Bad Copy

I’ll be honest, right out of the gate, I was SO hyped for this show. I’ve been a fan of DoFlame ever since their collaboration with DEAR-GOD on the track “Bat House” from back in 2021. I don’t even think DoFlame had released their debut album yet. I had been waiting four years for them to roll through Dallas so, needless to say, I was in party-mode. As such, I didn’t do much note-taking during this particular show.

I rolled up to Club DaDa in Dallas on October 19, 2025 and was happy to see a line forming outside the venue. Parking is atrocious in Deep Ellum so I had to circle the block a couple of times before I was able to make my way inside. DaDa is a smaller venue but has been host to quite a few acts before they went on to selling out stadiums. I have no doubt that at least someone from tonight’s lineup would make the same leap.

Mateo Naranjo aka DoFlame tooks the stage with his bandmates after a short preshow stint at the merch table. I got the sense that many in the crowd might not have known DoFlame, but after the first few songs they were all ready to play. DoFlame’s first record, DoStroy, was a hip-hop punk blast; think early Beastie Boys with the distortion cranked to 11. Their latest release Get Bent took that punk angle and pushed it even further into hardcore territory. The show played out with a similar trajectory. The crowd started out bobbing their heads to the first few songs until, at the behest of Mateo, they were thrashing about in a circle pit around the steel supports of the club with Mateo in the center. Dallas made me proud and showed the Canadian some love on behalf of the southern states.

LustSickPuppy took the stage next with just a microphone and a MacBook. LSP is artist and rapper, Tomasyn Hayes from Brooklyn, New York. LustSickPuppy strutted back and forth across the stage dropping bars and belting out otherworldly screams and growls. After learning that Hayes is also a makeup artist and model, the performative aspect of the set made total sense. They would strike poses mid-set, even performing an insane backbend during one song. It was almost like watching a fashion show on acid. The distorted thumping bass and neon lights turned Club DaDa into a dance club from Hell.

Pinkshift closed out the night with boundless energy. More than half the crowd were sporting some sort of Pinkshift merch. Fans pushed in and made it almost impossible to see singer Ashrita Kumar. Watching Kumar perform kind of reminded me of the time I caught Paramore at Warped Tour where you could only catch glimpses of Hayley Williams as she bounced around on stage flanked by her much taller bandmates and engulfed in a sea of hands. I managed to make my way to the front row and was able to capture the sheer joy on Kumar’s face. Pinkshift have become well known for their high energy sets and they delivered. Their latest album, Earthkeeper, hits hard and the crowd was there for it roaring right along with the band. During a quiet moment Kumar reached into the crowd and was met with a dozen hands. I crouched down just in time and rattled off a few shots. There was a definite connection between the band and their fans that night. I’ll be hard pressed to capture another image that illustrates it so clearly.