It’s hard to believe that I’ve been listening to The Academy Is… for twenty years and have only managed to see them for the second time. And the first time was just two years ago at a festival!
In my defense, when I did finanlly start going to concerts in earnest, they were either barely touring or on a pretty long hiatus. I am so happy that emo is having a resurgance, and I hope all of these bands that I’ve loved since middle school find their inspiration again and either make new music or just keep touring on the old stuff. I feel like bands that haven’t been together for a hot minute wouldn’t mind reliving the glory days for a year or two. In fact, despite my age, this means that so many bands are partaking in anniversary tours for albums that have been on repeat since they were released two decades (or more) ago. Yay me!
This particular tour that The Academy Is… set out on was to celebrate the release of the album that started their career, Almost Here. I know if I popped up that cover art to some people I went to school with they would absolutely recognize it, even if they never knew any of the songs. They also lived under the Fueled by Ramen umbrella, so you know that this album was destined to be on my radar. And William Beckett had swoon-worthy locks that put him on my crush list one hubdred percent. The Academy Is… was also special to me because of the constant interactions they had with so many other bands that I liked back then. What I wouldn’t give for a co-headlining tour with Cobra Starship. Nothing hurt me more than missing them at Riot Fest this year.
Anyway, on the day of the actual concert, I realized that I probably hadn’t listed to a song from Almost Here in a decade. So while I was hammering through something monotonous at work, I put that bad boy on and let me tell you what, the words fell out of my mouth like I was a sleeper agent suddenly activated. “The Phrase That Pays” is still a masterpiece and absolutely deserved every bit of praise that it did back in the day. The first half of that album totally rules, whereas the second half doesn’t quite pique my interest as much. Even the title track still doesn’t really catch my attention.
The crowd at this show, dangerously small when I first got there, ate every single moment of this show. They belted out each song at the top of their lungs, throwing hands in the air, ending with wild screams. I think what made the show even better for me was seeing how much fun the band seemed to be having. They seemed genuinely happy and kept teasing the crowd in a way that had us eating out of their palms. And my god did they sound good! My friend argued that they sound better now than they did then, but I think Beckett has always had the chops. I was more impressed that they didn’t pad the set with any long talking sessions. It was all about the music and he belted out each song with a little sip of water here and there.
We left knowing that new music was on the hoizon, but it’s clear that the love for their old work is still there. I don’t know how many shows are left on the tour, but if you were ever a fan, here is your sign to go!
