
The band kicked it in full throttle opening with songs from their 2015 debut album, Mister Asylum before getting into tunes from their most recent studio album, The Midnight Demon Club (out now via Roadrunner Records/FRKST.) You could tell the band was having fun on stage and the crowd was eating it up. This was the 2nd to the last night of the ICE COLD WINTER TOUR and the guys made sure to give it all – leaving the crowd with a solid 90 minute set that not only highlighted the new material, but hit all the fan favorites (with the exception of MCID’s popular “16“).
SETLIST: INDIANAPOLIS
- BATH SALTS
- MOM
- BLOODFEATHER
- 23
- CANALS
- ICE COLD (JOINED ON STAGE BY JACK UNDERKOFLER OF DPS)
- NATURAL BORN KILLERS
- MIDNIGHT DEMON CLUB
- ARIZONA
- SEROTONIA
- MY NAME IS HUMAN
- LOST
- FOR BILLY
- LYDIA
- CLAUDELAND
- ATL
ENCORE:
- LOOK ALIVE/STAY ALIVE
- PINK LULLABYE
HIGHLY SUSPECT just ended their ICE COLD WINTER TOUR 2023 with openers DEAD POET SOCIETY but no need to fret…HIGHLY SUSPECT will be joining up with MUSE in April 2023 for the WILL OF THE PEOPLE TOUR as they swing through the west half of the U.S.
Be sure to go to HIGHLY SUSPECT‘s website for cities and dates near year and while there, be sure to check out the DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS; a cool interactive app that allows you to color your own MIDNIGHT DEMON CLUB album artwork. You can even share your finished artwork with the band for a chance to be showcased on their website. How cool is that? Sounds like the you already have the perfect soundtrack to listen too…
Show Date: 3.03.2023
