Words and Photos: DJ
Highly Suspect the Brooklyn Alt Rock outfit has been running with some chart-topping and popular Rock mainstream airplay on the charts the last few years. Not surprised to see the popularity in their style of music, as they bring their flavor of modern rock infused with electronic vibes to the fold. A bit of a cross-genre and sometimes hard to describe, Highly Suspect has their flare and style, and judging by such chart-topping hits like “My Name is Human”, these guys have plenty of firepower in their arsenal to keep on delivering the goods. Recently the guys reached # 1 on the Billboard charts Mainstream Rock Airplay with their hit “Natural Born Killer. No one is resting on their laurels here.
We get a chance to check them out live at Mars Music Hall on another busy weekend of live music. The crew is currently on the road through the spring. First time checking them out here and what a show they had in stock for us.
This sold-out show proves to be dynamic and extremely enjoyable to cover. At the first stop, we get the Los Angeles quartet Dead Poet Society, another groundbreaking band making waves in the scene. The guys spent most of 2022 on the road and they have toured with the likes of Badflower and in support of Biffy Clyro last spring, before heading overseas for a run of festivals. The band has accumulated over 45 million global streams, with nearly 20 million streams in the U.S. alone. The band also enjoyed two Top 15 singles on the radio and key playlisting.
On this night they bring the energy to this packed house, as the crowd is getting moving quickly. It’s easy the guys have plenty of potential as they provide the audience with a crisp sound and tremendous energy. They play some of their staple tunes, which come via “.intodeep.” “.AmericanBlood.” and “.burymewhole.”. A great choice of opener for Highly Suspect, as the crew gets the crowd going and primed for the main act. Teslly enjoyed the powerful interaction between singer Jack Underkofler and the crowd. Thought the guys put on a great show, if you haven’t checked out any of their stuff, I suggest giving it a peak and adding them to your daily rotation of plays as you will no doubt hear more from them in the future.
Finally, it’s for the stage to get ready for Highly Suspect. The fans are cooking at the moment, ready for another electric night. One of the main hits gets played instantly with “My Name is Human”, a sensational tune to hear live. Another smasher hit comes via “Lydia” with Johnny belting out the groovy licks left and right.
Part of the appeal of Highly Suspect to me; is the deep and very personal lyrics that resonate with people of all shapes and sizes, they tackle things we all deal with as humans. Is not a band trying to impose some image on you, is all very visceral and honest, you topple that with the powerhouse vocals of Johnny Stevens, the ambient mix of Rock/Alt of the rest of the guys in the band, and honestly is a winning formula. Another greatly underrated bit is vocalist Johnny Stevens’s guitar playing, truly a standout of the night, as he improvised and wailed away on the strings. I would best describe a Highly Suspect live experience as groovy and improvisational. You never know what you are going to get when they craft the songs live. It’s truly great chemistry the guys have on stage.
Evidence of their impact in the music scene can be heard all night here at Mars, and judging by the insane sold-out crowd, they were more than satisfied. I can’t recommend them enough, if you get a chance to see them live just DO IT!!!
https://devilsinthedetail.highlysuspect.net/