The emo kids are alright, and they may be the only ones
I don’t typically review shows because it’d get pretty redundant: the bands I was there to see? Great. The ones that are new to me? Hit and miss. The crowd? Since maybe the third show back from things re-opening after COVID closures: Pretty shitty.
And when it comes to those first two questions, it’s a lot of the same. Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate)? Played a dream set, they looked like they were enjoying themselves and they sounded fantastic. The bands I didn’t know? All hits. Emperor X had such a fun energy — similar to Hellogoodbye or Chris Farren in the way he really incorporated and then became one with the audience; Just Nick was engaging as hell for the local opener slot and gave some pretty undeniable Weatherbox vibes that have me excited to dig into his stuff; Vs Self was clearly the draw for some people, and after seeing the early La Dispute-inspired thing they’ve got going on, I can say they’ve captured my heart (here’s to hoping the recorded material keeps me hooked).
I truly have no complaints. Hell, I even got parking right across from the venue and didn’t hit traffic on the way there or home.
“But how was the crowd?” the reader asks, desperate to know a 34-year-old’s opinion on “emo kids these days.” They’re fucking great. Yes, I was in Berkeley, California and yes, the show was at 924 Gilman, a historic volunteer-run punk venue. So, maybe my sample is a bit skewed. But right from the get, it felt like being at a show 15 or 20 years ago. Kids were genuinely happy to be there and earnest in showing it. People were chatting with strangers about the music they love and other stuff I didn’t recognize because I was apparently ejected from the zeitgeist at 33. They showed one another respect, they helped steady one another if someone got wobbly in the pit, they let it slide if a stranger accidentally did something that bothered or inconvenienced them rather than making it a thing. They were considerate of one another.
These kids not only looked like they’d been transported in from 2008 (I’m talking aesthetics, I’m talking red point and shoot digital cameras), they acted like it in only the most positive ways. I’d been questioning recently if I’d just added the soft glow of nostalgia to a lot of my memories of gigs past, and to some extent I’m sure I have. But the kids at this show are proof to me that, no — this sense of community did exist the way I remember and it can again because apparently it’s already here. Now I just need the rest of y’all attending all these 20-year reunion tours with me to match this same energy.
And since I’m putting things out to the universe: more of that good parking never hurts either.