On September 26, a bombastic set of Tangerine, Fauna Shade, and Snuff Redux played at Chop Suey.

The beginning of the show was rocky, to say the least. I showed up at the venue relatively early and expected to wait of course, but something occurred during sound check that moved the doors back an entire hour from the set 8pm. There were no words of it, even on the website the times listed just updated as if it was something they were expecting to happen.

The waiting was partially made up for, however. Snuff Redux opened at 9:30, starting the show with a bang. They played most of their hits, energizing the crowd with songs like “Crust”, “E-Drone”, and “How Could It Be”. They also played a couple of new songs which frontman Skylar Ford used to tease perhaps a new release from the band. Overall, Snuff Redux left the crowd satisfied, and prepared for the next act.

After a couple minutes of roadies setting up and fans getting water, Fauna Shade appeared unassumingly. Quickly after coming on stage, they started playing, providing no introduction. Fauna Shade is a project helmed by Scotty Smith, who is joined live by bassists Derek Johnston, and drummer Richie Owen. Smith’s shrieking vocals and over-exaggerated facial expressions lit up the room, while Johnston and Owen provided a solid backbone to let his songwriting shine.

Finally, Tangerine graced the stage after a pretty generous wait period. Consisting of a relatively large setup, they seemed to be a little more put together. Tangerine is a Seattle based pop rock band with surf influences. The energy was dialed back from the opening bands, with relatively clean surfy guitars, and very clean vocals. There were moments of rocking out which fit well, but for the most part, it was a softer feel than the rest of the night.

Ultimately, the night was an electrifying experience with a good amount of counter-balance to the chaos. Chop Suey’s lack of service did not take away from the night once it had really begun, but it left an impression of unprofessionalism. Regardless, I left the venue satisfied and very tired.