Origami Angel, saturdays at your place and Combat rounded out their recent tour in Buffalo this past weekend.

By Chloe Kowalyk

Indie rock and pop punk waves took over the Queen City on Saturday (June 28) as bands Origami Angel, saturdays at your place and Combat performed live at Town Ballroom. 

Buffalo was the final stop for Origami Angel out of a 17-city tour, including a festival performance at Warped Tour on June 14. 

The tour also included band Chase Petra, but Buffalo concert-goers were informed that the group was unable to make the show. 

Origami Angel, a duo from Washington, D.C., is a group not to be underestimated. 

While the group has only two members, with Pat Doherty on drums and Ryland Heagy on lead guitar and vocals, Origami Angel’s sound packs a punch. 

Their songs dance the line between absolute headbanger and wholesome lyrics showing love and positivity (see “Noah Fence” or “24 Hr Drive Thru”). 

Their songs almost represent a feeling of nostalgia for something that happened only a few years back.

The band also reiterated protecting trans rights, opposing ICE and freeing Palestine. These statements were met with loud cheers and clapping as the crowd agreed with the band’s viewpoints. 

Listening to Origami Angel is, of course, always incredible as the band’s discography is filled with pop-punk anthems and catchy songs. 

But seeing them live is an entirely different experience. 

Although this isn’t my first time seeing Origami Angel perform, it was my first time seeing them headline, as well as my first time seeing them in Buffalo. 

The duo ignites a flame when they take the stage, bringing the heat with their iconic guitar and percussion jams. 

Doherty plays the drums with an intense demeanor, putting full passion into every crash of the symbol and slam on the snare. 

Even between songs, I could see Doherty tapping beats in his lap, preparing himself for the next part of the set.

Heagy bounced around the stage, never remaining in one place for long. At one point, he jumped off the stage and climbed up onto the back of the barricade, leaning in and playing guitar right into the audience as the nearby fans swarmed around him, wiggling their fingers as he played a solo. 

Smiles and pointed fingers angled toward Heagy as he remained against the crowd for several minutes.  

Concert-goers knew every word of every single song Origami Angel played. As I looked around me (holding firm in my place against the barricade), almost every single person was singing along. 

Those not singing along were in the mosh pit, which was large and directly in the middle of the sea of fans. 

At some point, crowd-surfers began bobbing up and down as dozens of hands moved bodies along the top of the crowd.

Each crowd-surfer, desperate to shine in their few moments above the crowd and at eye level with the band, were sure to throw “rock on” hand signs up and shout the lyrics, some extending their hands to match Doherty’s rhythm. 

The end of the ride for each crowd surfer was the pit between the stage and the barricade, where security was ready to help each person down safely, where they were then returned to the crowd. 

I would have thought this would be annoying for the Town Ballroom staff, but they all had smiles on their faces and even patted crowd-surfers on the back as they ran to rejoin the crowd. 

Origami Angel remarked a few times how they loved Buffalo, and also told fans that the first time they ever played a song off of their recent album “Feeling Not Found” was in Town Ballroom. 

The group truly seemed to connect with fans, playing songs off of both old and new albums, and even diving into some deep cuts. 

Origami Angel came full circle when they performed “Fruit Wine,” which is the song they performed for the first time here in Buffalo. 

It’s clear that Origami Angel loves Buffalo, and Buffalo loves Origami Angel. 

At the end of the set, the band promised a full room of fans that they’d be back in Buffalo someday soon. 

While we don’t know when the duo will make their return just yet, I, along with many other fans in the area, am ready to go back. 

Consider my ticket already bought. 

***

First to take the stage was Combat, originally hailing from Baltimore. 

Combat was a strong, high energy group with an electric synergy between members. 

Despite being the first opener, Combat pulled their own fans to the show, as many could be seen in the front rows screaming every word alongside the band. 

The crowd was by far the most energized when the group played their most well-known song, “Stay Golden.” 

Matching the energy of a fast-paced and fun piece, the crowd buzzed with excitement. 

***

Next to take the stage was saturdays at your place, an alternative emo band from Kalamazoo, Mich.

With nearly 180,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, saturdays at your place has quite a few popular songs that made appearances throughout their set. 

The entire set was engaging, with half the audience locked onto the stage and performers and the other half focused on moshing. 

Performing in a genre that could easily fit into midwest emo, saturdays at your place writes songs with heartfelt lyrics matched with memorable chord progressions and a familiar vocal sound. 

Any fan of groups like Ben Quad and Carly Cosgrove would easily find a favorite song from saturdays at your place.

When performing live in Buffalo, the group had an incredible stage presence, kicking their feet up in the air and jumping up and down. 

The best way I can describe saturdays at your place is to relate it to how it feels to be in your coming of age years. It’s that shakey time of figuring yourself out, and staring down at your shoes, with headphones always plugged in. 

One listen to their song “Future” will grant you a look into how it feels to not really know yourself or who you really are. 

While the band explores themes of isolation and the uncertainty of navigating life, their music is not sad and depressing as it may seem. The underlying themes of hope and genuine expression of emotion are exactly what any pop-punker would seek. 

The band ended their set with “tarot cards,” which has over 10.7 million streams on Spotify.

Clearly a fan favorite, the crowd sang every word alongside the band. 

It was a thrilling way to end the set.

Below is a playlist of songs from the bands on the tour, created by Origami Angel.