Skillet slays Mt. Pleasant, Michigan with Pop Evil

On Saturday November 29th, I attended the Pop Evil and Skillet concert in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and — as always with Skillet — it was absolutely insane. It also happened to be the day of the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game… a detail I’ll come back to later. As someone who has always enjoyed butt-rock, seeing both Skillet and Pop Evil on the same stage just made it even better. I hadn’t seen Pop Evil since their Indianapolis show in 2019, during their Victorious War Tour, so getting the chance to see them again felt especially exciting.

Overall, the concert was absolutely wonderful.

Since Pop Evil is a band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, playing in Mount Pleasant felt like a natural fit. Despite the impending snowstorm, the crowd showed up ready to throw down en masse. From the moment Pop Evil stepped onstage, their energy was unreal. The band started with some of their newer material and, about four or five songs in, they shifted into older favorites — “Death Walk”, in particular, was my favorite. I loved watching both Davey Grahs on guitar and Joey Walser on bass completely shred… I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. Blake Allison, the new drummer for Pop Evil, blew me out of the water, too. I wasn’t expecting anyone to surpass Hayley Cramer, but Blake owned it. Just like Davey and Joey, he threw everything he had into playing and it was so much fun to watch.

Headlining the night was my all-time favorite band — the band that influenced my salvation.

It’s a band I never expected to be reviewing in this way. Even after seeing them 59 times, the excitement still hits me the moment stage lights go dark. The intro to “Surviving the Game” began to play, I heard guitar, and the entire crowd started screaming. As the band walked onto the stage, the cheering got louder. That’s when frontman John Cooper yelled into the mic: “WHAT’S UP, MOUNT PLEASANT!”

For years, Skillet opened with “Feel Invincible”, so starting with “Surviving the Game” was a refreshing switch. During Winter Jam, they chose “Showtime”, so it was clear the band wants to keep things interesting… especially after their recent Awakening Tour and the release of their latest album, Revolution. John ended “Surviving the Game” with a low growl — a constant that remained throughout the entire set. Incorporating more growls and heavier screams than usual, Cooper definitely had renewed energy compared to past shows… but, I’ll come back to that later.

You cannot deny the energy Skillet puts into their shows, this one included. Korey Cooper, despite being introverted, threw her entire body into her guitar playing. John jumped around the stage, spinning his bass (though, on the first attempt, he managed to break it) and head-banging wildly. Seth Morrison, meanwhile, brought a more composed intensity. Seth, being a guitar gear nerd, was laser-focused on playing with cool demeanor.

Their second song of the night was “Feel Invincible”, because at this point, it’s practically a rule to play it. After “Feel Invincible”, John yelled, “Tonight, we say no to fear, we say no to depression. Tonight! We rise!” The song “Rise” had disappeared from the setlist for a while, but once the world started getting chaotic, I had a feeling they’d bring it back… and they did.

Next up was “Awake and Alive”.

Instead of the old intro, where Jen Ledger would walk up to sing with John, they used a “Back From the Dead-esque” intro before transitioning into the song. Kor and Seth climbed onto the risers to play (which is still terrifying to watch), while Tate Olsen, cello guy, took front and center donning a masquerade mask.

Next came “Sick of It”, which had been off the setlist for a while, too. The band introduced it with a different, more drawn-out intro, where John let an audience member sing “if you’re sick of it” into the mic. Eventually, John started singing the lyrics to “Never Surrender”. In the 14 years I’ve been following the band and throughout the 59 times seeing them, I’ve NEVER seen this song performed live!

It was like an early Christmas present!!

Before “Hero”, John took the time to tell the crowd that their life was not meaningless and gave a shoutout to Jesus as his hero. During “Hero”, Jen came down from her drumkit for her tech to take over, so she could sing with John. At one point, John mentioned that Mount Pleasant was their last stop before Christmas, which led right into the most “clearly and for sure pagan” song, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. This song started off with soft piano, with John singing in the first verse before Jen jumped in the harmony. The last minute-and-a-half, though, the guitar rang out and John screamed into that mic like his life depended on it. A heavy breakdown played, with Seth playing seven-string guitar. Between the low growls and the heavier guitar tuning, it made me wonder whether Skillet might be heading toward a heavier musical direction in the future…? The future will tell…

Skillet later continued with “Psycho in My Head”, where Seth played a slightly altered solo in the intro compared to past tours. After that came “Comatose”, which I always worship the Lord to. Korey, being a skilled multi-instrumentalist, switched between guitar, keys, and vocals. Then came “Monster”, where John asked the crowd, “Do you feel like getting loud? Do you feel like getting crazy? Do you feel like a monster?!”

For the encore, they opened with a synth-heavy intro. A voice then said: “This… is the Resistance.”

Do you remember when I mentioned the UofM v. OSU game? This is where it became relevant. Pop Evil may be from Grand Rapids, but Seth Morrison is from Ohio… and since Ohio State had won the game that night, he brought out his Ohio State guitar just to sneak in a little pettiness. They ended the night with the usual extended guitar playing, thrown picks, setlists handed out to the fans, and Seth’s finalé solo.

Music, including rock and metal, was originally created to glorify the Lord. People can try twisting it into something dark, but Skillet brings it back into the light with songs like “Comatose” and “Whispers In The Dark”. These guys have never been afraid to stand up and speak truth in the face of chaos and evil. Skillet has spent years taking back rock and metal from the stereotype of being ‘demonic’; if anything, this band has influenced others to stand up for what’s right. John was the one that explained the gospel so perfectly to me that reality wasn’t confusing anymore and I gave my life to Christ. After following them for 14 years, I’m honored to know them, not only as musicians I admire, but almost as friends. And honestly, you can’t attend just one Skillet show and be done. Once you experience them live, you’re coming back. That is a promise.

Photography by Kayla N. Rising

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