Rock along with Pop Evil and Red Sun Rising on Wednesday.
####The lowdown
On Feb. 7, 98.9 The Rock will present Pop Evil, Red Sun Rising and Badflower as part of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Now tour. The concert is the first 98.9 Low Dough show of the year, which means tickets are only $9.89 before fees and tax. All together, buying from the box office your tickets will be less than $13. For such a great band, this is an amazing deal.
The Midland is in the heart of Kansas City, so your best bet is to arrive a bit early, circle a few blocks and look for either a lot or garage you can pay to park in. You shouldn’t need to walk more than a few blocks.
If you want to get there early, be prepared to stand in line, but also know you can secure a spot right next to one of the levels of railings in the tiered theatre. You’ll be thankful after a few hours (and maybe a few drinks).
####The artists
Pop Evil is out of North Muskegon, Michigan and has five members: Leigh Kakaty, Hayley Cramer, Dave Grahs, Matt DiRito and Nick Fuelling. They’re currently on tour and are playing venues across the country until the end of February. I actually saw this band live at my first music festival, Rockfest 2014. Together with thousands of other rock listeners, I sang along to two of the songs listed below.
Accompanying Pop Evil is the Ohio band Red Sun Rising. The band doesn’t consider themselves strictly rock and instead calls their genre “thread” because of their pull from different types of music. This is really evident in their music.
The third band, Badflower, is what I would consider alternative rock, and looks like they’re awesome on stage. Out of Los Angeles, Badflower is a very energetic, up-and-coming band.
####Noteworthy tunes
**“Torn to Pieces”** by Pop Evil
One of Pop Evil’s most popular songs, “Torn to Pieces,” fits the guides for emotional rock music. The drummer Josh Marunde, aka Chachi Riot, plays a vital role in this song.
**”Footsteps”** by Pop Evil
This song is good for the soul. One of my favorite characteristics of this song is that singing along is fairly easy, and even for those who haven’t listened to it, it isn’t hard to catch on.
**“Trenches”** by Pop Evil
The instrumental intro to this song is really powerful, and when “I’ve waited all of my life to get out of these trenches” hits, you’ll be able to feel it. This song actually won a Rock Radio Award for song of the year in 2013. You can watch the music video here:
**“Emotionless”** by Red Sun Rising
Before looking into the concert, I hadn’t listened to much Red Sun Rising, but I immediately added this song to a few of my Spotify playlists. The beginning pulls influence from Tool, so if you like them you’re sure to love this.
**“The Otherside”** by Red Sun Rising
“The Otherside” is a pretty popular song on 98.9 The Rock, and much like “Emotionless,” pulls in hints of influences from bands like Creed and Alice in Chains.
####If you like these, try:
**“The Sound of Silence”** by Disturbed
This Simon and Garfunkel cover is anything but typical. Disturbed is a great band and when covering a song that is already good, only positive things can happen. It starts pretty mellow, featuring piano, and slowly works toward a heavier tone.
**“Heaven Knows”** by The Pretty Reckless
In short, this band and its music are badass, and this song is no exception. I’ve seen them live many times, and there’s nothing I love more than a sweet rock band with a lead woman killing the game.
