REVIEW: Seaway, Trophy Eyes @ Brighton Music Hall 11/30

By Jarrad Levy

When Trophy Eyes and Seaway announced their coheadling American Vacation Tour I was confused. I love both bands and have become a big fan of both after their latest releases The American Dream and Vacation, respectively, but they are such wildly different bands. While both can fit into the broad genre of punk rock, Trophy Eyes falls mostly into the category of melodic hardcore while Seaway is unquestionably pop punk through and through. I never would have expected the two bands to synergize so well, but they did.

After what felt like an eternity waiting for an hour outside the venue, half an hour inside the venue, and three somewhat decent opening bands, Trophy Eyes finally hit the stage. They ripped into “You Can Count on Me” which really presents everything special about the band. Not only is it one of the band’s most emotional songs with deeply personal lyrics about addiction and friendship, but it also shows off lead singer John Floreani’s fantastic voice and even better scream. Floreani began his habit of stage diving during the song and continued to do so during almost every song the band played. Their third song was “More Like You,” which opens with the lyrics, “Now that we’re done with introductions / You know a little more about me.” I thought it was clever for them to play this song early, as it truly felt like Floreani was talking to the crowd rather than feeling like the band was playing just any song in their catalogue.

After a few songs, Floreani talked to the crowd, bringing up how awesome it was to be playing on a Friday. This sparked heavy chants for Trophy Eyes’ fan favorite song, “Friday Forever” to which Floreani told the crowd, “Not yet.” While I found this funny, there were audible boos from the crowd after the stunt. The band continued playing until the crowd started chanting for another fan favorite, “Heaven Sent,” to which Trophy Eyes complied to a raucous sing along.

If it were possible, Trophy Eyes kicked it into another gear when they played their most popular song, “Chlorine” and the aforementioned “Friday Forever.” Both songs were great live, but they should have ended their set with either of those songs, rather than “I Can Feel It Calling,” as it was clear that the show peaked with the two songs before it.

By the time Trophy Eyes left the stage, I had no idea how I would have enough left in the tank to make it through Seaway’s set, but the moment they got on stage their energetic “Best Mistake” had me and the crowd on our feet ready to rock once again. During the song, lead singer Ryan Locke was jumping along with the crowd throughout its entirety. His energy was so readily apparent that it transferred right into the crowd.

Having seen Seaway twice prior, it was weird to see Locke without his trademark Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses to thematically go along with their latest album, Vacation. However, the all black ensemble he wore told me one thing: This would be a stripped down set all about what really matters–kick ass punk rock.

The band tore through their set, playing their fantastic new single, “Blur,” and some old favorites like “Shy Guys.” During their song, “Slam,” the circle pit swallowed almost the entirety of the floor of Brighton Music Hall with the crowd passionately slamming into each other and running in circles. Locke egged the crowd on, telling us to get bigger and bigger as the night went on.

Seaway ended their setlist with fan favorite “Lula on the Beach” and begged the crowd to go buy merch before it was too late, as Brighton Music Hall would be kicking everyone out of the venue at 11:30 p.m. and they ended their set at 11:20 p.m.

Overall, both Trophy Eyes and Seaway put on fantastically energetic and fun sets that I will remember for a long time. I became a fan of both the bands accidentally, after seeing them open up for one of my favorite artists, Neck Deep, and it was so exciting to see the two become large enough over the past year to headline the same venues as the band they opened for not even 10 months ago (two months in the case of Trophy Eyes). I absolutely cannot wait to see where these two bands go next, as they carry the torch of punk rock proudly and with absolute vigor. If you have the opportunity to see either band, I highly recommend it, as they were clearly enjoying their shows as much as the crowd.