On Saturday June 10, 2023, Eastside Bowl played host to a packed house of emos of all ages to welcome The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus proving that, no matter the year, emo is very much still alive and well in Music City, USA.
The night opened up with Nashville’s own Backhand Blue to get the party started. Fronted by Macy Addis, this group came to the stage with a massive amount of energy with a sound that is equal parts hard rock and pop punk, which just works. Beginning the night with their song Goodbye they took on their short set with ferocity being able to accomplish impressive singing mixed in with an equally talented growl. They then progressed to their new single Drowning, which they just released last month to the airwaves, and followed that up with Searching. They rounded out their set with Zodiac which had been featured on SiriusXM radio recently and finished out having the crowd sing along to The Dark Side.
The second act of the night was another Nashville-grown group, There Go I. Keeping with the theme of the night There Go I brought a familiar style that reminded me of rock groups from the 2000’s with a melodic rock that also had plenty of drive and screaming for the heavier music fans. By the time they reached their third song of the night Paradigm Shift there was a solid circle pit formed in the middle of the room. I heard rumors of a phone meeting its demise during the set, but the owner didn’t seem to mind. They played songs they had never played live before, and you would be hard-pressed to know that if they hadn’t told you. They brought the house down with their last song, with the entirety of the crowd clapping and singing along.
Coming up next was Staten Island, New York band Over The Moon. Fresh off their impressive performance at Sonic Temple, this emo group is currently touring with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on the Summer 2023 tour. This group is everything you would expect from an emo alternative band, and then some. With a sound that you would expect to hear on the radio at the height of the emo boom of the 2000s, the group was impressive during their short set at Eastside Bowl. They opened the night with their latest release Here To Stay and followed with another new song Playing with Fire. Their energy on stage was contagious and you could feel the crowd bouncing along as lead singer Nick Mahoney moved around the stage. After Your Life My Life, they covered Taking Back Sunday’s song MakeDamnSure to the utter delight of the crowd in attendance. They followed that with the first single they had ever released, My Demise, and closed out their set with 2022 which was a poignant commentary on society surrounding us during these times.
After a night of already emo-angsty goodness, it was finally time for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to take the stage. Bursting onto the stage, lead singer Ronnie was live streaming to his socials the packed house greeting the band. After a near miss on making the date due to the band van breaking down on the way to Nashville, they took the stage with all the energy that you have come to expect from this group. The crowd was promised a night of nostalgia, and it was delivered in spades. It was like you were sitting back in 2006 watching these guys for the first time. They haven’t missed a beat. Playing through fan favorites such as Sweet Pretense, Seventeen Ain’t So Sweet, and Damn Regret you could hear the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs. Having been a band for 20 years, they have never taken a hiatus until the pandemic forced it. They found inspiration during that time and wrote a couple of new songs which found their way onto an EP titled The Emergency EP. They played Brace Yourself from that release, and although it was newer, the crowd still knew it. They continued the night playing a song that won a fan poll to make the setlist, Represent. Included in the night were two songs that were featured in a video game and a very popular CW network TV Series as well. In Fate’s Hands was featured on John Maddens NFL ’07 and fan favorite Cat and Mouse rose to popularity after being featured in The Vampire Diaries and took on a life of its own with the fans. Ronnie appeared to become a little emotional as the crowd sang Cat and Mouse back to him. They finished out the night with the two songs they are arguably most known for Your Guardian Angel and Face Down. I only thought the audience was singing along loudly earlier in the night, but by the time these two songs came up, I realized I had several underestimated what loud was. Face Down started with just Ronnie and the audience singing the chorus together in a moment that was just as special as it was powerful. When that band picked up, the entire room was moving and dancing with them, including me. As I said earlier, emo is absolutely alive and well in Music City, USA. This night was both proof and a celebration of that. This elder emo was more than happy to be there to witness it.
