The last time I was able to see The Amity Affliction, it was on the last-ever cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour, where the band turned in an epic greatest hits (to that point in their career) set that sparingly sprinkled in tracks from Misery, the album that was released shortly after the end of Warped Tour. The band released another album, Everybody Loves You... Once You Leave Them, an album that got caught up in the wave of uncertainty in the pandemic, but it's that 2018 album that may have ended up inspiring the band's choice for their fall US tour.
The last time I saw Silverstein, the band was opening for Beartooth, playing a career-spanning set that had crowds nearly as loud during their set as they were for the night's headliners. Most impressive of all, the band's new singles "It's Over" and "Ultraviolet" drew some of the most raucous reactions. It was a great sign for the band's new album Misery Made Me, which was released mere days after the tour wrapped up. The time had of course come for the band to embark on a North American headlining tour (their first since 2020), it seems their plans aligned with a band who, just a few years ago, put out an album with a title that sounded awfully familiar...
Of course, the last two paragraphs are pure speculation. But even if the titles of their albums aligning wasn't the reason Silverstein and The Amity Affliction agreed to tour together, a link between the band by some other means isn't too difficult to find. Both bands hail from outside the US, but have enjoyed a decade-plus of success touring here. Both bands blend metalcore's breakdown-oriented sound with arena-ready choruses. And, as the titles of the aforementioned albums would indicate, both bands have built their careers around music that helps people navigate through the lowest points of their lives. With all of this in mind, a night of cathartic sing-alongs with both bands playing a headliner's worth of songs made this one of the can't-miss tours of the early fall.
Whoever was in charge of developing the entire bill for thetour, be it either of the headlining bands or their booking teams, it's clear that the intent was to book two bands that could build up the crowd's energy before Amity and Silverstein played. The first band to take the stage, UnityTX, certainly fulfilled on that promise. Featuring a sound that blends hip-hop and hardcore, they stood out not just from the rest of the lineup of this tour, but from the heavy music scene in general. While Fever333 would be a favorable comparison for the band, their more straight-up hardcore sound helps them stand out in a big way. While it's true that many people in the crowd weren't aware of the band before they took the stage at Starland Ballroom last weekend, many people left knowing that they needed to check out this Pure Noise records-signed band. The bands on the tour seem to have taken a keen notice of UnityTX as well, as the band's bassist joined Holding Absence onstage, and vocalist Jay Webster joining Silverstein onstage for "Die Alone," from Misery Made Me. It's a great sign when the bands on tour take notice and want to collaborate together, but I'm not sure I've ever seen two bands from the same tour have a member of the same band join them onstage. Here's hoping this is the sign of big things to come from UnityTX.
Up next was yet another band from outside the US, the United Kingdom's up-and-coming Holding Absence. The band's sound is akin to that of Hands Like Houses or pre-Peach Club Emarosa. That's a round-about way to say that the band has a very talented vocalist in Lucas Woodland. The musicians around Woodland do more than hold their own, as the band's more straight-up rock sound was a nice change of pace from the breakdown-heavy set UnityTX had just delivered. This is a young, talented band, and based on how wide-eyed and appreciative they were while onstage, you can tell they're sincere in their pursuits as well. It's usually a given with bands in this scene that people are making music from a space of sincerity, but it's not a guarantee, and it's impressive that Holding Absence are able to convey it so well.
As they stormed onto the stage with the opening two tracks of Everybody Loves You... Once You Leave Them, I was immediately blown away by how great The Amity Affliction sounded. This wasn't the first time I've seen them, but this is the best they've sounded in the handful of times that I had the opportunity. To my knowledge, I wasn't aware that Joel Birch and Ahren Stringer were handing off singing and screaming duties at different times, and this new wrinkle gave new life and an element of surprise to each of the songs in their set. The band did a great job of mixing in old songs and new, with Let the Ocean Take Me highlights "Don't Lean on Me" and "Pittsburgh" garnering some of the most emotional sing-alongs of the night. The band's lyrical content has a knack for being overtly morose, but the crowd's and the band's vibes felt triumphant, as if they were all celebrating the fact that they'd survived their hardships (their misery, if you will) to make it to the show that night. Fans with signs explaining the band's impact on their lives were visible in the front of the crowd, and the strain in the voices of those using all the air in their lungs to belt out the lyrics rang throughout the ballroom floor. There's a different level of intensity to an Amity Affliction set, and I was given a wonderful reminder of that fact on this tour.
(Note: Shortly after the band's show at Starland, it was announced that The Amity Affliction were rescheduling their European tour, which was scheduled to begin in early 2023, so that the band could focus on their mental health issues. I want to wish the band all the best as they seek the help they need, and I commend them for their forthcoming statement that shows that when it comes to maintaining your mental health, no measure is too great. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, resources can be found at https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/immediate-help.)
The last band to take the stage was Silverstein. Already into the third decade of their Emo Hall of Fame career, the band have been one of my favorites to follow ever since they reset their trajectory thanks to Dead Reflection, their near-perfect 2016 record. Since then, we've gotten A Beautiful Place to Drown and now Misery Made Me, two albums that find the band exploring how to incorporate whatever they see fit into their patented blend of emo and metalcore, and for the most part, it's produced great results. Throw in features from Underoath's Aaron Gillespie, Caleb Shomo, and, on this album, The Devil Wears Prada's Mike Hranica, Comeback Kid's Andrew Neufield, and nothing. nowhere., and you start to see the Silverstein is constantly pondering what a Silverstein song can sound like. They're able to experiment so outwardly because the band knows they'll always be able to translate whatever songs they want into their live show, which has been consistently great--and somehow still getting better--for as long as I can remember. Opening with A Beautiful Place single "Infinite," then going right into Misery Made Me's all-time headbanger "It's Over" was a delicious one-two punch, and set the tone for a career-spanning set that still found time to focus on songs from Misery to show off what new tricks the band added to its bag. Vocalist Shane Told sounded pitch-perfect to the band's recordings, while guitarist Paul Marc Roussou turned in his typical jack-of-all-trades performance, adding backing vocals and also taking the lead at times as well. Silverstein once again presented themselves as one of the scene's most cohesive units while performing, and just like their co-headliners, found a unique way to shake things up during their set. Just a bit after the halfway mark of the band's set, a giant prize wheel was carried onto the stage. There were 8-10 songs on the wheel, and the band spun the wheel three times to determine which song they'd play next. On the Starland Ballroom tour stop, it was "The Artist," "Already Dead," and "Still Dreaming" that the wheel chose, but I couldn't help but love this idea from Silverstein. As the band put it, it's becoming more and more difficult for them to decide which songs they put into the setlist, since they have so many, and they don't want to overplay certain songs or albums. I was so taken aback by how great of an idea was, that I can't help but think that any band whose had 4 or more albums should add this into their headlining sets. It seems like a perfect idea for Bayside to execute, and I think The Menzingers or Taking Back Sunday would have a great time with it, too. It's just another example of Silverstein's commitment to never getting too comfortable, and always switching things up to keep fans coming back to their shows. Plus, when you're willing to co-headlining with The Amity Affliction, a band whose career is starting to shape up to be Hall of Fame-worthy as well, it elevates every aspect of the show you're putting on.
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