Photos by Marilyn Bell ; Written by Marilyn Bell
Cartel brought Chroma XX, the 20th anniversary of Chroma tour, to The Observatory in Santa Ana on Friday, October 10. The album led to their signing with Epic Records following its 2005 release. To warm up the crowd for the pop-punk bliss to follow, Macseal played a set of indie rock with pop sensibilities. Although the band is from Farmingdale, New York, they have a midwest emo vibe. Fresh off a tour with The Starting Line, the band blended seamlessly into the lineup that built up to the infectious pop-punk energy of the headliners. They opened the set with “Sure Thing, Shelly” off their 2018 release Map it Out, but most of the songs were off their latest release, Permanent Repeat, and a song or two from each of their releases. Permanent Repeat is out now on Counter Intuitive Records.
SoCal band HUNNY picked up the pace with a set of punk-tinged pop-rock. As the last remaining member, frontman Jason Yarger is now carrying on HUNNY as a solo project. He put on an energetic show and was constantly in motion, but he showed his appreciation for the more laidback Macseal by telling the crowd they’re his favorite band. The bulk of the setlist was songs from the 2019 debut full-length album Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. and the latest release SPIRIT! on Epitaph Records. The new album is streaming now and available for preorder on the Epitaph and retail websites.
The fans were feverish by the end of HUNNY’s set. The anticipation was building with many fans in the crowd who had said the Chroma 10 tour show was the best show they’d ever attended. The Atlanta pop-punkers took the stage with a bang, starting with “Let’s Go” off 2009’s Cycles. They played a few other fan favorites to get going and for the encore, but they played straight through Chroma in between. In addition to vocalist Will Pugh, guitarists Joseph Pepper and Nic Hudson from the original Chroma days rounded out the lineup with a touring rhythm section in tow.
Not tied down to a guitar, Pugh was all over the stage with frenetic energy. The stage show was set to a high-production light show with lights and strobes coming from all sides, at times illuminating stripes up the front. After the show, fans were saying this topped the Chroma 10 shows. The only complaint in the crowd was that the limited edition Chroma XX vinyls had already sold out earlier on the tour. The re-recorded album with guest vocals from Hey Monday’s Cassadee Pope is currently available with a variant vinyl at the Urban Outfitters webstore, with other variants popping up on the Field Day Records site. The tour ends on October 25 at The Masquerade in Atlanta, and that show will be broadcast live on Veeps.
