Papa Roach & We Are Harlot Tear Through Starland Ballroom in Sayreville
Just going to the latest leg of the Papa Roach tour, one knew that this was going to be an all encompassing rock show. I remember when I first listening to their debut album, "Infest", which was a mainstay in my CD player at the height of the nu-metal era. Fifteenth years later, the band is still soldiering on with the the energy that they started with. The fans may be a bit older, but the vibrancy is still apparent.
Kicking off the night was We Are Harlot who I was interested to check out for the first time. Their recently released self-titled album has a very classic rock feel to it that rubs off on their stage performance. Singer Danny Worsnop sang with his trademark scarf draped mic stand and sounded great in the live setting. There were some points in the show where Worsnop and guitarist Jeff George came together to sing into one mic almost as a very seasoned veteran band. These collection of musicians has been playing for many years between them, and the battle tested nature rang through as they played songs like "Dancing On Nails" and "Dirty Little Thing". If you like their debut album, seeing them play these songs live will
only make you fonder of it.
The night's headliner, Papa Roach impressed me as it had been a couple years since I had seen them in a live setting.. Starting off with dark lighting sometimes drenched in blue, replicating their recently released F.E.A.R. album, the band stetted into an hour and a half set that kept fans happy. The set list was abundant with hits like "Between Angels And Insects" and the song that Papa Roach closed with, "To Be Loved".. Lead Singer Jacoby Shaddix crowd surfed during "Broken As Me" and the band played "Gravity" for one of the first times live. I'm not going to lie, listening to this whole set, I did not realize that there was so many hit songs and I've been keeping up with this band for years on end. It's a testament to a productive career that still has things to prove and songs to make.
Photo & Review By: Murjani Rawls (http://www.murjanirawlsphotography.com/)
