MxPX/Less than Jake/Relient K/Smoking Popes Concert Review

This weekend I had the privilege of going down to Hollywood from Eugene to see MXPX, Relient K, Less than Jake and the Smoking Popes at the Hollywood Palladium with my brother.

I’d never seen MxPx live but had somewhat started re-listening to them after their fun 2018 album that I think I had contributed to the kickstarter for, and their latest album Find a Way Home was released just before my birthday this year. And any time Relient K plays I’m going to try to be there. So it was a nice direct flight from Eugene and my brother and I stayed at his in-laws house just down the road in Camarillo.

Concert Review

I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd would be there, but it was basically like the Relient K crowd I’d seen in February 2022 when I saw Relient K in Chicago. Many people like me in their 40’s enjoying bands from their youth. Definitely more of an actual mosh pit this time which was kinda fun, although it wasn’t that rough, more of alike a swirling sea of people and you’d get pushed back inside when you tried to get out.

I hadn’t seen or heard much of the Smoking Popes but they played energetic music which was fine. Relient K played mostly nostalgic favorites; I don’t think anything past 2005 really. They even played a ‘move to bremerton’ cover which Matt said they’d played in high school at a youth group event before they were even ‘relient k’. The set list was as follows:

1. Be My Escape
2. Play Video
3. High of 75
4. Play Video
5. Forget and Not Slow Down
6. I Don’t Need a Soul
7. Move to Bremerton
8. (MxPx cover) (Hoopes sang lead)
9. Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been
10. I Broke My Foot in the Less Than Jake Circle Pit / In Love With the 80s (Pink Tux to the Prom)
11. Sadie Hawkins Dance

Me at a Relient K show could be 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2022 or 2023

I was actually excited this time to hear ‘Sadie Hawkins dance’ even though I rarely listen to it. But Matt Thiessen was the most talkative I’ve ever seen at a concert and seemed to really just be having fun which was cool. It was fun talking to people in the crowd wearing a reliant k shirt talking about favorite reliant K songs or concerts, telling stories of the cell phone/raccoon box days of 20+ years ago etc.

For Less Than Jake, I was kind of fan of the music but can’t say any of their songs really ‘connect’ with me — but having basically two lead singers, a horn section etc was a lot of fun. It was like Five Iron Frenzy with more cussing and less fart jokes. (joking!)

MxPx was incredible — both the energy from the crowd towards them and their energy on stage. Considering most of their songs are 3 minutes or so, it was impressive still how many they played and how many I knew much of the words to (mostly Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo songs and the last two albums). My favorite song is probably Invitation to Understanding so was great to hear that early on and scream along with the people next to me. (interestingly, got talking to one guy and he too works in Edtech and even at a company I almost went to work for in August haha).

Herrerra was a crazy energetic performer

There are a bunch of great videos (and some switchfoot too!) here not from me.