Concert Review: Cartel Brings 20 Years of 'Chroma' to Mohawk

Written by Bridget Cole

Photos by Claire Hookstra

The 2000s pop-punk band Cartel rocked Mohawk last Wednesday, October 15th, following two energetic performances from openers Macseal and HUNNY. Out of Rockdale County, Georgia, Cartel is Will Pugh (lead vocals), Joseph Pepper (lead guitar), and Nic Hudson (rhythm guitar). Celebrating 20 years of their debut album Chroma, this is the first headline tour the band has embarked on since 2015, which happened to be in honor of 10 years of the same album. While not on headlining tours, the band was still active, supporting both Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness in 2022.  

As the clock struck 9:45 p.m., the lights dimmed and the band started off strong with “Let’s Go,” a song encouraging everyone to stand up and seize the moment, and the crowd did just that. The unit followed with two hits, “Faster Ride” and “The Fortunate,” before exiting the stage to prepare for the next segment of the show: their 2005 album Chroma in its entirety. I couldn’t help but overhear whispers of how concertgoers have loved this band for 20 years or how they drove in from Houston for this “once in a lifetime” anniversary show. Expectations were high and Cartel delivered, moving right into the album opener “Say Anything Else” and keeping the energy up through “Honestly” and “Runaway.” Themes of being young and defying those who doubt you are present throughout the album and one could tell that these words resonated with the audience by the way they passionately screamed along to every word. Singer Will Pugh joked that the audience standing on the second-story sidestage of Mohawk had discovered his secret: that he was reading the lyrics off of a teleprompter, for these fans were able to see the small screen by his feet. While Pugh might’ve needed some help, the fans in the front had no need for a teleprompter, next screeching the words to “Burn This City” saying, “They said we'd burn so bright /  We burn this city and go.” The song ended and transitioned into the first slower song of the night, “Save Us,” a stark contrast to the infectious pop-punk sonics of the night so far. Though the tempo slowed, the energy most definitely did not. You could feel the anticipation all around as people lifted up their phone flashlights to create a scene mimicking stars in the sky.

The musical energy shot right back up with “Luckie St.” and “If I Fail,” quickly transitioning into “The Minstrel’s Prayer” with its iconic drum beats present throughout, along with acoustic sounds, mellowing out the energy of the set for the last time. To listen to this album out of order would do it a disservice, as the satisfaction of the blending from one song to the next is an experience within itself. The heavy drum beats faded away into “Q,” as Pugh sang “I’ll never know / and you won't until / Someone stands up / then you’ll get some answers.” The same lines are repeated in the following and final track of the album “A”. An answer to “Q”, the song calls back to previous songs "Save Us” and “Burn This City” in a dramatic fashion. The crowd understood the assignment, singing their hearts out, giving this song the moment it deserved: a perfect album closer. The lights dimmed, and Cartel exited the stage as fans began to murmur about what they might sing next. 

The band returned just minutes later and moved straight into “The Perfect Mistake,” one of my personal favorites. “This Is Who We Are” followed, as the band encouraged the audience to cheer for the openers Macseal and HUNNY one more time, declaring that it was Macseal’s final night on the ‘Chroma: 20th Anniversary Tour.’. Pugh spoke about how excited he was for the future of the band and how they are actively working on new music, much to the surprise of the audience. Before the show, QR codes were hung up around Mohawk that took users to a link where they could vote on an encore song. Austin chose“I Will Hide Myself Away,” which, according to the band, is a fan favorite. Going off script with their next song, the pop-punkers played “Conduit” off of their 2011 EP In Stereo, in honor of a member of their crew who was “graduating” from the tour and moving on to another one with a different band. The energy remained high throughout the encore, fans singing loudly and jumping to the beat. Their final song, “Deep South,” an homage to their Georgia roots, blared through the speakers, Pugh singing “Go and get my bones / Bring them to the deep south / Oh, yeah somewhere they thaw out / Here in the deep south.”

On this night, Cartel turned Mohawk into a time capsule as the crowd was transported back to their MySpace-era glory days and a time where they told their parents it “wasn’t just a phase.” Indeed, it wasn’t, as my middle school self was screaming as well as my current self with the beginning of each new song. The Cartel ‘Chroma: 20th Anniversary Tour’ is a must-see for any pop-punk enthusiast. A truly underrated band deserving of the spotlight, and I’m more excited than ever to see what they do next.