The Story So Far Continues to Prove They Are One Of Pop Punks Greatest.
September 16th, 2025 - St. Louis, MO
If you would have looked 14 year old Bailey in the face and told them they not only got to see two of their favorite bands of all time, but they also got to photograph them, she would have laughed at you. After driving the four hours across the state and getting stuck in complete standstill traffic 30 minutes from the venue, I made it five minutes before doors opened. This was my first time in The Factory and it is SUCH a nice venue. It reminded me a lot of Vibrant Music Hall up in Iowa. The photo pit was huge and it was nice not to be under the constant threat of the insane amount of crowd surfers.
I originally thought Pain Of Truth was the odd man out on this lineup but the more I thought about early The Story So Far the more I realized that they were a perfect fit. Looking through the crowd you could definitely tell the people who came to mosh for Pain Of Truth and represent their scene, and the people who came to see the other three bands. They got the crowd warmed up and ready for the rest of the show, and at one point had a massive part of the venue floor two stepping.
I love Origami Angel. Even though they’re only a two piece band they have so much energy on stage and they consistently sound huge. I caught their headlining tour earlier in the summer so I didn’t feel like I missed out by their shorter set length this time around. I do feel fortunate that my favorite Gami song is a setlist staple, and that the crowd loves “Self Destruct” as much as I do. The crowd reaction to “Wretched Trajectory” is always so fun and wholesome. Earlier this month they released a new track, “Back to Life” as part of the 10th anniversary of Counter Intuitive Records, which they debuted live for this tour.
I may primarily listen to more hardcore/ metalcore these days but I will forever have a soft spot for Neck Deep. Their 2015 album Life’s Not Out To Get You was a really important album to me the year that I graduated high school & started college. I’ve essentially grown up with that band and any time I get the opportunity to see them I will. They have such fun energy on stage and off and their set is when the crowd fully embraced the show they were at and started crowd surfing and running around in circle pits. They played the classics like “In Bloom” & “Gold Steps,” and after a substantial amount of audience heckling, the upbeat version of “December.”
I hadn’t seen The Story So Far since 2018 so safe to say I was SO excited to see them again. I don’t believe that Parker has ever sounded better than he does right now. I peeked at the setlist when the tour started and was pleasantly surprised to see a really solid mix of the new album and old favorites I was super excited to hear again,( specifically “Heavy Gloom” I’m a huge fan of TSSF self titled album.) The crowd was going absolutely insane the whole show and I expected nothing less to be honest. After the first three songs in the photo pit I ran straight into the crowd to take part in the madness, complete with my first crowdsurf in probably three years. There’s really nothing like standing in a room full of strangers screaming the same lyrics and that’s what makes live music so special. I also wanted to take a second for the really cool lighting they had projected onto the wall in between songs. The black and white stars were really cool to photograph and I just thought it was cute. Even though I’ve strayed away from the genre in the last couple years, pop punk always feels like home to me, and going back to it during this show was something so special for me personally.
