Photos and Words by Emily Cohen
Nostalgia ruled the night as Cartel played a sold out show at Philadelphia’s Theater of the Living Arts. The band revisited their debut album Chroma in honor of its 20th anniversary and had all the elder millennials in the crowd singing their hearts out, me included. For ninety minutes, three of the four original members demonstrated that the energy and chemistry that first captured fans two decades ago remains intact. The performance was both a celebration of the past and a reminder of the staying power of an album that defined a moment in pop punk history.
The last time I saw Cartel perform was in 2008 at a small club that held only a fraction of the audience that filled the Theater of the Living Arts for this anniversary show. I had gotten special permission from my boarding school to leave campus at night to photograph the show. From the first strum of the guitars, the band recreated the same spellbinding energy that defined their earlier performances. After delivering fan favorite “Settle Down,” vocalist Will Pugh paused to catch his breath and told the crowd, “Damn that feels good. That feels real good. Right now… it won’t later. Maybe take an ice bath. But woo. That felt good.”
As their set inevitably came to an end, Cartel surprised fans with two additional songs selected through a live online vote. The biggest revelation of the night, however, came when vocalist Will Pugh announced, “This is not the end. This is the new beginning of Cartel. New record out next year.” With that, they closed out with one final song, leaving the crowd eager for the first new music from Cartel in more than a decade.
Listen to Cartel here!
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