Silverstein celebrates 25 years in Royal Oak, Michigan

Touring together for 25 years is a huge milestone for any band. Silverstein used this tour to celebrate it and they wanted to make sure it was one heck of a celebration. I have seen Silverstein multiple times and they always made each tour so unique, special, and different. I wasn’t sure how they could make this tour any more special.

All four bands on this tour, though, managed to pull it off well.

Some music you can headbang and mosh to, and there is other jams where you have to lock yourself in your room and lay on the floor and contemplate everything. Split Chain is a band of the latter. Even though they were vibing goofy guys, their music takes a darker and depressing tone. Their lead singer didn’t have the usual higher register clean vocals like most post-hardcore artists; it was deeper and sadder. The guitar rings out to back him up, like his heart is crying out for something. For their first American tour, Split Chain sure knew how to stand out from the rest of the bands.

Hailing from Canada, just like Silverstein, Arm’s Length took the stage second. The first thing I noticed about Arm’s Length was the use of three guitars instead of two. I could hear different influences from Weezer and Incubus. These guys brought the energy, like they were saying, “Oh, you like us? You wait until Silverstein gets onstage…”

You would think that a band that has been around for a long time wouldn’t have the energy to play a good show, but Thursday did.

Singer Geoff Rickly has a haunting voice; you could feel the passion when he performs. These guys weren’t done pulling out all the stunts. Wade McNeil, guitarist from AlexisOnFire, stole the show as he put just as much passion into his performance, especially when he showed off with a little guitar solo. Watching these guys, I could tell they really could feel their music. This wasn’t just energy or passion, but it was like the music was in their veins — they were the music.

Last but not least, Silverstein took the stage. The beginning of the show started off with an autobiography of how Silverstein started off — a video of special moments from the past 25 years. I might not have been listening to Silverstein since the very beginning, but even I felt nostalgic watching it. Silverstein came onstage after, immediately playing two of their newest singles starting with “Skin and Bones” and “Confession”. It was like they were saying “look where we started and look where we are now”.

The third song Silverstein played was “The Altar/Mary”, their most aggressive song they have done so far. Another ode to where Silverstein started and where they are currently. Lead guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau always gets a showcase in the second part of the song with his clean vocals. During this, rhythm guitarist Josh Bradford takes over on guitar. Another ode to where Silverstein started and where they are currently, as Paul Marc was not part of the band from the very beginning… but shows just how much he has added to the band.

Silverstein continued on with “Infinite”, “Bad Habits”, “The Afterglow”, and “Aquamarine”.

Have you caught the pattern yet? Another video played, showing images of a city while the band played “A Midwestern State of Emergency”. The crowd went wild. At the end, singer Shane Told told the audience that it was the most voted song by the fans and after requesting it over and over, it finally made it on the setlist. Something that I always loved about Silverstein was that, since I started watching their shows, they have always involved their fans’ input in their setlists. This was no different. Shane then revealed that for this tour, they would be playing at least one song from every album they have ever made. Have you also paid attention to the order of the songs? That’s right, the band also was going in backwards chronological order. Throughout the night, that was exactly what they did, and they did not disappoint, playing songs like “My Heroine” on acoustic guitar to spice it up. As they always do, Silverstein stole the show and kept my attention the entire night. I am already excited for the next time they come to town!

Photography by Kayla N. Rising

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