Set If Off & The Gospel Youth – The Shelter – 2.15.18

Set If Off & The Gospel Youth
The Shelter – Detroit, MI – 2.15.2018
Photographer: Robert Sherman

Set It Off and The Gospel Youth spent their winter on the road supporting Sleeping With Sirens, but in-between shows they split off, with Set It Off headlining and The Gospel Youth providing direct support.

On Thursday, the extended tour dropped into Detroit for the penultimate performance for the two bands.

It was my second time seeing Set It Off, so I knew what to expect from the screaming teenage girls that were there to see Cody Carson sing the bands brand of pop-rock.

I was more interested in seeing the up-and-coming pop-punk band from England, The Gospel Youth, play highly emotional and soulful tracks from their debut record, Always Lose, on their second time touring the United States.

Lead vocalist Sam Little has one of the most soulful voices that I have ever heard in this scene, combined with personal lyrics directly connected to his life, accompanied with the band’s backing, the crowd was immediately enticed.

Little grabbed the crowd’s attention with the first song “I Will Deliver You To The Fireflies,” explaining that he wrote it about his sister that had passed away, immediately followed by “Gin and Black Coffee.”

The Gospel Youth played, what I think are the best two tracks Always Lose, “Wildfire,” and “Moods Like English Weather.”

You could tell the band may have been tired, being the end of the tour, but their lack of energy was made up with the quality of their live show, and I’m sure more than one person went home to check out The Gospel Youth deeper.

To the satisfaction of 98% of the crowd in attendance, Set It Off hit the stage with furious charisma, started the set off with the sing-along ridden “Uncontainable” before playing their first hit “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.”

A nice change of pace happened during the bridge of “NME,” when the band broke into the Backstreet Boys classic, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” complete with the original choreography.

Carson and company continued through a set list with tracks made up equally from records Upside Down and Duality. 

Set It Off finished the night our with “Upside Down” and “Why Worry” before leaving Detroit for the final show of their tour.

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Set It Off

The Gospel Youth