Silverstein's Extraordinary "Motherf***ing Emo Time Machine" Rocks Raleigh

Whatever your definition of dedication is, you'd better replace it with everything Silverstein has done this year to celebrate a whopping 25 years of being a band. Formed in the year 2000 in Ontario, Canada, Silverstein burst into the emo and punk scene with their record When Broken Is Easily Fixed and refused to leave. I’ve personally been a fan of them since ‘13, and one of my absolute favorite things about this rock band is their staying power. In this day and age, many of the classic “2000s emo” bands that are touring again have returned after at least one breakup or hiatus, yet Silverstein has held strong and still manages to release an album every few years without taking a single breather or a drop in quality. With twelve months on the road and eighty-two tour dates across nine different countries, this is their largest tour in nearly 18 years, and it reached its epic conclusion this week with a killer round of rowdy nights. 

This past Wednesday night in Raleigh, NC, Silverstein played their third-to-last show on the tour. They were joined by Thursday, Free Throw, and Bloom, with all three bands releasing fresh new music to play on this tour, including Thursday’s first new track in over 13 years. After the openers rocked The Ritz one after another, Silverstein made their grand appearance on stage and blasted an hour and a half of their enormous discography across the venue. As the lights dimmed and their set began, Silverstein unveiled five massive LED panels and an elevated drum platform fit for a king. Before the men of the hour even took the stage, they played a three-minute-long nostalgia-packed video featuring tons of footage from the 2000s punk scene and their early days as a band, along with a heartfelt speech thanking all the fans who had supported them over the past quarter-century. And when the band did finally take the stage, it was with thunderous applause and an ocean of raised hands to signal the start of an insane set.

To the crowd’s surprise, Silverstein opened with their newest works, featuring three songs from this year’s double album, Antibloom/Pink Moon. As the show went on, lead singer Shane Told took a minute between songs to personally thank fans for coming out to the show and explaining the rest of the set, proclaiming that it’s not just a celebration of the band’s history, it’s “a motherfucking emo TIME MACHINE.” Cheers rushed out from the crowd as the band promised they’d be playing at least one song from every record they’ve put out, starting from their new stuff and slowly going back in time to the very genesis of Silverstein. 

Every new song was another step towards the golden age of emo, accompanied by visuals of each era on the LED panels and plenty of smoke machines and flashy lights. Fans constantly flew up to the barricade on the arms of the crowd, with some lucky crowdsurfers getting a fistbump from Shane himself, including an absolute legend of a young kid who crossed the barricade. Shout out to his parents, he’s gonna remember that moment for the rest of his life! Of course, no post-hardcore show would be complete without its mosh pits, which spawned across the pit for nearly every single song, even the short snippet the band covered of My Chemical Romance’s “Helena.” I even had to keep holding myself back from stashing my camera in a corner and joining the pit - they looked that appetizing. 

Every band member matched the crowd’s energy as they played guitars back to back, passed fist bumps around like nobody’s business, and simply savored every last minute they shared on stage. As the band played “The Afterglow,” a fan favorite among new and old fans, enough crowdsurfers flooded towards the barricade that they overwhelmed the venue security and had to form a queue to be brought down next to the stage. The biggest showstopper of the night was Shane grabbing an iPhone 4 from a fan in the crowd to snap a photo on it, utterly shocked that it still worked. I guess older tech still has a place in these new shows! 

As the night grew old, and the elder emo fans began to sense it was past their bedtime, Silverstein ended their set with their biggest hit, and one of my favorite songs of theirs, “Smile In Your Sleep.” Every soul in the pit went nuts, exhausting themselves for one final mosh before the band left the stage and its fans began to leave… and then Shane came back all alone with an acoustic guitar. If you’re a fan of the band (or just looked at the setlist beforehand), you probably knew what was coming next — a wonderful acoustic rendition of their hit song “My Heroine.” 

A wonderful flashlight and lighter tribute followed as the fans who stuck around poured their hearts out to the timeless emo classic, singing so loud and proud that Shane shut up for a bit and left this magical moment to the crowd. Silverstein closed out their encore with their two biggest songs from their first record, marking the final stop of the emo time machine for the night, and sending the crowd off into the night with a massive thank-you and a strong promise of more music to come.

This tour was truly one for the ages, and I’m disappointed I was unable to attend another show as part of the crowd… but there’s always next time! The 25 years of punk resonating through the walls of The Ritz gave me loads of energy to edit these photos of such an amazing and iconic band. Especially with this tour, Silverstein has continued to prove time and time again that their raw talent shines through everything they create, and the never-ending support from their fans elevates their music to a level most bands can only dream of reaching.