Photo Credit: Erica Vining<\/p>\n
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Review by Christian Oversvee-Choi<\/p>\n
Under the neon glow of the theological marquee at Citizens House of Blues on Thursday, Oct. 22, three unique groups of energy-driven musicians took the stage in a bill that pleased skaters, moshers and goths alike. Hawthorne Heights, with support from Letlive and Creeper, are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their critically acclaimed emo masterpiece \u201cIf Only You Were Lonely\u201d with the Lonely World: USA Part II tour, with Boston being the third stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Opening the show was the English goth rock outfit Creeper. They took the stage with a spooky, Vincent Price-style monologue featuring shrill orchestrals, then broke out into a hard-hitting rock tune that had fans and newcomers nodding along instantly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The band\u2019s look matched the goth vibe with skin-tight black jeans, leather jackets, sharp widow’s peaks and thick black eyeliner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While paying tribute to classic genre tropes with droning synths and horror-filled lyrics, they deviate from the stereotypical moody vibe of traditional goth acts with hard rock grooves, dueling guitar solos, soaring melodic choruses and double-kick-driven breakdowns. Both vocalists Will Gould and Hannah Greenwood had a dynamic vocal range that perfectly encapsulated classic spooky lows while branching out with soaring highs and the occasional fry scream.<\/span><\/p>\n The creative mix of classic goth sound, modern rock and metalcore elements, fused with their high energy, made Creepers\u2019 30-minute set go by all too quickly and set high expectations for the rest of the night.<\/span><\/p>\n Up next on the bill was L.A. based modern hardcore moshers Letlive. The five-piece took the stage with swagger, no opening track, just feedback guitars. They then broke out into a heavy modern downtuned hardcore headbanger, with Knocked Loose-esque fries from vocalist Jason Aalon Butler. It didn\u2019t take long for the floor to become a pit.<\/span><\/p>\n With a longer 45-minute set, Butler took time between songs to express the importance of male vulnerability, acceptance within the hardcore scene and the ability to communicate with people we may not agree with during turbulent times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the whole band exuded classic hardcore energy, Butler\u2019s energy behind the mic was unmatched by any other performer of the night. From screaming in the middle of the mosh pit with a wired mic that had to be fished above the crowd, to turning the stage into a slip \u2018n slide, his energy was only upped by his incredible vocal performance, which blended classic hardcore fries and beautiful melodic highs flawlessly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From breakdown to breakdown, the \u201cchaos bringers\u201d of the night in Letlive were a perfect precursor to the more intimate headliner.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, just before 9 p.m., Hawthorne Heights took the stage to themes from Twilight Zone and Halloween, before kicking into the heavy rhythmic riffing of \u201cThis Is Who We Are.\u201d The audience immediately began singing along to the catchy, emotional chorus with the energy of a middle schooler coping with their first heartbreak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The stage design of Hawthorne\u2019s set was a big step up from the openers, with four large screens behind them displaying images of lightning, snow and wilting roses.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite celebrating the 20th anniversary of \u201cIf Only You Were Lonely,\u201d the raw emotion and catchy melodies of Hawthorne Heights\u2019 music proved timeless to audience members of all ages. From older folk on the balcony to elementary school crowd surfers and, of course, the millennials who grew up in heavy emo\u2019s wake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Singer and guitarist J.T. Woodruff expressed his appreciation for emo’<\/span>s<\/span> endurance<\/span> after so many years, enthusiastically shouting, \u201cEmo is not a phase!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The band\u2019s set flew by with heavy-hitting tracks like \u201cPens and Needles\u201d and \u201cSaying Sorry.\u201d Before ending their main set with the emotional ballad \u201cDecembers,\u201d Woodruff gave more background on the song and album their tour is celebrating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Woodruff explained how writing and recording \u201cIf Only You Were Lonely\u201d came at the cost of missing a honeymoon with his wife, and shared his guilt about it even after all these years. That guilt manifests through the album’s raw, powerful emotion. When the band kicked into \u201cDecembers,\u201d fans began slow dancing in the middle of the floor instead of moshing.<\/span><\/p>\n After leaving the stage for a moment, the four-piece returned for a five-song encore, including hits like \u201cNikki FM\u201d and \u201cLike A Cardinal,\u201d and ended the night with their most iconic hit, \u201cOhio Is For Lovers.\u201d The crowd erupted when the opening guitar notes reverberated through the room. The unity of the audience really revealed itself in that closing number, with fans of all ages and backgrounds screaming \u201cSo cut my wrists and black my eyes\u201d at the top of their lungs.<\/span><\/p>\n The energy-filled night was certainly a memorable experience, with three unique bands each bringing their distinct sounds and raw passion to the stage. The unique lineup and diverse fanbases were a true testament to the beauty and acceptance of the hardcore and emo communities. People sang, screamed, danced, moshed and everything in between, and they did it together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sure, emo is inherently depressing, but as Woodruff lamented, \u201cWe all go through dark times, but let\u2019s go through them together.\u201d<\/span> Photo Credit: Erica Vining Review by Christian Oversvee-Choi Under the neon glow of the theological marquee at Citizens House of Blues on Thursday, Oct. 22, three unique groups of energy-driven musicians took the stage in a bill that pleased skaters, moshers and goths alike. Hawthorne Heights, with support from Letlive and Creeper, are celebrating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26292,"featured_media":55435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[2562,327,2810],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55434"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55436,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55434\/revisions\/55436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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