The moment the announcement dropped for the CTRL+ALT+DEL Tour with headliners Sleeping With Sirens, an empathetic squeal could be felt around North America. Fans of the band are passionate and any opportunity to see them are immediately fulfilled with ticket sales. And it’s no surprise they made a stop in Orlando, FL as they started their musical journey here. And our site was fortunate enough to cover the show on July 27th.
I arrived at House of Blues Orlando early because I knew it would be a sold-out show that night. Fans turned out early for the show and it was shoulder to shoulder packed inside. And you felt how excited the fans were that evening. You could feel the anticipation they were holding for the bands to come on stage. The smiles on their faces were wide because they knew the artists that night were going to deliver. And they absolutely did.
First to the stage was the artist known as Garzi. Out of Miami, FL his style of rock caught the attention of Capitol Records after he self-released his EP nothing to something. He signed with the record label but left them at the end of the year and signed with Big Noise Record in 2020. He released his second EP Stuck in the Middle in May 2020. It was cool to see him on this tour since he says Sleeping With Sirens was one of his musical influences.
I had never heard of Garzi until that night, but the fans definitely knew him. The moment he stepped onto the stage the crowd cheered loudly, which made him smile. And then he and his band absolutely let loose on stage. Fast-paced, energetic, and great cadence for signing, Garzi and his group had the fans in the palm of their hands. “Sick of Me” slowed down the pace a little and has a wonderful passionate feel. “Hopeless” brought out his hip-hop/rap style, which I really enjoyed, and I’m usually not a fan of that style of music. And “Summer” showed off Garzi’s amazing vocal range with such clear falsetto notes. The fans really enjoyed it when he jumped into the photo pit to get on the barrier and crowd surf. He also got the crowd to light up the House of Blues Orlando just via cell phones. It was a very impressive performance and the crowd was very appreciative of Garzi’s performance.
Next was the Los Angeles band known as Point North. Signed with Hopeless Records the rock band had some interesting stage props that looked like highway guardrails with platforms and lights underneath. When they came out on stage, the crowd roared for them loudly. They definitely had solid fans for them that evening. I hadn’t heard their music before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. “Never Coming Home” was a catchy rock tune that had the crowd grooving along. “Nice Now” was another great song that had energy and had the crowd bouncing around.
At one point, Jon Lundin (vocals), stopped the performance as people on the floor were waving to get someone’s attention. Jon pointed out the location so House of Blues security could get over there to get the fan medical attention. Fortunately, the person was OK and Jon thanked the crowd for pointing out the person who needed help. They continued their set with more high energy and great rock and then had a huge surprise for the fans. Kellin Quinn, vocalist of Sleeping With Sirens, joined them on stage to perform Point North’s single “Into The Dark”. The crowd went absolutely insane during when Kellin stepped out and he and Point North rocked that song. He stayed out for one more song before Point North wrapped up their set.
The vibe changed when the British rock band, Don Broco took the stage. The band from Bedford, England formed in 2008 and released 3 EPs before being picked up by Sony Music to release their album Priorities in 2012. It peaked at number 25 on the UK album charts. They followed that with Automatic in 2015 via Epic Records, which peaked at number 6. Technology was their third studio album via SharpTone records in 2018 which peaked at number 5. Their most recent album Amazing Things released in 2021 hit number 1 on the UK album charts. Don Broco consists of Rob Damaini (vocals), Simon Delaney (guitar), Tom Doyle (bass), and Matt Donnelly (drums).
I knew of Don Broco by name but never listened to their music either. So, I was a caught off guard when they came out and it sounded like a disco rock show. Rob had a Saturday Night Fever pose, shaking his hips and pointing to the crowd. He had a huge smile on his face as they kicked off their set with “Everybody” from Technology. The song does have a disco feel with some great riffs from Simon and Rob’s vocals are truly spectacular. They followed with “Gumshield” from Amazing Things. This song had more rap-singing while still infusing that rock vibe. Next was “Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan” also from Amazing Things. The first part starts out as spoken word and then jumps back into that rap-rock style of music.
