Has it really been a successful concert year if I haven’t seen both Hawthorne Heights and Emery at least once? Absolutely not.
And I’ll even do you one better – I’ve seen Hawthorne Heights twice this year! There is also a third time coming down the pike, but that’s for later in the year. This time around, they’ve gathered some new and old friends for a miniature emo festival of sorts. They’ve dubbed it “20 Years of Tears,” and most of the bands on the bill have been rocking for at least that long. The full roster is pretty impressive, but I was still very pleased with what I got at my stop.
Kind of deliberately, I missed out on the first band, This Wild Life. Nothing against them, I’ve just never heard of or listened to them before. With that being said, I arrived for Emery’s set just in the nick of time! It felt a bit criminal how short of a time slot they got, but at least I got to hear the hits. Though just once I’d like to hear “So Cold I Could See My Breath” instead of “Studying Politics.” If I had to choose, that is. Next up to the stage was Armor for Sleep, and I can’t believe it’s been over two years since I saw them perform for the first time! Well spoiler alert they’re just as good! Again, if they were given more time, I would have loved to have heard “Williamsburg” or “Basement Ghost Singing.” I’m mad at myself for not going to talk to the guys as soon as their set was over.
Next on the stage was Anberlin, and I completely forgot about Christian not doing live performances anymore. I wonder how long he’ll be doing studio stuff, too, but anyways, this was new! And I don’t really think I liked it. Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire, and longtime Anberlin fan, has taken vocal responsibilities, and though he sounds good, is gracious, and looks like he’s having an absolute blast, it’s just not the same. Most of the crowd was hype, and I think that was a mixture of Anberlin fans and Memphis May Fire fans. Either way, it was an electric set in that regard. After them, I See Stars took the stage, and I am not familiar with these guys at all, but I liked what I saw. Though lead singer Devin Oliver was crude at times, he also was openly so, so happy to be onstage and interact with the crowd. They may have gained a future fan in me.
Finally, Hawthorne Heights took the stage. Given how many performers there were throughout the night, we were treated to a much shorter set than any normal tour would have produced, but they still hit all the highlights. Actually, this tour is a bit of a continuation of their celebration of The Silence in Black and White, so again, I was treated to almost that entire album and some of the same stories I heard earlier this year. It was nice to hear the recorded version of them this time around, though. Hawthorne Heights are the mainstays of the scene, and they’ve come to fully embrace that status as the years go by, and I think for that, every emo kid will love them forever.
It was a really fun show at an equally fun, and new to me, venue, and I think everyone there could say the same thing. I hope to see more of these bands in the future, but it was truly awesome to get to see them all at once.
