[Photo Courtesy of Joseph Turiano]

By Joseph Turiano, Contributor

Tallahassee math rock band, Pool Kids, brought their tour to Ohio this year for their most recent album, Easier Said Than Done. For this tour they brought along two opening acts, PONY and Truth Club, both pumping energy and life into the bill.

Sam Bielanski, Matty Morand, Christian Beale and Joey Ginaldi make up PONY. They started the night with a bang, energizing the night despite being first to play. They put on an amazing performance, showcasing their talent and ability to have fun playing the music and interacting with the crowd. 

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Their set included many of their top songs like “Peach” and “Sick,” which kept the crowd moving and excited to hear the next songs and future acts. PONY also ended up coming out to their merch table and talking with fans, something not all artists have the privilege to do. Interacting with fans was a definite plus and connected the music to the people behind it much better. 

Truth Club of NC came out second, keeping the energy while slowing it down a bit. This changed the vibe from amped up pop rock to a more grunge feel. Throughout their set they had large sections of instrumentals to really drive the mood. The lighting changed from the previous bright lights of green and almost pink to a dark red and yellow. Despite the mood change, the crowd continued dancing and jumping along with every member of the group. 

They featured a great lineup of songs in their set. Showcasing a lot of released and popular songs from their album, Running From the Chase, they also emphasize a lot of newer music that has not yet been released. Truth Club had a powerful set that emphasized their admiration of their fans and how the world is struggling currently, but they are grateful that we can come together to experience this music. 

Pool Kids took on the show as the final act. After running a quick soundcheck before their set, the lights went out and each member walked out on stage equipped with their instrument. They instantly took off into their opening song, “Tinted Windows” which is the second song off of their new album, Easier Said Than Done. The very sparse verses quickly turn into a math rock powerhouse track that explodes with the whole band. The lighting of the stage lit up in a combination of previous colors, mixing the dark red of Truth Club with the very light green from PONY. 

While this tour is aptly named after Pool Kids’ most recent release, they did not forget their fans from their previous work. They featured a total of seven other songs from both their self-titled record, Pool Kids, and Music to Practice Safe Sex To. While highlighting hits from their older records, they also showcased the growth of their music with their newest release. 

Halfway through the set, they played the namesake of both the album and the tour, “Easier Said Than Done.” Christine Goodwyne, Pool Kids lead singer and guitarist, crowdsurfed during the bridge of the song, taking the microphone with her and shouting the lyrics with fans. The song immediately after, “Conscious Uncoupling,” Christine did a similar thing except during the breakdown she joined the crowd’s mosh pit, getting tossed around with the microphone, energizing fans and keeping the night alive deep into their set.

Pool Kids ended their set with “Exit Plan,” a song that explains someone not wanting something to end, similar to how Christine related her not wanting to leave the show. However, despite being Pool Kids’ final song, they came out and played one more as an encore. This truly closed the show with “Swallow” from their self-titled album, which completed the night with one more high energy track and a heartfelt goodbye from the band.