Concert Review: Apes Of The State (The Pinhook)

BY CHRIS HOCKER

To mark the ten-year anniversary of the release of their debut album This City Isn't Big Enough, Lancaster, PA folk punk band Apes Of The State brought their "This City Isn’t Big Enough" Ten Year Anniversary Tour to Durham's Pinhook on January 17th. The Pinhook was packed, sweaty, and sold out.

Apes Of The State--singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist April Hartman, mandolinist/electric guitarist Dan Ebersole, bassist/violinist Mollie Swartz, and drummer/bassist Ian Cornele--divided Saturday night's show into two sets. The first set saw Ebersole on mandolin, Swartz on violin, and Cornele on bass. After playing "They Can't Kill Us All" to check their levels, they perfomred This City Isn't Big Enough in its entirety. And it rocked hard.

After taking a short break, the band emerged with Ebersole on electric guitar, Swartz on bass, and Cornele on drums. This set was more charged and the audience could feel it. Mosh pits broke out several times during the second set. To say the crowd was into the show was an understatement. These weren't people who wandered into the bar on a Saturday night. These were folks who were grew up with Apes Of The State and screamed along in unison with Hartman.

The night was a blast, especially the second set. The band tore through crowd favorites like "Internet Song," "I Shot A Gun Today," and four songs off their 2025 album What's Another Night?, including "I'm Okay!," which we named the 9th best song of 2025.

If you get a chance to see Apes Of The State live, do it. It's a fun, energetic night of folk punk music. And if you're not familiar with the band, check them out on Bandcamp or your favorite streaming service.

SET LIST
SET ONE
"They Can't Kill Us All"
"Sober Intentions"
"Bill Collector's Theme Song"
"Strangers"
"Conversations With The Self-Centered"
"Plate Glass Apology"
"Cats In Heat"
"I Listened"
"Timeline"
"On To The Next"

SET TWO
"Hot Summer Night, Pt. 1"
"Internet Song"
"Punk Rock Shows In Heaven"
"Toothache"
"I Shot A Gun Today"
"I'm Okay!"
"Snowflake"
"Better Off"
"What Am I Doing with My Life?"
"What's Another Night?"

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CHRIS HOCKER, Editor

Strange Carolinas started as a hobby for Chris Hocker who often dragged his family to offbeat detours on family vacations. Hocker decided to start photographing and writing about these roadside attractions and in June 2014, launched Strange Carolinas with a story on Myrtle Beach's KISS Coffeehouse. In addition to chronicling over 400 attractions across the Carolinas, Strange Carolinas has also become an impressive music blog.