When a relationship ends, many little things remind you of your ex, like a specific holiday or restaurant, maybe a song or band. Whenever I hear the name Silverstein, I cringe. It makes me think of my douche ex-boyfriend and his many rants about “how amazing Silverstein” is… And after we broke up, I purposely boycotted the band out of spite. (Don’t lie, you’ve done it too.)
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Silverstein |
 Entertainment
Art
House of Blues
Chicago, Ill.
Mar 27, 2008 |
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I was put on assignment to review the band and in the back of my head I thought, ‘Oh hell no, you’ve got to be kidding me.’ Trust me, the relationship and break-up was not a pleasant one and it’s unfortunate to admit, I still have not completely recovered from it.
But to my utter surprise and being a Silverstein virgin, the band played an awkward but intense show Thursday night at the House of Blues. Headlining the Chillin Across America tour with other bands like A Day to Remember, Protest the Hero and the Devil Wars Prada, Silverstein was the main course of the night.
With a sold out show, lack of 21+ fans and a crowd full of underage kids puking up their guts from head banging, Silverstein was prepared for an hour long show. After all, the band’s longevity has lasted longer than most of our own relationships. They have put forth over five years of screamo-punk music as well as produced four full albums and many compilations including the popular Punk Goes Acoustic album.
Silverstein had a lot of material to cover in a short period of time Thursday night, and the beginning of their set started with some new tracks from their most recent album, Arrivals and Departures. Ironically, the theme behind their new album is happiness through a failed relationship. Lead singer Shane Told explains on his website, “I ended a seven-year relationship right before I started on this record.” He goes on to say, “Sometimes it’s hard for me to go back and listen to some of the songs, because the feelings behind them are unsettling to me.”
Although Silverstein had a slow start, the energy picked up as they played “Sound of the Sun” from Arrivals and Departures. Both Told and bassist, Bill Hamilton, who sported a handlebar mustache, outshined their other band mates, like the pants-less Paul Koehler on drums. But Silverstein’s passion in the songs they played at the House of Blues was apparent, extremely vocal and definitely hit close to home.
Around the middle of their set, there were a continuous number of many awkward pauses during songs, almost a dead noise for a few minutes with random girls screaming, “I love you.” Told tried to recover the atmosphere by explaining Silverstein’s appreciation for all the support and dedication the fans have shown over the years.
“It’s been about five years since we have played here and we are stoked to be back in Chicago,” yelled Told to the jam-packed crowd. They finished up their hour long set with “Smashed Into Pieces” from their second album, When Broken Is Easily Fixed. And of course, they came back to play two more songs in their encore, ending with “My Heroine.” Silverstein played a surprisingly enjoyable show and displayed powerful lyrical substance to almost every song.
Hmm… Maybe some ex’s are right with their choices of good music, food and fun. But I will never fully admit to that.
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weird
Written by Guest on 2008-04-15 11:50:59
 I feel the same way  |
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