show review: Silverstein stops off in Boston as they celebrate 25 years.
january, 11th 2025 • the house of blues • boston, massachusetts
full gallery can be found here
Formed in 2000, Silverstein is a Canadian Post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario whose name pays homage to author Shel Silverstein, a person that band admired since they were children. Over the last 15 years they have released 11 studio albums and 7 Eps. The group currently consists of members Shane Told (vocals), Josh Bradford (rhythm guitar), Paul Koehler (drums), Billy Hamilton (bass + backing vocals), and Paul Marc Rousseau (lead guitar + backing vocals). The band was originally signed to Victory Records, switching to Hopeless Records, and then to Rise Records, and are now signed to UNFD. Their sound is often categorized as emo, screamo, indie rock and of course post-hardcore. Their influences include NOFX, Rancid, Pennywise, Green Day and the like. Their second album Discovering The Waterfront from 2005 is still consider an iconic album in their discography and a classic. In August of last year they released the single “Skin & Bones” and in October “Confession.” The group announced a double album, the first part being released on February 21st 2025 titled Antibloom and the second album Pink Moon is scheduled to be released later this year.
Celebrating 25 years of being a band, their set started with a tour video honoring the accomplishment of being a band still touring after 25 years. They opened with “Skin & Bones,” a single released in August of 2024. Their second song was “Confession,” another single released in 2024 followed by “The Altar/Mary” off of their 2022 album Misery Made Me. Their 9th song of the night was “Massachusetts” off of their 2013 album This Is How The Wind Shifts, which of course was already fitting due to the fact they were playing in Boston. My friend was attending the show with me and since he knew I didn’t actually know this song he insisted that I pay attention to the lyrics to that song. Those lyrics in question are:
“But tonight she lays here thinking
What if I just left
In the middle of the night
Back to California
And never look back
She’ll fantasize about it
Every single day but she can’t find it
In her heart to run away
And no one’s listening
With Northern Massachusetts
On his knees to stay
He’s begging
‘Please, oh baby please, I can explain
It won’t happen again’”
The absolutely wild thing about the timing of me finding this song is actually insane and needs to be studied. I’m originally from California and I moved to Boston for college and stayed after graduating. I was internally fighting with myself on when the best time to move back to my hometown was. Not even a week before this show I made the official decision to move back to California in the next month. The real kicker; I had been recently in touch with an ex from Northern Massachusetts that was driving me away in many different ways. Needless to say, my friend absolutely knew what he was doing when he told me to pay attention and honestly I’m grateful. (author’s note from the future: this song actually got me through my move back to California a month later).
Forming in 1997, Thursday is an iconic post-hardcore band that formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band consists of Geoff Rickly (vocals), Tom Keely (lead guitar + backing vocals), Steve Pedulla (rhythm guitar + back vocals), Tim Payne (bass), and drummer Tucker Rule. Their current touring musicians sometimes consist of Stuart Richardson (bass), Wade MacNeil (guitar), and Jeff Gensterblum (drums). Their musical style is often described as post-hardcore, emo and screamo although they are self-described as melodic hardcore. They are influenced by artists At the Drive-In, The Smiths, Fugazi, Joy Division and the like. Their dove logo is believed to have been made by guitarist Tom Keeley before their album Full Collapse (2001) was recorded. The song “Cross Out the Eyes” on that album references a dove twice but it’s known if the logo came out of the lyrics or if the lyrics came out of the logo.
In 2012 the band disbanded for a while before reuniting in 2016. They continued to tour for a while until they broke up again in 2019, but announced another reunion at Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2021. Their first new song in 13 years was released in 2024 under the titled “Application for Release From the Dream.” Bands United Nations, No Devotion, and L.S. Dunes are all bands that features members from Thursday. Thursday is still considered one of the most influential post-hardcore bands and is credited for popularizing the “darker emo sound” that started around that time.
Although Thursday is known for being an iconic and influential band in their scene, I shockingly had never actually listened to them before and after seeing them live I’m mad at myself for that. They opened their set with “The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)”, followed by “Cross Out The Eyes,” and then “Signals Over the Air.” They definitely have that ear-catching emo sound from the 2000s that you couldn’t escape, and it’s no wonder that they were trailblazers in that field. After 28 years of being a band it’s really nice to see how strong of performers they still are and just how great they still sound. Thursday, without a doubt, puts on a killer show.
Arm’s Length, a Canadian emo band, was the second band to go on in the night. They formed in Quinte West, Ontario in 2018. The group was formed by Allen Steinberg (vocals + guitar), Jeremy Whyte (guitar), and Jeff Whyte (drums). They were then joined by Benjamin Greenblatt on bass in 2022. Their former merch rep Marty Hacker-Mullen joined the band on guitar for their 2024 tour. So far, the group has released one album titled Never Before Seen, Never Again Found in 2022 as well as two EPs, What’s Mine is Yours in 2019 and Everything Nice in 2021. Their most recent release is single “Funny Face” and they’re set to release their sophomore album There’s a Whole World Out There in May of this year.
The first time that I saw Arm’s Length was when they were opening and on tour with One Step Closer, Knuckle Puck and Real Friends back in December of 2023. That was the first time that I had ever heard their music and I instantly fell in love with them. Their music has been on constant rotation over the last year and the song “In Loving Memory” has quickly become one of my favorite songs in general and has a very special place in my heart. They actually opened up their with “In Loving Memory” and having no idea, I was completely taken off guard and had a moment where I had to ground myself, which rarely happens when shooting bands. That’s just how strong of an impact this group has had on me. The second song that they played was the second time they ever played it. It was their new single “Funny Face” that was yet to be released at the time of the show. The song still has the sound of their first album, they’re not forgetting their roots, but you can clearly hear the maturity and growth in their music. That being said, I am counting down the days until their sophomore album is released in May of this year and I would kill to see them live again soon.
Split Chain was the first band of the night. The group was formed as a creative outlet when the members came together in support of each other on their way to recovery from addiction. Because of their vulnerability and honesty with their lyrics and music they have been able to easily connect with a quickly growing fan base. The group consists of Roberto Martinez-Cowles (vocals), Oli Bowles (guitar), Jake Reid (guitar), Tom Davies (bass), and Aaron Black (drums). Their sound was created from the resurgent of the emo and grunge scenes with early 2000s MTV aesthetic and sound. They combine elements of Shoegaze, Grunge and Nu-Metal in their extremely magnetic sound. They use distortion and synthesizers to their advantage and layer it with “ethereal vocal hooks.” They are yet to release any EPs or albums and I eagerly await the time that they do.
Being a fairly newer band from the South West of the UK, their show at the House of Blues was actually their second ever show in the US on their first ever US tour. It was a short 7-song set, yet the set stood out to me a lot and instead stuck with me. They opened their set with single “Chalk” released in October of 2023 through Epitaph Records. The second the drums kicked in with the guitars I was instantly hooked. The song was then followed up by “Haven” and “Get Inside,” respectively. I feel like so many artists nowadays take a swing at shoegaze and try to add different elements to it that it starts to get old, but I did not feel that way with Split Chain. I don’t entirely know what it is about their music, but something about it truly stands out compared to similar bands and I found myself adding all of their released songs to my playlist right after the show. Their song “Future” that was released in June of 2023 has accumulated over 6 million streams on Spotify, yet I think all of their releases should have that many listens or more. I eagerly await the next chance I can see them live.
(P.S. they covered one of my favorite songs of all time “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” by Type O Negative and their cover scratches something in my brain)
