The Load Out: Silverstein @ Croc Rock 9/22

In the past 10 years many bands have come and gone. If they haven’t gone away totally, then various member changes have altered the face of the band, and the sound, making them unrecognizable to some point. However, there has been one constant driving force in the hardcore/punk scene the last decade: Silverstein.

For over 10 years the band has stayed intact with the same lineup, seeing ups and downs of the music industry, success with music videos, thousands and thousands of albums sold, but none of that means anything. When I sat down with Shane, singer of the band, for an interview, he was very clear. “We do it because we want to have fun.” That’s what he says has kept the band together, sharing that common goal since the beginning.

With that motto behind them, they’ve had successful sold-out tours all over the world, thousands of albums sold, and most importantly, an impact on their fans’ lives. Whether it was getting them through a tough time in school, relationship issues, or anything dealing with real life, the lyrics of Silverstein have remained upfront and very relatable. Here they are 10 years later and people are still lining up hours before the show to see them. It’s working.

Having not seen Silverstein since their tour with A Day To Remember back in the spring of 2010, I was very excited to be able to catch them again, especially since their newest record, Rescue, is their best yet. The set started out with “Sacrifice” off of Rescue, and it was great seeing the crowd react to the new songs just the same as the old gems. The floor opened up and the crowd was showing off all their best “mosh” moves throughout the entire set, making the energy in the room very high.

The band brought out material from all five of their albums, including some songs that are not played often. “Worlds Apart,” off of Arrivals & Departures is a song that Shane dedicated to one of the local opening bands, proving that Silverstein remembers where they came from and care about the local scenes in the cities they play. Also in the realm of rarities that were played was an older song, “Giving Up,” off of When Broken Is Easily Fixed. That one hasn’t been heard for years!

Songs off of their concept album, A Shipwreck In The Sand, included “Broken Stars” and “I Am The Arsonist.” In the interview with Shane, we talked about the stress and loss of sleep he went through making that record, and how he sort of turned into the character he created. I’ll be honest, I listened to that record front-to-back on the way to work, and it’s amazing what Silverstein did on that record, in so little time.

Of course the band played some songs off of their fan-favorite album, Discovering The Waterfront, including: “Smile In Your Sleep,” “The Idles Of March,” and the sing-along “My Heroine.” Crazy to see six years after that album’s release and people still go off on these songs! This proves the band’s longevity that they have with their fans. To close out the set, after a chant of “one more song,” the band closed with their signature ending song, “Bleeds No More.”

Silverstein will be coming back next year with some “friends.” The band is past their 10th birthday, and show no signs of slowing down. Fans still keep coming out bringing their voices (and mosh moves), and keep the band going, while others are calling it quits left and right. I hope we see another 10 years of this band because their music gets better with each album, and with a catalog of all great songs, their live shows never have a dull moment.