The sole purpose of this article is to give anyone who wanted to go but, could not attend the Emo Is Back tour, the inside scoop of it. I had the pleasure of going to two shows on the tour, May 3rd in Rhode Island, and May 4th in New Jersey. The bands on the tour were amazing, and they are all so kind. I'm sure anyone else who went to a show on this tour, agrees with me that this tour needs to be a yearly thing now. I instantly saw how much these bands love touring together, they would hop on stage while someone was performing, and would jam out and sing along with them.
Oh and in Rhode Island Mikey from This Is All Now had a ukulele and he apparently plays the same song on it every night, and the bands get in a circle with their arms around each other, singing along. It was the cutest thing ever, and I have yet to see something like that at any other tour I've gone to. I truly do hope that this can be a yearly tour, and hopefully even more people will come out and support the underground music scene.
Best Kept Secret
This entire tour would not be possible without the guys in Best Kept Secret. They chose an amazing line up of bands, and made the best tour I have ever seen. I have been dying to see Best Kept Secret live ever since they started this band, and it was so surreal to hear their music live. Best Kept Secret did everything they possibly could to get their fans to enjoy the night, in the video above you can see Benji pointing to a blonde girl to move up closer to jam out. After the girl moved up, Matt held the microphone out to her so she could sing along which was pretty cool.
Since the Rhode Island show had between 20-30 people scattered around the venue, and standing farther away from the stage, Benji got off staged with his guitar and nudged fans closer. Why weren't they close in the first place? They probably felt a little awkward or didn't know where to stand but, Benji helped with that and everyone got close and jammed out to their set.
In Clifton, there was a bigger crowd and I noticed Brady pumping up the fans directly in front of the stage by getting super close to them and screaming the lyrics in their faces haha. Jon was all into the music at Clifton too, he even hurt one of his fingers during their set and had to ice it afterwards. Also, props to John for being able to drum and sing at the same time, very impressive I must say. The four of them have so much passion for music, they jump around the entire set and the smiles on their faces are priceless.
Beneath The Spin Light
I was very excited to see my friends in Beneath The Spin Light on this tour. After seeing them two nights in a row, I question on how they don't get whiplash after being on stage. The one thing I found completely incredible during their set was Gus doing a headstand while he played bass.. You stand there in awe wondering how he's able to do that every night flawlessly. I absolutely loved seeing them perform, they even covered "A Thousand Miles" which was pretty funny considering they said it was going to be a "heavy" cover. Out of all the bands I saw, I believe that Beneath The Spin Light tied with Best Kept Secret for the most energy on stage. I totally love the fact I caught Matt Skajem from Best Kept Secret jumping on stage to sing with Beneath The Spin Light in this video. The guys in Beneath The Spin Light are probably the nicest, friendliest people I have ever met.
I loved being able to finally meet them and have conversations in person, honestly if you ever need a laugh, talk to one of them. Ask Kyle about driving the rv, he'll tell you why an asian shouldn't be driving that big thing. Any conversation you have with Gus would be one you won't forget.. And you'll probably get a million hugs while talking to him which, isn't a bad thing. And when you talk to Kalevi he might just throw it out there that he hasn't showered in three days because of the tour life.. now worries he doesn't smell that bad. As for Sullivan? He seems quiet at first but, he can talk forever and ever in a conversation, it's never just "hi & bye" like other people you may encounter at concerts. If you ever have an opportunity to see Beneath The Spin Light, GO SEE THEM. It's a must. Sullivan, Kalevi, Kyle, and Gus are the greatest group of guys, I can not stress that enough.
This Is All Now
I've been seeing This Is All Now since 2014 and they honestly never disappoint me. Okan was all about getting the crowd pumped up, yelling to get up to the stage and dance around. This Is All Now played a new song on this tour too and it was amazing, sadly I didn't get it on video but, everyone is going to love it when it gets released. In between songs at the Rhode Island show, Okan told the crowd a little drunk story about Caleb which was pretty hilarious to hear, sorry Caleb. The four of them really love what they do, and I hope they grow as a band even more in 2016, they put so much work into their music and they deserve the world.
They care deeply about their fans too, in Rhode Island after the show I was outside in the cold in a tank top and Louie kept offering me the jacket off his back but I refused to take it or else he would have been cold. Caleb over heard and went into their van and gave me his north face to wear, it helped a ton, Louie was jokingly offended that I took Caleb's over his. After two years, I finally managed to get a picture with Mikey too, in the past I would talk to him but I'd forget to take a photo and we FINALLY have one. This Is All Now is one of my favorite group of guys, and one of the bands I've been supporting for the longest, and I hope to see them again soon.
An Honest Year
If you have been following An Honest Year, you're probably aware that the Emo Is Back tour is their last tour ever. After four years An Honest Year has decided to part ways. I was thrilled to see them for the first time May 3rd, and for the last time on May 4th. They were incredible on stage and I'm kicking myself for not seeing them beforehand. Fans were incredibly happy and sad each night knowing it was their last time seeing them perform. These guys really love what they do and you can definitely tell how much they'll miss touring the country and meeting their fans. I loved seeing how happy they were on stage, and how happy they were while they talked to fans at the end of the night. They also handed out free wristbands, who doesn't like a free wristband? Adding that to my collection.
Take A Breath
This tour was my 2nd and 3rd time seeing Take A Breath live, and they were amazing like always. They have so much energy on stage and it's ridiculous how high they can jump while they're performing. Take A Breath are incredible guys and they're all so kind. They were giving out free stickers too, if you're in a band, and you have free stickers.. I automatically love you. At the Jersey show during one of their songs, Ryan showed the backside of his guitar and he used duct tape to spell out "prom?" on the back of it, and asked one of his friends to accompany him to his senior prom. It was totally cute and unexpected. I loved seeing Take A Breath again and Ryan had a sass off with me in Jersey for a good five minutes. Definitely recommend seeing them if they're ever in your area, you won't be disappointed!
We Are Forever.
For the Emo Is Back tour, two members of We Are Forever could not make it out but, Ryan Bentley from Take A Breath, and David Lehr filled in for the missing members. Every night Aren talks about a deer they hit and named Bucky and they dedicate a song to him.. it's quite amusing actually. RIP Bucky the baby deer. It was great to finally meet Aren and Alex on this tour and I must point out, they have amazing fashion taste. Props to them for dressing nice and fashionable while on tour, that takes effort. Aren's vocals are incredible live, and he had so much energy on stage jumping around. They're very talkative guys too which is helpful for shy people like me. Alex had my friend and I play a guessing game on his age, and it blew our minds that he is only 18. I'll definitely be seeing these guys soon, I was thrilled that they were on the leg of the Emo Is Back tour that came to my area.
The Emo Is Back tour was by far my favorite tour I have ever went to. The bands are all so talented, and such wonderful guys and I enjoyed every minute of it. I hope this becomes a yearly tour, and I'm sure anyone who attended this tour would certainly agree with me. Thank you to all the bands who joined the tour, thank you for creating amazing music, and thank you for all the amazing memories.