Kids may be out on summer break but the idobi Radio Summer School Tour is in session, landing at The Van Buren this week with a stacked lineup. From South Arcade to Games We Play and more, the evening was a party from start to finish, drawing a crowd eager to beat the Arizona heat.
UK rockers South Arcade brought some serious pop punk energy to their set as the pit jumped alongside the band. They encouraged the early attendees to get involved and with singer Harmony Cavelle leaving the stage to join the audience on the barricade, the band certainly walked away with plenty of new fans. Games We Play kept that spirit going for their set as they returned to the stage for the first time in over a year with new music and a fresh outlook on being creative again. Their fans had clearly missed them, singing with gusto to their acoustic-tinged take on pop punk and reacting with huge cheers to the band’s preview of their upcoming album.
The rest of the show was all about the girl power as Winona Fighter stormed The Van Buren’s stage for a show-stealing set. The trio put their own mark on punk rock with a brash, unapologetic performance that whipped the pit into a frenzy from the first notes. Singer Coco Kinnon was a tornado, commanding the room with her powerhouse vocals and nonstop movement- guitar in hand or not.
“Don’t touch anyone who doesn’t want to be touched but otherwise beat the living shit out of someone!” she joked with the audience between songs. The pit was more than happy to get rowdy to match the band’s energy and they left the room sweaty and ready for one more act to close the show.
Honey Revenge has been on the rise and that journey has led them straight to the headlining slot on the Summer School Tour. Flanked by two LED screens for video accompaniment, the band’s pop rock sounds filled the venue to the delight of their crowd of longtime fans. The band members are no strangers to Arizona and a devoted following was thrilled to sing along to “Hot Commodity” and new song “Sunday Scaries”. The night ended with “Airhead” and plenty of facetime with the tour’s lineup for another stellar installment of one of summer’s most energetic tours.
