neck deep — CONCERTS & EVENTS

If you’re into the pop-punk genre, odds are you’ve heard of Neck Deep. You might have even seen them play once or twice or about 10 times like I have. They were featured on the main stage of the Vans Warped Tour in 2017. They drew some of the largest crowds of the summer and for good reason. Their performances are always thrilling and full of energy, and this time was no different.

The audience at Stereo Garden on this evening were already sweaty and a little bit out of breath from the excitement of Trophy Eyes performing beforehand, but rest assured that did not stop the crowd from giving Neck Deep their all from start to finish. The show opened up with Motion Sickness, a single from their latest album The Peace and the Panic. The crowd was instantly energized all over again and there were plenty of crowd surfers to occupy the security guards. Speaking of -- the security guards were very good at their job and not a single surfer was dropped. The show didn’t lack intensity, but safety was never compromised.

Partway through the show, the band preformed their cover of Torn by Natalie Imbruglia (which is actually also a cover from the original song written in 1993) which can be hard in the compilation album Songs That Saved My Life. Although the song was popularized in 1997, Torn was still a crowd pleaser here in 2018. During Don’t Wait, vocalist Ben Barlow was accompanied by Drew Dijorio, vocalist of Stray From The Path and the crowd drank it up.

The setlist was compiled with songs from every album in Neck Deep’s discography including What Did Your Expect? and All Hype, No Heart from their very first EP titled Rain in July, Citizens of Earth from Life’s Not Out to Get You, Crushing Grief from Wishful Thinking, and of course many hits from The Peace and the Panic. All in all, the crowd (myself included) was more than pleased from start to finish, including the 3 song encore. The place was packed and the band left no room for disappointment. It was a wonderful night and not a single frown was spotted.

Words and photos by Ashley Rosario.

From the release of their new record ‘The Peace and The Panic,’ Neck Deep is one band everyone needs on their radar. The band put on one of their best performances on Friday night at the PlayStation Theatre. They hyped up the crowd by having a white sheet that covered the stage at the start of the show, having only their shadows be visible until the very last second before the music started. Starting off their set with 'Judgement Day,' Neck Deep played one of their newest songs, along with some oldies like ‘Lime Street’ and ‘Kick Up The Roots.’ The band continuously managed to put a smile on fans faces and had them crowd surfing throughout their entire performance.

Words and photos by Christina Morgan.