“Last time we played Mercury Lounge,” remarked PUP singer/guitarist Stefan Babcock. “This feels a little different.”
The sold-out show the Toronto punk rockers hosted at Brooklyn Steel on Friday, April 26 featured around 1,800 fans, a far cry from Mercury Lounge’s approximate 250-person capacity. The gig was a testament to band’s hard-earned fanbase that’s eagerly watched the band grow up from their days of playing the likes of well-respected but smaller spots like Saint Vitus, Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg.
With a new record in tow — the just-released Morbid Stuff, which peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums Chart — the band deftly proved they could scale up their punk rock energy and still command everyone’s attention within a much larger room. In a sweaty night of near-constant moshing, here’s what stood out:
The crowd got to hear over half of Morbid Stuff’s tracks live
Seven tracks on the 15-song setlist were from the new album. A few highlights included Babcock leaping into the crowd for some crowd-surfing on “Full Blown Meltdown,” Zack Mykula’s crushing drum beat on “Sibling Rivalry” and the high-voltage acceleration of “Scorpion Hill” from its reserved intro to its electrifying riffs in the meat of the song.
The band got a little help on new track “Free at Last”
PUP hit the studio for Morbid Stuff track “Free at Last” with Charly Bliss vocalist Eva Hendricks, who had a cameo during the set. Emerging next to bassist Nestor Chumak, Hendricks pogoed across the stage and set up the song’s rowdy call-and-response with Babcock: “Have you been drinking?” “Well of course I have!”
PUP also returned to their roots
The band didn’t neglect the fans who’ve been around since their self-titled debut. PUP ran through three tracks (“Guilt Trip,” “Dark Days” and “Reservoir”) from their first record. The crowd roared along to these classics, pumping their fists to the anthemic “Dark Days” line: “We’re wasting away / Bit by bit.” And on “Reservoir,” Babcock hopped onto an amp stack for the furious guitar breakdown before leaping back to the stage.
They supported a local Brooklyn youth program during the show
Toward the end of the set, guitarist Steve Sladkowski put the spotlight on Brooklyn’s Educated Little Monsters, “a youth-focused arts education program and community.” As PUP’s latest tour kicked off, the band noted on Twitter: “In every city where we’re headlining a show this year, we are working on partnering with a local charity. We’ve found charities that do work in areas we care about (at-risk youth & LGBTQ+ people, women’s charities, mental health, music education) in order to try & have a sustained impact on the communities we are touring in.”
“Getting involved in your local community is how you make a difference,” Sladkowski added at the show.
There was no pretense of an encore
“We don’t think encores are great,” Sladkowski said as PUP neared the end of the night. Instead of any faux drama about leaving the stage, the band opted to charge ahead with their setlist. They ripped through two of their most rollicking hits, “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” and “DVP”, to finish off the evening. The entire performance clocked in at a razor-sharp one hour — something a lot of bands could stand to learn from, even if they have the material to play more than 60 minutes. All killer, no filler.
Bonus: Diet Cig helped set the table for an inclusive show
Amid a flurry of energetic spin moves and high kicks, Diet Cig singer/guitarist Alex Luciano made a point to set the ground rules for a safe show for all fans. At the beginning of the set, which preceded PUP’s performance, she encouraged everyone to be respectful and to report any misbehavior to the band’s tour manager at their merch stand. As the band moved through their defiant tracks like “Harvard,” “Sleep Talk,” and “Link in Bio,” Luciano also gave a special shout to the queer, trans and non-binary communities in the room: “You are the magic in these spaces
