{"id":115,"date":"2020-02-25T16:09:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T00:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backstagepass.concertarchives.org\/?p=115"},"modified":"2020-02-28T11:02:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T19:02:12","slug":"knuckle-puck-mahalls-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.concertarchives.org\/backstagepass\/knuckle-puck-mahalls-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Knuckle Puck with Heart Attack Man and One Step Closer at Mahall’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got to Mahall\u2019s right around 7pm (when doors opened), and there was already a large group of fans waiting in the foyer. Since there was an hour to kill until the show, I grabbed a veggie burger at the bar beforehand. One of the best parts about the venue is that people like to hang around before the show, so I ended up running into half of Knuckle Puck and a few friends in the bar. <\/span>If you’ve never been, Mahall\u2019s is a \u201clive music venue, performance space, occasional art gallery, bowling alley\u201d located in Lakewood, Ohio, a charming suburb of Cleveland. If you\u2019re coming for a show, you\u2019ll most likely be in the front room, across the foyer from the bar.<\/p>\n

At almost 8:00, I checked in at the ticket counter (most shows at Mahall\u2019s are will call), grabbed my favorite spot at the side of the stage (the best spot to watch the bands and get photos without getting crushed in the crowd), and waited for the music to start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One Step Closer<\/h2>\n

At 8:10, One Step Closer<\/a> took to the stage. I had listened to one of their songs that morning, but I still wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. They introduced themselves as \u201ca straightedge band from Wilkes-Barre, PA,\u201d and proceeded to rip into their first song (\u201cThe Reach\u201d from their 2019 EP <\/span>From Me To You)<\/span><\/i>. From the first verse, it was clear that a vocal majority of the crowd was already familiar with the band. A pit quickly opened up and bunch of audience members were ready to go and knew all the words! A bunch of others were not quite sure what was happening <\/span>?<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One Step Closer vocalist Ryan Savitski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Personally, I found it quite interesting to have a hardcore band opening up for less heavy bands, but it worked quite well. One Step Closer played most of the songs from their 2019 EP, as well as both songs from their 2020 promotional release (a new song \u201cLead to Gray\u201d and a cover of Turning Point\u2019s \u201cBroken\u201d). Some songs encourage stage diving more than others, but the crowd was going wild the whole time regardless! If you’re attending the Knuckle Puck shows in Boston or Amityville, you\u2019ll get to catch this great band before they cross the ocean for their<\/span> European tour with Turnstile<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heart Attack Man<\/h2>\n

Up next? Cleveland\u2019s very own Heart Attack Man<\/a>. The last time I saw them was at their album release show in 2019, which was also sold out. Watching them blow up in the last year and a half since I first played them on my college radio show has been absolutely wild and definitely well deserved. If you\u2019re not familiar with HAM, they\u2019re known for frontman Eric Egan\u2019s <\/span>internet shenanigans<\/span><\/a> as much as their music. They\u2019ve definitely got their marketing game on point and they continually cook up unique merch for their fans, including \u201cI\u2019ll Just Cut My Losses\u201d knives, limited run thrifted and screen printed apparel, hockey jerseys, and \u2018Psycho Beans\u2019 coffee (you can grab those last two on the tour). They\u2019ve never been afraid to be a little \u2018out there\u2019 and that\u2019s part of what makes them so well loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/a>
Eric Egan (left) and Logan McNeal (center) from Heart Attack Man<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heart Attack Man kicked off their set with the title track of their 2019 album, <\/span>Fake Blood<\/span><\/i>. People started stage diving within seconds and that continued the rest of the night. After another song from their latest release, the band played 2018 single \u201cBoring\u201d, followed by \u201cSurrounded by Morons\u201d. Then \u201cCool Kids Table\u201d from 2017\u2019s <\/span>The Manson Family<\/span><\/i> where fans swarmed the stage (as is tradition) to sing\/shout the bridge:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Hey man, how have you been?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What’s up?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Haven’t seen you in months,” he says<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And lights up a smoke<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As I wonder how I’ll be made into the butt end of a joke<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

‘Cause that’s all I am these days<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Begging for crumbs, at the edge of the cool kids table<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After the throwback, Heart Attack Man brought it back to present with four more songs from <\/span>Fake Blood<\/span><\/i>. Then \u201c100mg\u201d from a 2018 split and followed it with the iconic song \u201cCrisis Actor\u201d (in which fans once again jumped on stage to grab the mic and scream the Miranda Rights). They finished up with \u201cSugar Coated\u201d and a wall of death during the breakdown:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

live action shots of me splitting the crowd for the sugar coated breakdown wall of death. <\/p>\n

?: @DaltonMcneal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gr4oK8Sc0N<\/a><\/p>\n

— thot mulgan (@upset_spaghet_) February 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n