PUP Returns: Thank Fucking God was the perfect title to capture the scene on Friday night at The Pageant in St. Louis. Led by Stefan Babcock, the band soared through their setlist as the mosh pit was full, heavy, sweaty and roaring with elated fans.
Opening up the night was Brooklyn rockers Oceanator that provided the crowd with a thrilling setlist consisting of tracks that eased you away with a SoCal Indie rock vibe that left fans swooning. Following up were hard-core shredders Angeldu$t that encouraged fans to open up the pit & get the moshing started.
Around 9:40, the anticipation to welcome PUP back to St. Louis was real as fans gathered into the pit a little tighter than before. As the band took the stage around 9:45, fan cheers echoed throughout The Pageant as all four members reported for duty. With this tour promoting their fourth full-length THE UNRAVELLING OF PUP THE BAND, their set kicked off with the first two tracks of the album “Four Chords” and “Totally Fine.” Classic fan favorites such as “Guilt Trip,” “Sleep In The Heat” and “Reservoir” followed soon after, encouraging fans to get rowdy and let themselves go.
One of the most important parts of the night was when Stefan not only embraced and encouraged fans to mosh but also spoke of the importance of taking care of each other in the pit. “Look at the person next to you. You’ll be with them for the rest of this set. If anyone falls, pick them up. If anyone is uncomfortable, give them room to breathe. If anyone loses a shoe or phone, hold them up. Flag us down. Let’s have a great time tonight.” With the official green light from Stefan, it was all clear for sweaty mosh pits and miraculous crowd surfing.
“If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” from PUP’s second full-length The Dream Is Over, graced the crowd as fans throughout the scene were in awe of the track being played. Following up was of course the ever-so-melodically-fast “DVP” which inspired the pit to perform even crazier.
Nearing the end of the night, Stefan explained that the entirety of the band does NOT believe in encores. “We’re not gonna leave the stage and then come back five minutes later and finish our set. That’s stupid.” Leading into explaining the next track to be performed was only played when they were having a really great show, thus “PUPTHEBAND INC. IS FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY” inspired the crowd to lose their minds even more. The second-to-last song performed was none other than their title track to Morbid Stuff, enlightening the crowd to scream lyrics at each other and start the circle pit.
Closing the night out with “Kids,” the crowd was invited to lose their minds one more time for one of the band's greatest hits. As the night came to an end, fans were exceptionally content with PUP's performance had lived up to expectations as the band was welcomed back to St. Louis for the first time in almost three years.
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