Silverstein

Tonight was the Silverstein & A Day To Remember show I've been looking forward to since it was announced in the fall. I've had to miss performances by both bands before; I didn't realize Silverstein was in Indy until I had made plans with a friend from out of town and ADTR played their Warped Tour set at the same time slot as Senses Fail, who I also enjoy and doubted I'd get another chance to see because of the band's age. However, as often happens, my other responsibilities are keeping me from attending. I've discussed A Day To Remember before, so I thought I would set up a playlist of Silverstein songs to show why they are significant to me.

Silverstein is one of the bands from the emocore/post-hardcore "scene" from the turn of the century that shows the best of what the genre can be. Dramatic and powerful at times while touching and sincere at others, they are able to fully tell a story while engaging the listener in their drama. They also are a great example of why I think the marginalization of "scene" bands to teenage angst and overwrought relationship melodrama is neither accurate nor a fair reason to discard the music.

"You're All I Have" from 2009's Shipwreck in the Sand is about the anger, confusion, and loneliness that understandably follow the loss of custody of a daughter. Clearly distraught, the (semi-fictional) narrator's tale of the dissolution of his family throughout the album displays the band's desire to tell a story of substance and dig beneath the superficialities that people hear in songs of relationships.

"Smile In Your Sleep" is my favorite track from their 2005 breakout Discovering The Waterfront. It is about an individual's realization that he doesn't have to put up with someone who makes him suspect their every move (even while they sleep), and the pop influences in the song give it a sing along structure.

"Apologize" is a cover of OneRepublic's smash 20008 hit. I grew to love the original in spite of its radio overplay and their cover breathes a fresh life into it after hearing it ad nauseum. Given the countless number of terrible covers that "heavy" bands have done for pop songs, I was hesitant when I first became aware of the cover. Silverstein's version takes a different approach than I would expect most of their contemporaries would have taken, and used restraint in the amount and timing of screaming in the song.  I particularly enjoy that the differences the singers take highlight different lyrics in the song. For example, "I loved you with a fire red/ Now, it's turning blue/ And you say 'Sorry' like the angel/ heaven let me think was you" is a great lyric that completely slipped under my radar during the countless times I heard OneRepublic's version.

Silverstein