SET IT OFF – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 25 FEBRUARY 2025

BY SHARI BLACK VELVET

In September 2024, Cody Carson of Set It Off posted on social media about the band’s new single, ‘Creating Monsters’. He explained that he battles anxiety and part of the battle is being around people that don’t deal with it and don’t understand. This led to the concept of the song almost like being in a room full of monsters that only you can see – a picturesque vision of Cody’s battle with anxiety and his will to fight back. 

Six months later, and he’s back in a big room in Birmingham. We won’t say with monsters, but the show was sold out, with all eyes fixed on the stage, eager for the band to perform for them. Some of the audience no doubt share Cody’s battle – and going to concerts is their way to relax, albeit maybe feeling some anxiety on the way to the show. 

With a [Reborn] version of ‘Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing’ released on November 1st, the band open with the refreshed theatrical single. The crowd are with the band from the moment they… er… set off, singing at the top of their lungs, and following Cody’s swaying side-to-side arm movements.

2024 saw the band release a song called ‘Fake Ass Friends’. It’s Birmingham’s chance to hear it live for the first time. Amalgamating heavy rock and even elements of metal with a dancey pop beat is what Set It off know how to do perfectly. They are never short on melody and the song fits into the set nice and neatly. Then, it’s a blast back to 2014 for ‘The Haunting’ from the band’s ‘Duality’ album. 

The dancier ‘Lonely Dance’ is about liking to spend time at home alone, and sees the audience participating in the arm swaying again. Cody tells the crowd about the band getting burned down year after year, thanking the crowd for selling out the 1500 capacity venue. “We’re not doing it alone, because, this time, we’ve got an army behind us,” the frontman says. The band are definitely winning more and more fans every year, even if they have setbacks.

The 15-song set sees the band play songs “back to back to back to back”, as Cody says. ‘Creating Monsters’ is soon up and Cody tells the crowd it’s for “people who feel out of place in their own brain” . Both he and drummer Maxx Danziger look to have been working out lately, with growing biceps. At one point, Maxx gets to come to the front from behind his drum kit to sing a song (‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’), while Cody goes back to play drums. Maxx has a good voice and does a great job singing lead vocals, while Cody does an equally excellent job on the drums. 

“Who has a friend in a toxic relationship?” asks Cody, before the energetic and eccentric ‘N.M.E.’, while ‘Killer In The Mirror’, followed by ‘Why Worry’, wrap the main set up in sterling fashion. Cody asks if worrying is helping you, and if it’s not helping you, then why worry? It’s something to remember every time you find yourself in the situation. The song itself just magically covers you in a layer of blissful happiness instead. It’s the best mood booster, as is the whole set. We’re reminded of the first time we heard the song over a decade ago. The song doesn’t age and is even more vital now than ever.  

The first song that Set It Off released as an independent band is the final song of the night – ‘Punching Bag’, one “for anyone who is sick of being walked over”. The crowd know all the words. The dynamic song ends the night on a high. Cody and the band are bowled over by the energy from the crowd. “What a fuckin’ night!” he exclaims. Any anxiety that he or anyone in the room may have been feeling at all has most definitely evaporated into thin air. There are definitely no monsters anywhere in sight right now, just the pure joy of a refreshingly, magically-creative, extra-special night.

Older Set It Off photos are HERE