The last concert in 2017 I went to, was the Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 2000 and currently consists of Shane Told (vocals), Josh Bradford (guitar), Paul Koehler (drums), Bill Hamilton (bass) and Paul Marc Rousseau (guitar) who joined the band in 2013. After seeing them a few years ago in Frankfurt, I was really happy to hear Silverstein would be back in Europe and went to one of their concerts again 🙂
So far, the band released eleven studio albums which are ‘When Broken Is Easily Fixed’ (2003, Victory Records), ‘Discovering The Waterfront’(2005, Victory Records), the compilation album ’18 Candles: The Early Years’ (2006, Victory Records) which included the first two self-financed EPs as well as various alternate versions of songs from their first two studio albums, ‘Arrivals And Depatures’ (2007, Victory Records), ‘A Shipwreck In The Sand’ (2009, Victoria Records),  ‘Decade’ (2010, Victory Records), ‘Rescue’ (2011, Fearless Records / Universal Music), ‘Short Songs’ with 22 songs under 90 seconds, ‘This Is How The Wind Shifts’ (2013, Fearless Records), and ‘I Am Alive In Everything I Touch’ (2015, BMG Rights Management / Warner Music). Their newest album ‘Dead Reflection’ (BMG Rights Management / Warner Music) was released just a few months ago in July 2017. Musically, Silverstein combines different genres such as hardcore, metal and emo. However, the band itself stated to be influenced by many different artists and genres such as post-hardcore, screamo, indie rock and hardcore punk. With the time, they developed a slightly softer sound but still focus on heavy guitars, underlining the screamed, as well as clean vocals of Shane Told.
The concert took place at the legendary Garage in London opening its doors around 7pm to a quite mixed audience. As the band has built a loyal fan base over the time, there have been many older, but also younger, newer fans. Nevertheless, the energy of the whole crowd was amazing, and everyone joined singing along, jumping and moshing in circle pits.
The first band opening the stage was the American progressive post-hardcore band Hail The Sun who formed in 2009 in Chico, California. Currently the quartet consists of drummer and lead vocalist Donovan Melero, lead guitarist Shane Gann, rhythm guitarist Aric Gracia and bass player John Stirrat.  So far, the band released three studio albums which are ‘POW! Right In The Kisser’ (2010, self-released), ‘Wake’ (2014, Blue Swan Records) and ‘Culture Scars’ (2016, Equal Vision Records), as well as the EP’s ‘Elephantitis’ (2012, self-released) and ‘Secret Wars’ (2017, Equal Vision Records). Musically the band uses elements of screamo, progressive rock and math rock, combined with the high-pitched clean and screamed vocals of Donovan Melero. It was amazing how great his vocals sounded while smashing the drums.
With Hail The Sun on the stage, the crowd was immediately captured and showed their energy by jumping and singing along. The band’s energy caught the audience and set the right foundation for Silverstein who were the second and final band of the evening. The crowd was absolutely engaged and amazed. Silverstein played a good mix of their older heavier, as well as their newer slightly softer songs which was highly appreciated by their fans. Everyone screamed the lyrics on the top of their lungs and seemed to have a great time. Towards the end of the show, Paul Marc Rousseau (guitar for Silverstein) entered the stage on his own and performed a solo song which was absolutely beautiful. Finishing off, Silverstein ended the evening with one of their most popular songs ‘My Heroine’.
The acoustic for both bands was very good. Both, the vocals of the two singers as well as the volume of the instruments were mixed well. Silverstein added some colours to their light show but kept it simple overall. Hail The Sun’s set was kept simple and rather dark witch suited their music very well.
Overall, the concert was great, and definitely a special time! Everyone enjoyed the show, not only the fans but also the bands themselves. Silverstein had a great set with good vocals and supporting lights which created a great atmosphere. The crowd sung along, moshed and jumped while enjoying the great songs.
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A Special Time 