Picture this, it’s Friday and it’s Valentine’s Day. Couples are packed in restaurants or at home for a nice dinner. Meanwhile at HISTORY in Toronto, fans of all ages came together in an epic night of post-hardcore and emo music spanning the late 90s to the present and from across the globe. Silverstein touch down in Toronto for their 25 Years of Noise Tour celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band. Bringing along openers Split Chain, Arm’s Length and Thursday. I would say this was their hometown show, but Silverstein are originally from Burlington, Ontario so – close enough! 
The show begins with a montage of clips on the screen spanning from the band’s early days to Warped Tour and up until the present. The band being greeted by screaming fans even before they stepped on to the stage. Lead singer Shane Told saying this is the biggest tour they have ever put in on their career. All band members looked like they were having the time of their lives on stage, that energy was beaming from all corners of the room. All the crowd surfing and moshing you could imagine, I swear the audience was singing louder than Shane at times. Although this may have been my first time seeing them live, it felt like I had seen them before. Maybe it was just the nostalgia, since I remembered hearing “My Heroine” at a young age or possibly the amount of two-stepping I’d do when their music was played at Emo Night. 
The opening acts were absolutely stacked with greatness. Bristol, UK band Split Chain kicked off the bill with their Nu-Metal and Shoegaze sound, this was their first ever Canadian show. May they return soon as they killed it! Hailing from Quinte West, Ontario – up next was Arm’s Length. Only being around for a handful of years and already have a dedicated fan base screaming the lyrics to a song only released two or three days prior to this concert. And of course, Thursday. One of the big bands from the emo wave in late 90s, paving the way for so many amazing artists to follow. They were one of the first to bring this sound out of the basement; we have them to thank for all the screaming we hear in some of the favourite post-hardcore and emo tunes. It was a nice surprise to see Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil shredding it on the guitar with the rest of Thursday as he was filling in on guitar for this tour. 
The North American leg of the tour may be over, but Silverstein will be across the pond and hitting up the UK and Europe starting February 28th. Do not miss your opportunity and go catch these Canadian legends in action! They’ve got one of two new albums coming out very soon, check out ‘Antibloom’ on February 21st and keep your eye out for ‘Pink Moon’ later in the year, release date to be announced. For all the fans that didn’t make it out to History on February 14th in Toronto, you can still enjoy our exclusive photo gallery featuring all four bands just below. Finally, be sure to follow Silverstein on social media to keep up to date on the band @Silverstein.
Article & Photos by San Veliz (@spacemanmediaproductions)
