Supporting the nu metal band were (hed)PE, Sumo Cyco, and VRSTY.
On December 10th, Nonpoint made their way back to Illinois–this time at Bottom Lounge in Chicago–after opening up for Mudvayne last summer, this time headlining their own tour in support of their latest EP Heartless, released on November 17th.
The show commenced with VRSTY, a young band with an old-school sound, reminiscent of late-90s and early 2000’s alternative rock. A self-described “R&B and post-hardcore infused band” from New York, they provided an electric start to the show, their 25-minute set far too short. VRSTY not only ramped up the audience with their excitable stage presence but also fit perfectly in this lineup with their sound.
Following a very short break, Sumo Cyco was up next, and this band brought quite a surprise with their set for new listeners. The four “cycos” brought so much energy to their set but especially frontwoman Skye Sweetnam. All eyes were undoubtedly on her–when they weren’t on drummer Joey Muha’s hair flips–as she bounced across the stage, her fiery red/pink pigtails flying, screaming her vocals a la Butcher Babies. Don’t mistake this similarity for imitation though–this punk-metal act had a distinct style that certainly kept the crowd captivated, and Sweetnam’s biting vocals combined with the band’s riffs reminiscent of 2000’s metalcore made Sumo Cyco stand out as an unforgettable opener. Toward the end of the set, Sweetnam would hop on guitarist Matt Drake’s shoulders as he carried her out into the crowd, where they were encouraged to form a circle pit around the two, also proving why intimate venues are many times so much more fun to attend.
(hed)PE kept the vibe going, and with almost just as much history as Nonpoint in the rap metal scene, they seemed to be a perfect opener for the headlining band with just an hour to go before the latter would make their appearance. It was clear that the audience was just as much excited for them as they were for Nonpoint–their chants of “HED P-E!” rang throughout all of Bottom Lounge, and the room was significantly filled once they came on, a solid final warm-up.
After a 30-minute changeover, Nonpoint claimed the stage with their tour’s namesake “A Million Watts.”
During a moment of peace (as a result of and despite a technical difficulty) vocalist Elias Soriano continues with some onstage banter before pulling his dreadlocks out of his eyes and declaring, “What–a fucking–day!” before the band returned to their 1997 roots with one of their first singles.
“Did you come to party?” Soriano would ask his bandmates and the crowd before kicking it (pun intended) into a partial cover of Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right” and after the chorus launching into “Milestone.”
In a pleasant twist, Skye Sweetnam would join the band onstage to sing with Soriano on “That Day,” cementing what seems to be a solid relationship between the two invigorating performers. One can only hope we will see the bands perform side by side again. By the time Nonpoint would take their final bow with their arguably most popular song, 2019’s “Bullet with a Name,” the band’s fifth time in Illinois this year was undoubtedly no indication that their momentum slowed down one iota. In spite of–probably even because of–their 25-year-long history, Nonpoint maintains an infectious, high-octane energy that breaks the barriers between old-school nu metal and modern metal–if you can believe nu metal is “old” now.
