Audelio Flores, Jr. of Set Your Goals performing at the Oakland Metro Operahouse in Oakland, CA. January 13, 2017. Photo: Jared Stossel

Set Your Goals
'Mutiny!' 10 Year Anniversary Show
w/ Stickup Kid, Misser, Tiny Stills, Mariner
Oakland Metro Operahouse
Oakland, CA
January 13, 2017

Written by Jared Stossel

To say that the room was buzzing with excitement when Set Your Goals took the stage in Oakland for their highly anticipated ten-year anniversary tour celebrating their first album, Mutiny, would be a severe understatement. Let's put it this way: there was a moment when I decided, 'oh hey, this might be fun! I'll run into the pit to try and get some photos from up close!' (Oakland Metro has no barricade, adding to the intimate vibe of the room). After nearly getting tackled twenty times as the fans screamed the words back to the now reunited six-piece pop-punk band from the Bay Area, I managed to escape. I turned back in awe of how the crowd in attendance hung onto every single word, every drum beat, and every guitar riff.

I'm not sure what it's like anywhere else in the United States for this band, but a Set Your Goals show in the Bay Area is complete fucking chaos, from start to finish. It's unbelievable how rabid the crowd gets (all in good fun). While the vocals are more melodic on their records than in a live setting, it showcases an element that lies far more on the borders of hardcore punk than pop-rock. Seeing Set Your Goals live is truly the best way to get a grasp of what kind of power these guys have as a band.

On Friday the 13th, the Bay Area six-piece took the stage to a sold out crowd in Oakland's Metro Operahouse. The show was supposed to be a ten-year anniversary show that would celebrate the first album the band ever released, Mutiny!. But it didn't exactly start off with those songs. You see, with the popularity of these ten-year tours that a great number of bands are concocting, shows like this will generally start with the band performing the entire album from front to back, followed by a slew of the band's bigger hits from other records. This time around, Set Your Goals decided to start with some fan favorites from their other two albums to kick things off and get the energy up, as Mutiny! only clocks in at around twenty-six minutes in length. Favorites like "Gaia Bleeds", "Summer Jam", and "Certain" went over extremely well with those in attendance.

And the performance of the album? Forget about it. Pure insanity for a half-hour, in the greatest way possible. After the lights went up, people kept chanting for an encore. In true punk rock fashion, the band returned to the stage (with all of the venue lights up and past curfew) to play two more songs for the crowd. What a fun night for all.