Silverstein and Tonight Alive’s 2018 tour moniker “Get Free” means something a little different for each band. For Tonight Alive, the Australian four-piece, revisited its roots with their latest release Underworld in a plan to break from the restrictions that the band faced from its last label on the release of their third record, Limitless, in 2016. For Silverstein, the Canadian five-piece, has never been afraid to evolve with each release over the band’s 18-plus years together. From Silverstein’s initial release When Broken Is Easily Fixed to their ninth record Dead Reflection, released last summer, they’ve set themselves apart on each with a new idea and concept all while honing that well-known “Silverstein” sound.
Presumably switching shifts every night, Silverstein took the stage first ahead of Tonight Alive in Charlotte and delivered a racing 16-song set. Synonymous with every Silverstein show, they touched on each record in their nine round arsenal. From the newest tracks to the gem “Sound Of The Sun” off Arrivals & Departures, Silverstein performed a piece of themselves from every generation. After nearly two decades in the scene, it’s what fans have come to expect from the band. There were no surprises. They performed “My Heroine” and “Smile In Your Sleep.” They stirred a mosh pit and as usual, Josh Bradford bounced around the stage making the funniest of faces while shredding on guitar. Shane Told transitioned from singing to screaming seamlessly and Paul Koehler on the drums provided the consistency from the back. At this point Silverstein is a well oiled machine, yet fans still want more.
Photos by Jared Allen
A little after the halfway point when the majority of the band exited the stage leaving just Paul Marc Rousseau on the keyboard, the venue chanted “Sil-ver-stein” over and over. Perhaps to their surprise Silverstein assured them there was plenty more to come. After Rousseau’s keyboard solo of “Arrivals,” Silverstein dug deep with “Broken Stars” and “Discovering The Waterfront before finishing with “The Afterglow,” a more upbeat track that’s skyrocketed to the forefront of Dead Reflections.
Typically by 11 p.m. most shows would be wrapping up, however Tonight Alive was just getting started. Matty Best took his place on drums and began beating away to build up anticipation for his band mates arrival. With the departure of guitarist Whakaio Taahi before the release of Underworld in January, only Jenna McDougall, Jake Hardy and Cam Adler followed Best onto stage. Beginning with “How Does It Feel?” off Limitless, McDougall jolted from side to side between every “woah oh oh.”
Despite touring on behalf of Underworld, the Aussie’s didn’t struggle to please their dedicated fan base with 14 tracks including anthems “Lonely Girl” and “The Edge,” a song pegged for one of The Amazing Spider-Man movies.
Photos by Jared Allen
Tonight Alive is warm in nature and the focus is always bringing the community present at the show together, both through lyrics and attitude. During songs McDougall reached out to the fans in the front, the diehards that stuck it out until midnight, and between songs she spoke about liberating from the confines society boxes us in. Tonight Alive is all about letting it go through both the tracks that started the band’s career - “What Are You So Scared Of?” - to the recent singles “Temple” and “Crack My Heart.”
There was a feeling of freedom, that the present was all that existed and Tonight Alive did their best to keep that feeling burning. The band performed into the morning and through it all there was a sense of vitality that permeated. The crowd didn’t lose interest and had Tonight Alive not needed to board a bus for Richmond, Va., there’s no doubt the party would’ve continued.
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