PUPTHEBAND at House of Blues, 5/10

God! Damn! Punk! Rock!

That’s exactly how I would describe PUPTHEBAND, colloquially known in elitist punk Reddit forums simply as PUP (Pathetic Use of Potential.) The four-piece from Toronto, Canada swept through Boston on May 10th, absolutely shredding the House of Blues’ sound system. 

The walk up to the doors was one full of anticipation – this band has a reputation for shows that go really really hard, so I was strapping myself in for a wild night full of on-stage debauchery. I was, however, first met with the openers. Baltimore riot-grrl revival band Pinkshift went on first, goading the crowd into moshing along to what was, essentially, their entire discography. Explosive frontwoman Ashrita Kumar made sure the crowd was fully riled up for PUP, commanding the crowd to scream out their frustrations before the band launched into their top hit “i’m going to tell my therapist on you,” a fast-paced and slightly ironic taunt towards a nebulous ex-partner heightened by guitarist Paul Vallejo’s skilled solos. 

Ashrita Kumar, ripped and rockin’.

Sheer Mag, a Philadelphia rock band, followed in their footsteps. The Sheer Mag sound contrasted well with that of Pinkshift; I believe how I described it to a friend afterward was “if a female-fronted AC/DC added 70’s R&B sounds to a Creedence Clearwater Revival album” (it’s a truly difficult niche to describe, but they rocked.) “Pure Desire” was a crowd favorite, the rollicking bluesy guitar licks introduced as an important contribution to “[the] horniest song of the evening,” a remark the crowd celebrated with a roar. The closing anthem “Turn It Up” turned back time to an 80s hair metal show, the guitars turned into chugging machines while the band screamed into their microphones and encouraged the eternal mosh pit in the center to grow. 

As the crowd grew more restless, I mentally girded my loins in anticipation of a top-tier set from the headliners. When the clock struck 10, the four strolled leisurely out onto the stage, waited while lead singer Stefan Babcock situated himself in front of a tiny piano, and then finally dropped into “Four Chords,” the introductory song from their 2022 album THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND. The piano-centered song provided a soaring, phone-flash-lit launch of their 1.5 hour set and turned out to be the calmest part of the night. “Four Chords'' bled into “Totally Fine,” which introduced the band’s signature riff-centered rock. The mosh pit, which had been going since the instant Pinkshift stepped on stage, expanded rapidly and became exponentially more violent as Babcock yelled – an interesting contrast to the band’s mild-mannered Canadian exterior. 

PUP played a variety of songs from their discography, focusing on THE UNRAVELING and their 2016 album The Dream is Over. “DVP” from The Dream was one of the grungiest, punkiest, loudest songs of the evening, garnering loud cheers afterwards while the band launched into “Scorpion Hill” from 2018’s Morbid Stuff, which was a lyrical favorite for the crowd. 

A signature PUP move came at the end, where the band explained that they were quirky and different because they refused to do encores; they explained that while they simply disliked walking all the way offstage, they enjoyed the “sexy” aspect of having the anticipation of whether or not they were going to return. After this brief explanation, punctuated by the crowd’s laughter, they instead hid behind pieces of equipment - guitarist Steve Sladkowski aligning himself somewhat successfully with his microphone – and burst out when the “one more song” chant hit an ear-splitting decibel. A personal favorite came during this encore, called “PUPTHEBAND is Filing for Bankruptcy,” an angsty song about the downsides of being a touring band. The group ended on fan-favorite “Kids,” before rocketing off the stage to critical and personal acclaim. 

As I walked out of the House of Blues into the hot-dog-tinted Fenway air, dripping sweat and cleansed of rage post-jump sesh, I made a mental note to scour those punk Reddit forums just one more time. There are some gems hidden deep in their depths, and PUP might just be the highest-carat diamond in the internet’s rough.