Silverstein Brings 25 Years of Noise to London

A Silverstein show is not just a concert, it’s a whole experience. And that experience has been around for a while. The post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario has been on a crusade to bring their 25 years of hard(core) work all around North America, and on May 7th, stopped for an electric performance at the London Music Hall in London, Ontario with support from Greyhaven, Broadside and Real Friends. Fans of all ages gathered to experience what can only be described as a killer show. Whether patrons were there for their 20th Silverstein show, or they were children there for their first concert, fans were united by one thing: an undying love for live music.

The sun was still out when it got dark in the venue and Greyhaven took to the stage. The hardcore band from Louisville, Kentucky made up of Brent Mills (vocals), Nick Spencer (guitar), Johnny Muench (bass) and Ethan Spray (drums), energized the crowd with a powerful performance that was sure to leave an impression on many. As soon as the lights went on, the stage came to life with dynamic beats from Muench and Spray, intense riffs from Spencer and fiercely passionate vocals from Mills. Altogether, Greyhaven came together to not only prepare the crowd for what was to come, but to leave a long lasting impression on the spectators.

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Next up was a band that completely shifted the atmosphere of the music hall. While everyone was still coming down from the ripping riffs of Grayhaven, Broadside, a pop rock band from Richmond, Virginia, brought a unique and equally energetic presence to the stage. They definitely made an impression when the first thing that vocalist Oliver Baxxter said was he wanted to see everyone “shake some ass”. Cue some funky basslines from bassist Patrick Diaz, pop-influenced melodies and riffs from Baxxter and guitarist Domenic Reid, and rock-rooted beats from touring drummer Tay Ewart, and you have a recipe for some amazing music. Broadside definitely amazed the crowd with their eclectic sound and punchy stage presence. If you’re a fan of The Home Team, Broadside is definitely the band for you, especially since their song Cruel features The Home Team!

Throughout their all too short time on stage, Broadside delivered a stellar performance complete with little quirks that reflected the band’s fun image, such as insanely beautiful multicoloured lights and loads of band and crowd interaction. They dedicated or explained the meaning of every song in their set, one of which Baxxter prefaced by saying “this song is about fucking”. During their final song, Foolish Believer, Reid and Diaz swiftly switched their instruments during a small interlude and continued playing like nothing happened. Shortly after that, Broadside bid a now cheering and energized crowd goodbye.

Following Broadside was a band that really needed no introduction: the midwestern pop punk band, Real Friends. If their performance could be summed up in one simple word, it would be fierce. I don’t think I’ve seen a band perform quite like Real Friends. Right off the bat, every member of the band was taking up the space they deserved to take up—all of it. Between verses and choruses, or really at any time he could, vocalist Cody Muraro was always moving. He was either running around the stage, jumping, kicking and punching the air or even two-stepping on the stage. The other members of the band were no different; guitarists Dave Knox and Eric Haines were headbanging and throwing their instruments around as they played, and bassist Kyle Fasel kept a cool head as he slapped some groovy riffs into existence. And even from behind a drum kit, Real Friends drummer Brian Blake’s energy was pouring out of every cymbal crash and bang of the kick drum.

Real Friends hooked their crowd within the first three songs. Even during the first verse of their first song, there were definitely spectators that got turned into fans at that moment. Muraro was spectacular when it came to engaging the crowd—he had them opening mosh pits in their fist song, and by the third song, he had jumped into the photo pit to sing at the fans standing at the barricade. But that wasn’t enough. He stood on the barricade, sharing the mic with a passing crowdsurfer before jumping into the crowd himself. Later in the show, Muraro jumped into the crowd once again and gave a heartfelt speech about how much he cared and appreciated the crowd. He’d go on to announce that they were playing a sad song, and soon enough, the dulcet tones of the guitars to I’ve Given Up On You rang through the room. Like clockwork, flashlights came on, adding to the sparkling atmosphere of the song. Once I’ve Given Up On You came to a close, shortly after, they would perform a cover of The Used’s The Taste Of Ink, and would bring Oliver Baxxter of Broadside out for another song. When their set eventually came to a close, fans were cheering for another song. That was the kind of impression Real Friends left on the crowd; huge and heartfelt.

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Finally, it was time for the band everyone was there for: Silverstein. The band that was celebrating 25 years of activity. This concert was nothing short of stellar and heartfelt: everyone in the crowd was connected by post hardcore anthems and an admiration for the band performing.

