Concert Review: Daisy Grenade, Meet Me @ The Altar, and Knuckle Puck Join State Champs at Emo's

On the day of its fifth studio album release, State Champs delivered pop-punk heat to Austin, kicking off its self-titled tour with help from openers Daisy Grenade, Meet Me @ The Altar, and Knuckle Puck on Nov. 8. 

Written by Julianna Riccioli

Photo courtesy of WMSC Radio

While punk never dies, pop punk is forever, as proven by the sea of fans dressed in black jeans, band tees, and checkered Vans at the first stop of the State Champs tour at Emo’s Austin. The New York-based band formed a few years after pop punk’s mainstream rise in the mid-to-late 2000s, defining the genre alongside Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and All Time Low. Hours before the headliner took the stage, fans packed the pit to see the stellar lineup of openers. 

DAISY GRENADE

Daisy Grenade opened the night promptly at 7:00 p.m. as the lights dimmed and anticipation permeated the air. The New York City duo — Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittaker — immediately commanded the audience’s attention with their opening song, “Sick in the City.” Whittaker, clad in a slip dress with the words “Give Girls Money” emblazoned on the center, urged the audience to “jump, jump, jump” when guitarist Matias Sanes shifted into power chords and drummer Pete Lazorcik picked up tempo in the chorus. In the middle of their second song, “Are You Scared of Me Yet?” Nigro yelled, “Austin! Off your fucking feet — are you scared of me yet?” as she and Whittaker turned back to back and wailed the high-energy chorus in sync, “Are you scared of me yet? / Are you scared of me yet?” 

Before their fourth song of the seven-track set, Nigro introduced the track with a playful yet dark remark: “We came out with a song recently. It’s called ‘How to Hide a Body.’ It’s about murder, which I’ve been thinking about a lot lately,” before launching into the punchy, vengeful track about getting revenge. Flashing white lights punctuated each guitar riff, cutting through the otherwise fiery pink and red hues that illuminated the stage. As the song closed out, the duo spoke on important causes, including their partnership with a local mutual aid group for the night and their advocacy for trans youth and reproductive justice. ”Reproductive rights are fucking human rights,” Nigro declared. The pair followed this statement with a screamo cover of Pierce the Veil's “King for a Day,” which further energized the audience, propelling fans to mosh in the center of the venue. With raw, gritty vocals that could instantly shift to sweet, Daisy Grenade proved to be a standout opener amongst the darkly glittering backdrop of Emo’s. 

MEET ME @ THE ALTAR

By 7:35 p.m., the crowd had grown to meet Meet Me @ The Altar, an all-female, pop-punk trio from the East Coast. Lead vocalist Edith Victoria, sporting neon blue and lime green curls, a denim skirt, and high-top Converse boots, urged into her bedazzled mic for the audience to “Make some noise!” The band, composed of Victoria, guitarist Téa Campbell, and drummer Ada Juarez, then launched into its first song of the night, the angsty “Say It (To My Face).” Victoria’s cyberpunk look mirrored the blue lights that cascaded across the stage. 

Listeners got a taste of Meet Me @ The Altar’s set fiery anthems, like “Hit Like A Girl,” which Victoria introduced by encouraging the women in the crowd to mosh. “This song is for all the girls in the building. There’s a lot of shit going on; it fucking sucks … Ladies, get in the pit. Allies are also welcome, so we can do that too!” The floor erupted in chaos as the track’s intensity ramped up, the lights shifting to bright purple as Victoria spoke into the mic during the song’s interlude: “Ladies, ladies / No gentlemen / Show me what you got / Do it,” sparking cheers from the women (and allies) in the pit. 

Like Daisy Grenade, Meet Me @ The Altar played a few covers from “some of our favorites from the scene,” including the crowd favorite “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit. The audience belted the chorus: “Please tell me why / My car is in the front yard, and I’m / Sleepin’ with my clothes on / I came in through the window last night / And you’re long gone, gone,” which kept the audience in high spirits for the band’s final original tracks. The pit couldn’t help but find themselves endeared to the pop-punk three-piece, especially when Victoria joked about missing her cue to start one of the last songs because a fan complimented her hair. Even as its set came to a close, the band’s stirring energy lingered in the crowd.

KNUCKLE PUCK

At 8:25 p.m., cutting off “Yummy” by Justin Bieber from the pre-show playlist, the most well-known opener, Knuckle Puck. The first male-fronted band of the night channeled a pop-punk sound that most closely resembled the headliner. From the first track, “The Tower,” Knuckle Puck’s stage presence exuded electricity. Lead singer Joe Taylor and lead guitarist Kevin Maida got low on their knees to give drummer John Siorek a moment to solo, employing a much heavier percussive beat and a faster tempo. Simultaneously, they worked the crowd, pointing and encouraging the fans to jump to the beat. The next songs — “Gone,” “Disdain,” and “Groundhog Day” —  had the crowd riled up with its classic pop-punk sound: crunchy, distorted guitars and gritty, unpolished vocals. 

The group then played its new single “On All Cylinders” as the stage lights turned to a hot pink. Loud fans sang along to every song, old and new, with a few crowd surfers finding their way to the front by the hands of their fellow fans. Knuckle Puck’s set wasn’t just about the music: The band’s ability to connect with the audience made every person at Emo’s part of the show. “This is our last song, thanks so much to all the bands! Let’s go!” Taylor announced before moving into the final track, “Untitled,” with the lights shifting to aquamarine. He sang, “I’ll tell you everything is copacetic,” concluding on a slightly melancholy note.

STATE CHAMPS

Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the crowd clamored as State Champs finally took the stage. The anticipation had reached a fever pitch, and the moment the band launched into its first track — a song off of its new album called “Silver Cloud” — Emo’s erupted into cheers. Lead singer Derek DiScanio, wearing a quintessentially 2010s flannel, backward snapback, white tee, and jeans, instantly commanded the stage, his voice soaring over the pounding drums and choppy guitars. 

With the band’s self-titled album released the morning of the show, the energy pulsed as they dove into new material like “Light Blue.” Stage lights danced in every possible hue, the most variation of any of the live acts — purple, red, yellow, green — matching the chaos and excitement of the tour’s first performance. When the band reached the fifth song of the night, DiScanio paused to thank the crowd. The group continued to weave between older and newer material with the finesse of a band that knows its audience inside and out.

The band dipped into older fan favorites like “Around the World and Back,” a track from an album of the same name, which they hadn’t played live since 2017. The acoustic version, performed alongside opener Daisy Grenade, received astounding cheers. “Guys, we were so nervous about that but it fucking slayed,” DiScanio admitted. State Champs also celebrated the 10th anniversary of its debut album, The Finer Things, sparking a crowd-surfing session during the energetic “Remedy,” a bright, fast track that leaned heavily into the pop-punk rawness of vocals. The upbeat drumming coupled with State Champs’ magnetic stage presence lured the crowd in as they jumped, clapped, and screamed along.

For the encore, the band played their two biggest hits, “Everybody but You” and “Secrets,” to the delight of the frenzied crowd. “Day one on tour is a nightmare, usually, but this was awesome,” DiScanio complimented the audience. Austin showed up strong for State Champs’ first stop on the road, and the band proved they are more than ready to rock the rest of the tour. 

Even in 2024, all the bands brought the same electrifying pop-punk sound from the 2000s-2010s, immortalizing a genre that has been out of the mainstream spotlight for years. With three powerhouse openers in Daisy Grenade, Meet Me @ The Altar, and Knuckle Puck, and State Champs’ own electrifying performance, the night was proof of pop punk’s enduring power.