Poppy and Dying Wish at House of Blues Anaheim

Saturday night at House of Blues Anaheim was one for the books. I honestly showed up for Dying Wish. Their new album Flesh Stays Together dropped the day before and I had to see what it sounded like live. By the end of the night I left completely converted into a full-on Poppy fan. This tour is the real deal.

Dying Wish Set the Tone

From the jump Dying Wish came out swinging. Emma Boster hit the stage with brutal vocals that shook the whole room. No slow build, no easing in — circle pits were going almost instantly and people were throwing down like it was a headlining set.

Hearing the new songs live just a day after the album release was wild. They sounded huge, heavier than on record, and you could tell the band was fired up to finally let them rip in front of a crowd. Emma has this presence where she’s both completely chaotic and totally in control at the same time. It was one of those sets that makes you want to run home and play the album front to back again.

Poppy Brought the Shock Factor

I’ll be real, I walked in a casual Poppy fan not sure what I was in for. By the time she walked off stage I was blown away.

Her setlist hit every corner of her world — heavy industrial moments, glitchy pop hooks, metal riffs, and stuff that felt like it belonged in a rave. Songs like BLOODMONEY, Concrete, and Bite Your Teeth hit so hard live while Scary Mask and Bruised Sky showed off her stranger side. The room was fully locked in the whole time, and it felt like every person around me knew every word.

The production made it all feel larger than life. The lights, the way the songs flowed into each other, the constant switch ups in mood and style. One second it was chaos, the next it was haunting and beautiful. Poppy ran the show with total confidence and honestly made me forget I came in just to see Dying Wish.

Why This Tour Matters

The coolest part of the night was realizing just how much Emma Boster and Poppy are both reshaping rock in their own ways. Emma is carrying hardcore into a new era with pure ferocity, and Poppy is bending genres and rewriting the rules of what rock can be. Different sounds, different approaches, but the same impact. This is what the future of heavy music looks like and it is led by women who are absolutely unstoppable.

Tour Dates

If you get the chance, do not sleep on this tour. Here are the next shows coming up:

Sep 28, 2025 Ventura, CA
Sep 30, 2025 San Diego, CA (The Observatory North Park)
Oct 2, 2025 Las Vegas, NV (House of Blues)
Oct 6, 2025 Dallas, TX (House of Blues)

And after this run, Dying Wish will be back out headlining their Flesh Stays Together tour from November 14 in Nashville through December 12 in Portland with Static Dress, Gouge Away, Orthodox, and Boltcutter.

Final Thoughts

I went in for Dying Wish, got everything I wanted, and then some. Emma and the band tore the place apart and set the bar sky high. Then Poppy came in and delivered one of the most unique and powerful sets I’ve seen in a long time. Together it made for a night that reminded me why I love live music so much. This tour is not just worth catching, it is a must.