Cartel @ The TLA with Hit The Lights, TEAM* and Driver Friendly.
Text and images by Evan Kaucher.
Cartel hit the stage at the TLA Friday for a sold out show and took their fans back 10 years with an entire set dedicated to their classic album Chroma.
Not only one of the most influential pop-punk albums, Chroma is also Cartel’s first full-length, which released in 2005. As a celebration to its 10-year anniversary, the group set out on a U.S. tour (with one show in U.K.), playing the entire album from front to back. This would be a first for the band.
With a majority of the fans reminiscing about their teenage love and heartbreaks, Cartel’s lead singer Will Pugh reminded everyone of the last time they played at the TLA in 2007.
“The last time we played here it was St. Patrick’s Day and we were trashed along with audience,” he said. “It was a show to remember.”
The crowd roared with approval, throwing up hands and sloshing beers as if they all remembered the epic event 8 years ago.
Starting from the top of the album, they opened with “Say Anything (Else),” which was a featured song in Madden 07. They then followed with their hit single “Honestly,” which they performed on MTV’s TRL (Total Request Live for the younger generation) in 2006. As of this year, “Honestly” has since been certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America.
For most of the fans, the concert brought them back to their youth, whether it was to when their parents drove them to their first Cartel show or when they first ripped butts after school blasting Chroma from their car stereo.
Accompanying them on tour was Hit The Lights, who recently came back from Japan (Skip School Start Fight Tour) and the U.K. (Pure Noise Tour). Their full length Summer Bones has also recently been released.
TEAM* and Driver Friendly also opened giving a more alternative rock vibe.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
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