State Champs' sold-out show at New Jersey's House of Independents was "Just a Dream"
BY AMBER BINTLIFF
If you’ve never had the privilege of attending a no-barricade State Champs show, I’m sincerely sorry. The Albany pop-punk titans returned to their roots for a string of smaller, sweatier and more intimate shows across the United States. The group brought their crazy energy and antics to New Jersey’s House of Independents for an absolutely insane sold-out night on November 7th.
Pure Noise Records labelmates Super Sometimes and Stateside served as support for this short run of shows and I was hyped to finally catch both of these bands live. I’ve been following Super Sometimes for a little over a year now and I loved every moment of their set. It even gave me a good laugh when they tried to get the crowd moving by saying, “Don’t pull a muscle before State Champs.” Stateside was also incredible live and it was fun to see how those around me reacted to their set.
State Champs began their set with “Remedy” and within the first 30 seconds of the song, my glasses broke because of the first stage diver of the night. It was at this moment I could sense that I was in for the absolute time of my life (and spoiler alert: I was right). I’ve been to a handful of shows at House of Independents, but I have never seen the room come alive the way it did for State Champs. There was an insane influx of crowd surfing, diving, and moshing that you could tell the band was ecstatic to see.
The setlist for these smaller shows is absolutely jam-packed with fan favorites. My personal highlights include “Slow Burn,” “Eventually” and “Simple Existence,” which I was super stoked to catch live. The 22-song set had every fan in the place reliving their Warped Tour days and celebrating the anniversary of the band’s latest self-titled record that dropped exactly one year ago to the day. There was something for everybody, but I think they could have sat in complete silence and people would’ve still been jumping off the walls that night.
It wouldn’t be a State Champs show if I didn’t hand my camera off to the nearest friend so I can hop into the “Secrets” pit to close off the night. There are few things in life that will ever make me feel that alive and I’ll gladly be screaming every word while getting pushed around by a bunch of music-loving strangers until I’m old and grey. Shoutout to the two little kids that DiScanio launched into the crowd at the end of the night, too (if you’ve seen recent X posts from the band, you’ll know what I’m saying).
This show was my fourth time seeing the band and honestly, it might’ve been my favorite. The energy that filled the 500 capacity venue is something I’ll never be able to fully describe. As a longtime fan of State Champs, it was awesome to hear some new and old favorites in a room full of people that love the band just as much as I do.
Sad you missed this small run of shows? Have no fear, more chances to see State Champs live are near! The group will be kicking off 2026 celebrating the 10th anniversary of their quintessential sophomore record Around The World And Back with another short run of shows across the United States in January. tICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION FOR THESE UPCOMING SHOWS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
