This post recounts my experience seeing Papa Roach live. They were on their Kill the Noise tour with Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves. To hear my remarks to what I thought of Hollywood Undead, click here.

As I was sitting happily with my nachos, it was time for Papa Roach to take the stage. They opened their set with “Kill the Noise” which is off their latest album, “Ego Trip.” Then, they kicked into “Getting Away With Murder.”

My inner middle schooler/early high schooler flipped out. I did not know how excited I was to hear “Getting Away With Murder” until they played it. I still knew every word. It was wild.

“Getting Away With Murder” was truly the only album by Papa Roach album I gave a fair chance back in the day. Outside of that, I only knew what was played on my local rock station.

Jacoby Shaddix is Wholesome Content.

Remember the five-year-old in the mohawk that Hollywood Undead asked if he was drunk?

That child was also acknowledged by Papa Roach. Jacoby Shaddix called out the kid, complimented the mohawk, and told the dad to “cherish those years,” and then Jacoby talked about his son who was away at college.

I think that was the moment they broke into their cover of “Song 2” by Blur.

This show made me a Jacoby Shaddix fan. He seems like a great guy at heart and I left the show happy for him and his successes. I’ve also found myself in the Jacoby rabbit hole while writing this post.

Stand Up

“Stand Up” is another new track and it had the most hilarious visuals I have ever seen. My cousin and I were dying from laughter. Why did they pick these visuals? We didn’t ask each other this in a negative way; it came from a place of genuine curiosity.

It was hard to make this out at the show, especially not knowing this song beforehand, but it made sense with the lyrics. They were indeed saying “sweat” for much of the song. I agree that 80s exercise videos were the most logical choice.

It also fits into Papa Roach’s vibe these days. It is very obvious from their TikTok that Papa Roach does not take themselves seriously. This is a quality I admire a LOT in bands and artists. I can’t tell you how many times Papa Roach came up on my For You Page and I was cracking up.

Scars

They played “Scars” in a different key. They’re not the first artists to do this and they won’t be the last. I’m not sure how long they’ve been playing it live down half a step, but it works. B Major gave “Scars” a more harsh and powerful quality to it. B♭ Major gave a more hopeful, yet more melancholy quality to it.

This works because of the lyrics. You’re trying to help someone, but you ultimately give up on them because they can’t force them to fix themselves.

I am willing to bet that it’s not that deep, however. I bet they played it a half step down to lower the overall vocal range. The song came out in 2004. It’s been 18 years. Might be easier on Jacoby’s vocal chords these days, but who knows.

Swerve (feat. FEVER 333 & Sueco) by Papa Roach

The reason why I don’t mind going to concerts with bands I’m not THAT familiar with is because I might walk out of there liking a song.

“Swerve” was not one of those songs that night, but I was intrigued. Carl the Roach played saxophone and members from Hollywood Undead came out to perform with them.

At the time, I thought, “Of COURSE, they are performing with Hollywood Undead in their encore. They’re touring together” and took it as that.

However, at some point after the concert, I thought about that performance again, and I decided to look up the music video.

First and foremost, I did not realize that Swerve featured Jason Aalon Butler and Sueco. Jason Aalon Butler I knew from letlive and then I lost track of him. I recognized Sueco because his song “Fast” that blew up on TikTok in 2019.

This certainly is not the same Papa Roach who did “Last Resort” which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing. I appreciate it when bands evolve their sound or try something new. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it does not work.

Papa Roach have some rap elements in their music. Some may even label them as nu-metal. I do not believe “Swerve” was jumping the shark. I thought it worked. In fact, “Swerve” started to really grow on me over time. It could be the doggies in the music video.

I do appreciate the music video. Outside of the convertible, it’s not truly “flexing” anything. There’s no flying cash or anything. It’s clear everyone is just having fun, especially Jacoby.

Closing Thoughts About Papa Roach

Papa Roach is a solid act to see live. However, it’s always more fun when you know their music beforehand. Going in, I knew only a handful of Papa Roach songs on their setlist.

This is kind of silly to admit this, but this is a character development moment on my part – Papa Roach grew on me altogether throughout 2022 since this concert. I want to kick my younger self’s ass for not giving Infest a fair chance back in the day because that truly is a phenomenal album.

Becoming a fan of Papa Roach was certainly not on my 2022 bingo card, but it was one of the highlights of the year.