“So cut my wrists and black my eyes”... an iconic line from HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS 20 years ago. On their stop at the Van Buren for their “20 Years Of Tears" tour, that angst and emo facet of you that you swore “it’s not a phase, mom!” came rushing back. With a multitude of bands joining in on different stops of the tour, this article will shed some blacklight on a few.
The penultimate opener, ANBERLIN, was rocking a new lead singer with MATTY MULLINS from MEMPHIS MAY FIRE. Taking up the mantle for the foreseeable future of ANBERLIN, the crowd welcomed him with open arms and open hearts. With a whole slew of songs during their set, they had something for fans at any stage of ANBERLIN fandom; early, current, old, new, everyone was catered to with their setlist.
Following up, the last opener for the night was SAOSIN. This Californian band brought different vibes leading to different forms of energy for different people in the crowd. So much so that one attendee absorbed the song “Sleepers" and manifested it in themselves, to which lead singer COVE REBER pointed out “did someone just fall asleep during Sleepers?” noting the comedic genius of the act itself. Past this, REBER did call for all of the attendees near said individual to clear the way for venue staff to make contact with the ‘sleeping’ individual to make sure they did not need medical attention. Once everything was cleared up, their setlist continued and the crowd got back into the next (it’s not a) phase of the show.
Finally, when the lights cut out and the ambient music lulled, the crowd exploded with cheer knowing that the headliner HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS was entering the stage. Starting out with “Life On Standby,” the entire "The Silence In Black And White” album was kicked off. From past concerts I have come to understand that JT WOODRUFF is an individual that excels at vamping, and leading into “Niki FM” was no different this evening. With a lead up about growing up in the early 2000’s listening to music from the emo scene, WOODRUFF took us back to a time when we had different outlooks on life from our parents, different issues at school, feelings that needed an escape and a release through music on the radio.
The “20 Years Of Tears" tour took this stop to tune out the tough times of today and tout the intrepid mindset from tumultuous teenage years. With nostalgia running rampant, this left a seed of wonder to what will be released for the 30 year anniversary of HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS’ debut album. If you are interested in checking out a stop or two of this 12-week tour, check the remaining stops here.
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