When it came time for Silverstein to take the stage, the screens plastered around the stage lit up with a video narrated by vocalist Shane Told. The video detailed the sentiment of how the band went from a group of kids with big dreams to gathering as big of an audience they have. It was an emotional start to what would be an amazing performance. If you were in the audience and started crying, your tears would be (temporarily) dried by the intensity of their opening song, Skin and Bones. Told belted out every note of the verses with a perfect balance of grit and emotion, and when it came to the chorus, hit every note perfectly. Backing him was a band that was so comfortable with their music and performing on stage that they could throw themselves around while still playing every riff with laser sharp precision or hitting notes exactly on beat.

During the spoken word interlude of Skin and Bones, lead guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau performed the repeating riff and it was so clean that it was indistinguishable from the recorded version of the song. Rhythm guitarist Josh Bradford and bassist Billy Hamilton filled out their songs and added to the collective energy of the band by throwing themselves and their instruments around while playing with the biggest smiles on their faces. Elevated on the highest platform, drummer Paul Koehler oozed incredible energy and life while he banged the drums and kept the beat alive.

After Skin and Bones, they would play an explosive version of the song Confession. As if that wasn’t enough, four CO2 stacks would suddenly materialize, adding more to the things the crowd could turn their attention to. Following Confession was The Altar, although they did not play Mary, Infinite and Bad Habits. All these songs were all released within the last five years, with The Altar coming from their 2022 album, Misery Made Me, and Infinite and Bad Habits coming from A Beautiful Place To Drown, released in 2020. If you notice a pattern starting to form, you might be onto something.

Randomly in between, Told stopped the show when he got some “unexpected news”. The news was that the Toronto Maple Leafs has won another game in the playoffs. There isn’t a more Canadian thing than stopping a concert to find out a hockey score. The entire crowd started chanting “Go, Leafs, go”, which Told joined in on briefly.

Following the exciting interruption came the first and only song performed from their 2017 album, Dead Reflections. Told briefly addressed the crowd about the concept of memory; when sometimes everyone wants to forget, Told spoke, saying, “At the end of the day, all we have is our memories. So learn to cherish them”. Immediately following his speech was a short guitar riff and the song title was revealed: The Afterglow. Fans cheered at the sound, and sang along at the top of their lungs to the intro chorus. At this point, the fans were nearly overpowering the band in volume. Purple, magenta and orange lights bathed the room, as the prominent and steady beats by Koehler kept the song going as Rousseau, Bradford and Hamilton filled out the instrumental.

The night underwent some changes as Silverstein continued to perform. They pulled out songs such as A Midwestern State of Emergency, One Last Dance, My Disaster and Call It Karma. As they went further and further back in time, the sound changed, but everything else stayed the same. The crowd, in fact, was even more energized than they had been the entire night. Majority of fans attending were fans who had come back to relive the soundtrack of their childhood, so as songs from albums like A Shipwreck In The Sand and Arrivals and Departures were pulled out, the crowd started to get more and more excited and brought forward an energy and liveliness that matched or sometimes even exceeded that of the band’s. Mosh pits opened up, patrons lifted crowdsurfers and even onlookers from the sides and at the back were dancing and moving around. The set came to a close with one of the band’s most popular songs, Smile In Your Sleep. The song was a perfect blend of Told’s harsh screams and clean vocals, as well as having amazing rhythm sections to compliment the lead guitar riff. A powerful scream at the end signified the end of Silverstein’s main set, but the band wasn’t gone just yet.

After the crowd had cheered for the band to come back, Told reappeared with an acoustic guitar around him. He thanked the crowd and said that London was one of the band’s favourite places to be. He likened the first song of their encore to be sung in an “emo campfire style” and challenged London to be the ones to sing along the loudest on the tour. The fans happily obliged, belting out every word to My Heroine. As the lights danced around the staged fans swayed along to the melancholy strumming until the song concluded. It was at that point that the rest of the band joined Told again on stage for their performance of their final songs, Smashed To Pieces and Bleed No More.

During these songs, each member of the band radiated an emotion not yet felt in the room that night. It wasn’t just the fans having fun and reliving their childhood, but the band was clearly enjoying themselves as well. Their expressions were ones of only pure enjoyment. That emotion carried out into every corner and every shadow of the room. When the band harmonized with their devoted fans, the room overflowed with an emotion so unique that can only be summed up and described with the phrase “you had to be there”. As Bleed No More came to a close, Silverstein thanked their crowd and left the stage, but would never leave the minds of the crowd.