Don Broco really had the crowd into them that night. As a rock band, there’s no one out there like them. Their music style is unique, they mix up their style and sounds, and most of all, you can tell they have fun on stage. Rob is constantly dancing and grooving and always smiling. Tom was strumming away having fun. Matt was focused ripping up the drums. But, Simon was crazed on stage, dancing around, kicking, and jumping. His intensity is absolutely insane.
From intensity to having fun, Don Broco loves to put on a show. And they like to have fun with the crowd too. Rob punked everyone when he invited a female friend on stage and took her hand and dropped down to one knee. You literally heard the entire crowd gasp in unison and then Rob stood up laughing explaining she was already married and her and her husband just got back from their honeymoon and they brought him on stage. It was a truly hilarious moment. And then they finished up their set with the “T-Shirt Song” where they got everyone to wave t-shirts over their head as they performed, saying it was a tradition in the pubs. The crowd truly loved Don Broco and I look forward to seeing them return to Orlando. You can find their music and merch at https://www.donbroco.com/.
Their setlist that night was:
- Everybody
- Gumsheidl
- Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan
- Uber
- Come Out To LA
- ACTION
- You Wanna Know
- Pretty
- Bruce Willis
- T-Shirt Song
Finally, the crowd was going to see the band they’ve all been wanting, Sleeping With Sirens. The band formed in 2009 and released their first studio album in 2010 titled With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear. In 2013 the band released their third studio album Feel. It received solid reviews and ended up peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200. They would release 3 additional studio albums before announcing the coming of Complete Collapse on October 14, 2022. Sleeping With Sirens is comprised of Kellin Quinn (vocals), Justin Hills (bass), Nick Martin (rhythm guitar), and Matty Best (drums). Also with them was touring musician Tony Pizzuti (lead guitar).
The venue went pitch black which brought on cheers from the crowd. Matty was led to his seat behind the drums with a flashlight and the crowd cheered. The rest of the band made their way on stage as the stage lights slowly rose. Matt counted out on his drumsticks as the band performed “Break Me Down” from 2019’s How It Feels To Be Lost. Matt leads the song via drums before Kellin rips out the unclean vocals, which is just insane that he can switch his vocals so easily. It’s definitely a mosh pit style hardcore song that just makes you want to move. “Kick Me” from 2014’s Madness was next. It’s a great rock tune where Kellin shows how truly talented he is as a vocalist, and the song has a great message about not judging others. And then it was “Leave It All Behind” from their 2019 How It Feels to be Lost. The crowd went nuts for this song with its hard-hitting guitars and drums and damn can Kellin bust out a scream during his performances. The crowd was going wild and we were only 3 songs in.
Sleeping With Sirens live performances are one to behold. They are filled with electricity, passionate fans, great music, and emotions. Kellin was very open with how much he appreciated every person in the room spending their hard-earned money to come see them that evening. And the band played their heart out on every single song. From Kellin’s passionate singing to Tony’s speedy guitar riffs, the band was playing perfectly. Nick and Justin were having fun bouncing around on the stage as they performed. Matty was hitting the drums hard as they reverberated through the speakers. It was loud, it was hard, and most of all, the set was fun. They did slow it down a moment doing a wonderful acoustic version of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls and finishing off their set with “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn“, which was the lead single from their debut album. They did encore with “Do It Now Remember It Later” and “You Can’t Hang“.
It was a fantastic performance of Sleeping With Sirens that night and the fans confirmed from their cheers and applause. You can find their music and merch at https://www.sirensmusic.co/. Their setlist that night was:
- Break Me Down
- Kick Me
- Leave It All Behind
- Never Enough
- Talking To Myself
- Go Go Go
- Better Off Dead
- Crosses
- Agree To Disagree
- Scene Five: With Ears to See, and Eyes to Hear
- Scene Two: Roger Rabbit
- Iris (Goo Goo Dolls cover)
- Bloody Knuckles
- If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn
Encore:
- Do It Now Remember It Later
- You Can’t Hang
The CTRL+ALT+DEL tour stop at House of Blues Orlando was a lot of fun with truly great music and talented artists. It was such a wide variety of styles there was something there for everyone.
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