Dead Poet Society Bring an Evolution to House of Blues with Monarch Tour

Oct 30

3 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

DEAD POET SOCIETY just annihilated the House of Blues in Las Vegas, for a night that went way beyond my expectations and just blew the roof off.

I’ve been shooting bands over 40 years - started in the early 80's and kept going. Took a few breaks from photographing music here and there, moving to gallery spaces and abstract in New Orleans and Seattle, as strange as that is, since Seattle was a music heyday in the 90's. But when I moved to Vegas, I completely immersed myself in concerts and music events again. I shot most everyone on my bucket list, and bands I knew and liked, so in the last year or so I’ve really started to explore bands I missed out on, or know not so much about, or just new music, and go out with no expectations and listen and discover what I missed along the way.

This show I really did this for me. All the bands were fantastic in their own way, the crowd was great, and it felt really freeing to listen to new music, and make my version of art from it.

Broadside really was a fun and really got me in a good headspace, singer Oliver Baxxter was an animated presence and full of energy, and the pop punk hooky songs got the crowd moving. Broadside released Nowhere, At Last this year, take a listen and more HERE.

Hunny had a little bit of the Cure, a little bit bit of that 80's new wave, with a more updated Indie feel, and totally surprised at how much I liked them. Angsty lyrics you can dance to. Now more of a solo project from Jason Yarger, still going by Hunny, he has a new album out as well, SPIRIT! Out Now On Epitaph Records, and more on Hunny HERE.

Honey Revenge from LA was definitely from LA. They were really fun pop punk infused duo (vocalist Devin Papadol and guitarist Donny Lloyd) with a party attitude and funky vibe, a great crescendo to the night. They released Loving and Losing (Thriller Records), their second album earlier this year, and are building a "Bee Band" following. More HERE.

Dead Poet Society was impressive. I knew very little about this band as embarrassing as that is, and I feel like I should have, they were so good and so much harder live than I expected. Vocalist Jack Underkofler's voice can go from soft and beautiful and ethereal to forceful, and the band (Jack Collins, Dylan Brenner, and Will Goodroad) gives the heaviest emotional punch in your face. They started with "Hollywood On Fire" from their new 2026 album Monarch, an album that reflects a new birth of sorts, and the tour celebrates the release but still hits the crowd faves. They loved it, singing along, and I loved it too.

They show was so incredible high energy and connective, it felt like the audience and the stage were almost one. The songs brought out a force in the room, and the crowd moved with it, surfing, circling and hands in the air. What a moment.