Sleeping with Sirens, The Summer Set, Nick Santino
June 18, 2015
Ottobar- Baltimore, MD
Baltimore MD, Sold Out at the Ottobar, a very faint, blue-ish red light graces the stage, shining against a guitar case that read Nick Santino, was placed on stage. Nick Santino, after breaking up with A Rocket to The Moon in 2013, is now a solo artist with 8123. As all of us anxiously wait as we are packed so very tightly in this small dingy club, he finally walks on stage opening for The Summer Set who opens for the headlong band Sleeping with Sirens on the We Like It Quiet Tour.
Santino’s latest album was released in May of 2014 and tonight he delivered some of the best songs on that just so happen to be on that record. He played songs like Bad Taste, Long Way Home and a fantastic cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Santino definitely got everyone in the room all psyched up for the next band.
On stage next was The Summer Set, who are an American pop punk band from Scottsdale, Arizona. The band consists of Brian Dales (vocals), Jess Bowen (drums), John Gomez (guitar/piano), Stephen Gomez (bass), and Josh Montgomery (guitar). This band is unbelievable; the positive vibes that radiates off this band is incredible/unbelievable. They performed one of their most popular song , Lightning in a Bottle, and had everyone in the crowd dancing and off their feet as the enjoyed themselves and the music that played throughout.
The band even premiered a new song off their next upcoming album Wasted, as Brian Dales said, “This is not a drinking song”. Despite the title of the song it is an incredibly uplifting and inspiring song with lyrics such as “at least we know that youth wasn’t wasted on us.” Moving on through out the set, they ended with another popular song called, Legendary which is from their latest album released in 2013. The Summer Set has definitely left their greatest impression upon the audience.
Finally, headliners Sleeping with Sirens took the stage. An American rock band from Florida consisted of Kellin Quinn (vocals), Jack Fowler (guitar), Gabe Barham (drums), Justin Hills (bass), and Nick Martin (guitar) who are signed with Epitaph Records. Their latest album, which was released earlier this year (Madness), there’s a song called We Like It Loud, which is where this acoustic tour has got it’s very clever name, We Like It Quiet. Sleeping with Sirens played songs from all four of their albums including Free Now which is from Feel (2013), Who Are You Now from Let’s Cheers to This (2011), Save Me A Spark, and Strays from Madness (2015), and even a few covers which included Iris.
Every moment of this tour was absolutely phenomenal yet it was kind of bittersweet because you never wanted it to end. The setting of this acoustic tour was so intimate and up-close and personal, each band made everyone feel so great and despite it not being a full sound concert everyone was still up and going, dancing to the rhythm and singing word for word. All three of the acts are phenomenally talented and seeing these artists leave the stage will forever leave you wanting more and more. If you aren’t familiar with any of these artists, please do yourself a favor and check them out, they are definitely worth a buy on itunes.
Review by: Alyssa Howell
Sleeping with Sirens
The Summer Set
Nick Santino
