2015.2.24-Silverstein-Bogarts-Cincinnati, OH

2015.2.24-Silverstein-Bogarts-Cincinnati, OH

Silverstein is now wrapping up their 10 year anniversary tour of Discovering the Waterfront (DTW). They brought along Major League, My Iron Lung, Beartooth, and Hands Like Houses (HLH).  Silverstein really does know whats up and wanted to do their best to promote current artists rather than those who they may have toured with ten years ago when DTW first came out.  Shane explained that through the Vans Warped Tour they became good friends with the guys from HLH.  For those of you who don't know HLH is a Post-Hardcore from Canberra, Australia.  Trenton Woodley's vocals were near studio quality when experienced in person. The guitars were flawless and they really got the crowd into it.  Crowd surfing and punch dancing frequently occurred and really primed the crowd for the headlining act.
It was actually my first chance to see Silverstein live and in concert.  The setlist was very well thought out. They started off with about 8 of their more recent and popular songs such as Massachusetts, Vices, and Stand Amid the Roar.  They also worked in A Midwestern State of Emergency which is off their new album that is set to be released in May 2015.  Midwestern State of Emergency is my personal favorite of the two singles that have been released to date.  The other being Milestone.

Milestone features more screams and less cleans, however it is unique from much of Silversteins collection in the sense that it takes a look back at their development as a band and their importance in the lives of their fans.  Shane routinely screams, "I am alive in everything I touch." Although I can appreciate where they are as a band and that they know the importance and role they play in the lives of their fans, I do not think that this will be one of my favorite tracks from their upcoming release. 

One of the most surprising things from seeing Silverstein was watching the energy of their Rhythm Guitarist Josh.  First of all, he is not the stereotypical looking rock guitarist.  No joke, he looked a lot like Mario. 

Above: Mario of the SuperMario Brothers

Above: Josh Bradford of Silverstein 

                     

All due respect to Josh, he backed up the crazy mustache with energy that I have never ever seen before out of a guitarist (excluding guitarists that are also lead singers i.e. Josh Scogin of The '68).  Bradford was constantly moving around, not in an ADD way but in an excited, I'm really amped up and having fun and I want you to have fun too kind of way.  His passion was obvious in the way he poured his heart into the show and got people excited in a way you often don't see out of a guitarist. We actually had the honor of meeting him after the show and couldn't express enough the appreciation that we had for his energetic performance.  

Above: Josh Scogin of '68 flying through the air

Returning our focus to the concert, once they played the newer hits, they then played DTW in its entirety ending with Call it Karma.  They did something that I have really come to enjoy with this last song too.  First they vacated the stage (as many bands do, although everyone knew it wasn't over without the one more song, one more song, one more song, one more song... you get the point.) Then Shane came out with an acoustic guitar and played the first half of the song on that.  The rest of the band eventually joined him onstage with their electrified instruments and finished off the song strong.  

Although I had to return to Louisville after the show, I knew it was well worth it to make the trek up to Cincinnati for this memorable experience.