Silverstein Worcester Palladium Friday, August 24th, 2012, Reviewed
The Worcester Palladium is a gritty, gross, “ew that was sticky what was that” kind of venue. Typically, seeing shows in such a large area makes you forget about the little things around you, and you can distance yourself from people that are drunk or sweaty or, at a hardcore show, clad with bruises and blood from moshing.
However,there is an upstairs, teeny tiny version of a venue and that was where the Short Songs Short Tour took place. I’d just adjusted to the people around me, maneuvering around with the intention of seeing Silverstein best I could.
Silverstein was a band that I basically grew up with. I remember having their poster on my wall in seventh grade, and listening to them and Hawthorne Heights in my bedroom, pretending I was at a show. I purposely didn’t listen to any of their more recent stuff because I wanted to hear it live first.
The lights dimmed, and the crowd started to chant “SIL-VER-STEIN, SIL-VER-STEIN”and the energy in the room increased, and people pushed forward. As they walked on stage, the noise grew and the band’s reaction was priceless. They opened up with the first song off their 2003 album When Broken Is Easily Fixed. “Smashed Into Pieces” beginning riffs were blasted through the room, and it was a shame that it had no acoustics at all. In the heat of the moment, no one cared about the sound quality. Nobody cared about who they were standing next to or what time it was. It seemed everyone was reliving what I was- hearing this song for the first time.
Shane Told was a charismatic frontman who drove the whole show. This opening tune showed off that they were all seasoned pros, and even though they had done it all before, no way were they getting tired of it any time soon.
With smooth transitions and silly banter in between tunes, it all flowed and was not only fun to listen to, but visually captivating. The crowd was absolutely insane. Typically,at shows now, when people crowd surf, the security guards at the front set em down on the ground and push them on their way. Here, the crowd surfers ended up on the stage, and jumped back onto the crowd to get back. I’d never seen this before, and it was very cool.
Taking on the endeavour of doing covers, which Silverstein does so well, they performed many. The most noteworthy, though, was their cover of “Short Songs” by Dead Kennedys. The second the noise started, the entire crowd went mental. There has never been a time, not even at Warped Tour, where I’ve seen a show where anyone’s reaction has been so strong and so intense. It was mob mentality, but in the most positive way. Everyone got swept up in the moment and it felt as though the quick,less than a minute song would never end.
Playing thirty-four songs in total, everyone left satisfied. Not only did everyone relive their memories,but everyone in that room created new ones.
Music brings people together.
