Sometimes, when your city's date falls towards the end of a band's tour, it can feel like torture. You see the pictures form other cities on Instagram and wonder of they'll still have your size in t-shirts before they get to you. But in the end, it is so, so worth it. Finishing out the Pure Noise Records Tour on a three-night run in New York City, State Champs brought enough energy for the entire island of Manhattan. The mixture of immediate nostalgia for the tour that was coming to a close and the adrenaline of wanting to give the best performance of them all reverberated through the entire crowd on both levels of Irving Plaza. From the very first note of their opening song, State Champs had crowd surfers up in the air all night and a mosh pit that expanded to both sides of the venue floor. They played their most loved hits, eliciting screams of excitement before each and every one. Additionally, they played a cover of "Chicago is So Two Years Ago" by Fall Out Boy, which got everyone off their feet no matter how long they had been standing through the four opening bands. All in all, the kings of upstate New York owned the city for the night and frankly, we feel bad for anyone who missed it. Until next time, State Champs!
- Taylor Dietrich