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Sold Out. It's a sign that many bands wish for when they plan another tour to Europe. Set It Off has already played a celebrated and sold-out headlining tour through the United Kingdom and some of their shows in more distant countries have also been completely sold out. We experienced the reason for this ourselves when we visited their concert in Cologne. Set It Off have been on our must-see list for a long time, as they are one of those bands that usually fall with names like Pierce The Veil or Sleeping With Sirens. Since their formation in 2008, the band is always reinventing themselves, constantly looking for musical challenges, which they realise with their albums. Their sound, however, remains true to pop punk and combines it with modern influences.

Sometimes they mix pop with psychedelic rock, add electro influences or keep it classic with atmospheric alternative rock. The band clearly plays their own sound, which is why they were all the more fitting as openers for Set It Off. The perfect mix, then, to start the week on a Monday. Arriving at the Essigfabrik, the band's logo was already emblazoned on the wall, and ten minutes later they announced themselves loudly to a packed hall. With "I'm Not Okay", the band couldn't have chosen a better start for their concert. The crowd was immediately taken away by the dynamic energy of the song and the atmosphere immediately heated up. Weathers put this into their performance, where you hardly knew where to look too seriously at the beginning.

We couldn't have imagined a better band for this mammoth task and hope to welcome them back to Germany soon, perhaps as headliners. Set It Off duly earned the title "headliner" that evening. There were simply too many highlights that we want to tell you about, but which wouldn't fit into the whole report. The fact is, however, that the band themselves said that Cologne was their highlight of the entire tour and even surpassed London, their biggest headline show to date, in terms of volume and feeling. After an impressive, lengthy intro, in which good entertainment was provided by songs such as "Barbie, Ken", Set It Off started the first song. "Skeleton" started the show and couldn't have been better:

From one world, you went straight into the next with songs like "Killer In The Mirror", where singer Cody just threw himself into the crowd, or "Ancient History", where he explicitly conveyed the message that you should better not have any contact with your ex. Why? The song explained. After the audience really let out all their energy and went wild together with the band, Set It Off showed that they also know how to play the softer tones. For example, Cody dedicated an Irish fallen song to his father who recently passed away and during the middle of the song, which he performed on the piano, he played the clarinet, which was not the only instrument Cody chose to play that night. The band had not only created a really good concert experience with their individual songs and their selections, which flowed smoothly into each other, but also topped it all off with their own medley of their songs.

You could just see how flashed and overwhelmed the band was by an evening they were able to share and create together with their fans. When they announced the encore it was clear which song would be played: "Wolf In Sheep Clothes". One last time the crowd went wild with Set It Off, the fun and joy written all over their faces. After a hearty farewell with the band, which lasted long after the show, we went home, even though we would have preferred to stay after such an evening.