What a great venue to host these future legends of rock. I was glad to see such a hyped crowd to see these young ladies do their thing and remind us all, young and old, what it looks like to be a rock star. Humble, but commanding of the instruments and making us all understand why Plush is a rising star in the industry.
I have personally had the pleasure of seeing this band grow in their live act from first seeing them open the Louder Than Life festival in 2022, and then make a stellar showing locally last year opening for Collective Soul at the Red, White, and Blue Ash July 4 Fest. In fact, they played for over an hour that day and I was impressed.
As the small but mighty frontwoman Mariah Formica takes the stage to guide us through the set beginning with "Athena," which is the song that first sparked my interest in Plush and I’m sure many others. Breaking into this familiar riff, the crowd knows they are off to the races. Supporting the Find The Beautiful EP for this tour, the fans heard the entire EP during this evening intermingled between some older tunes.
What I find great to watch with a young band is developing their stage presence year after year with more experience. Each member commands their spot on stage and really interacts with the crowd to add energy to the show. Ashley Suppa keeps the rhythm section on bass does the lions share of backing vocals. Always a smile on her face and clearly having a blast. Bella Perron, has really progressed in the lead guitar role and makes her presence known on every song when she makes the guitar solo seem effortless. I wonder if there’s any thought for a minute or two guitar solo next time Bella…? Let us not forget Faith Powell tearing up the drum kit in the back. As the youngest and most recent member, she seems quiet on the mic but kicks ass on the drums.
Some highlights of the night were certainly newer tunes that hit earlier this year like "Run" early in the set and "Left Behind" at the end. Of course, the Heart classic "Barracuda" is always a hit for crowds and that was no different here. Once you hear the opening riff…everyone is ready. In listening to the new EP, I was excited to hear "Hope it Hurts" and "Hate" which was the encore thankfully. An unexpected highlight was an instrumental song they called "Tidal Wave" played during this set. As I tend towards heavier music, I was immediately struck when this started and I did not recognize it, but I liked it. Then I tried to find it on the internet…and nothing… except videos from this tour! Keep an ear out for this one folks.
Supporting Plush tonight were The Feels and Cage Willis.
To summarize, an evening of hard-rocking music from a well-put-together band with a bright future. Plush can bring together several generations of rock fans as evidenced by this crowd. My daughter attended with me, and I spoke with a few others whose teen and adult children were there to carry the torch, or in this case the horns. The only regrets on this night will be the ones who missed the show!
Setlist:
Athena
Champion
Run
Kill the Noise
Sober
Walk Away
Find the Beautiful
Better Off Alone
Barracuda (Heart cover)
I Don't Care
Tidal Wave
Will Not Win
Hope It Hurts
Left Behind
(Encore) Hate
