Boys Like Girls, State Champs, 3OH!3, and LØLØ play San Diego’s SOMA

On October 4th, Boys Like Girls brought The Speaking Our Language Tour to San Diego, CA. Supporting acts included State Champs, 3OH!3, and LØLØ, drawing fans to a packed house at the SOMA venue.

Lauren Mandel, a Canadian singer-songwriter known professionally as LØLØ, opened the show. Beginning her music career in 2018, LØLØ has gained popularity through videos on TikTok and YouTube. She bounced across the stage with high energy, decked out in a plaid skirt and a smile. Her song lyrics touch upon relatable subjects like anxiety and love life, which struck a chord with the audience as they cheered in response through the set.

Setlist:
junkie
death wish
THE FLOOR IS LAVA!!
debbie downer
u turn me on (but u give me depression)
faceplant
omg
hot girls in hell
boohoo

3OH!3 was next up – Boulder, Colorado natives Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte formed the American electronic music duo in 2004. Their group name “three oh three” comes from their original area code 303 while growing up in Colorado. They have collaborated with popular artists such as Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Bert McCracken of The Used, and have been on The Warped Tour multiple times.

Foreman and Motte came out onto the stage with a large electronic sign that said “The Chainsmokers” behind them – they joked several times throughout the set that they were actually The Chainsmokers before changing the sign back to their 3OH!3 logo, which the audience found hilarious. The venue turned into a dance party as the duo performed hits like “Starstrukk” and “My First Kiss.” They ended their set with the song they are best known for, “Don’t Trust Me” from their 2008 album WANT, which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

Setlist:
Starstrukk
Richman
Touchin on My
Colorado Sunrise
LONELY MACHINES
My First Kiss
PunkB*tch
Double Vision
I’m Not Your Boyfriend Baby
Don’t Trust Me

The final supporting act of the evening was the pop-punk group State Champs. Established in 2010 in Albany, New York, the foursome consists of Derek DiScanio as the lead vocalist, Ryan Scott Graham handling bass, Tyler Szalkowski on guitar, and Evan Ambrosio behind the drum kit. The band began with some hits from their two most recent albums, “Outta My Head” from Kings of the New Age (2022) then “Dead and Gone” and “Mine Is Gold” from Living Proof (2018).

Later in the set they threw it back with “Elevated,” one of the group’s most popular songs and a crowd pleaser, which has over 20 million plays on Spotify. This track is from their 2013 album The Finer Things, which celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year. A healthy dose of pop-punk energy was felt in the venue, complete with mosh pits and some crowd surfing throughout their set. Band members Derek DiScanio and Ryan Scott Graham noted that it was 3OH!3’s final night on this tour, reminiscing about how fun they were to work with and how they would be missed, then teasing how they should do a State Champs & 3OH!3 tour in the future. They rounded off their performance with “Everybody But You,” as the concertgoers prepared for the headlining artist.

Setlist:
Outta My Head
Dead and Gone
Mine Is Gold
Criminal
Act Like That
All You Are Is History
Slow Burn
Fake It
Elevated
Secrets
Everybody But You

Finally it was time for Boys Like Girls to take the stage. Each member of the band strutted out in coordinated ensembles of leather pants, jackets, and heeled boots. They oozed rockstar energy as they played through an epic 22-song setlist that spanned their discography. Forming in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts in 2005, the group currently consists of founding members Martin Johnson (lead singer, rhythm guitar) and John Keefe (drums), as well as newcomers Gregory James (bass), and Jamel Hawke (lead guitar). Martin Johnson explained that the band had “12 years in the dark” during their lengthy hiatus following their 2012 album Crazy World. Fans certainly seemed happy to have the band back, excitedly singing along to newly released singles like “BLOOD AND SUGAR” and “LANGUAGE.”

Early in the set, the band included a unique riffy interlude of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” – Johnson taught the crowd to participate in singing the “bah bah bahs” and “so goods” and joked that it was like being in Fenway Park. They went on to play several fan favorite tracks from their 2006 self-titled album including “Dance Hall Drug,” “Thunder,” and “Hero/Heroine.”

During the encore of one of their most popular songs, “The Great Escape,” lead singer Martin Johnson had everyone pause and put their phones away for a technology and distraction-free playthrough of the song. They closed out the night with an acoustic version of “Two Is Better Than One.”

You can catch Boys Like Girls on The Speaking Our Language Tour through November 1st. They also recently released a song “THE OUTSIDE (OUTSIDERS VERSION),” a collaboration which features some of their supporting touring artists: 3OH!3, State Champs, The Summer Set, and The Ready Set.

Setlist:
Love Drunk
Five Minutes to Midnight
BLOOD AND SUGAR
She’s Got a Boyfriend Now
Dance Hall Drug
LANGUAGE
Heels Over Head
The First Time
Up Against the Wall
Thunder / Stuck in the Middle
Born In the USA (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Heart Heart Heartbreak
MIRACLE
The Outfield (The Night Game cover)
Broken Man
Life of the Party
Hero/Heroine
On Top of the World
CRY
THE OUTSIDE
Encore:
The Great Escape
Two Is Better Than One (Acoustic)