w/ Creeper, letlive, Hawthorne Heights
Two decades after its release, If Only You Were Lonely still has a hold on the people who grew up with it. At Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia, Hawthorne Heights celebrated the album’s 20th anniversary by playing it front to back, with Creeper and letlive. along for the ride.
Creeper: Gothic Theatrics, Horror-Rock Flair
Southampton, England’s Creeper opened the night with a gothic, horror-tinged brand of rock that sets them apart from most of the bill. The six-piece took the stage with a dark, theatrical sensibility, and their mix of macabre atmosphere and big rock hooks gave the early crowd something to sink into. It was a fitting start for a night about emotion at full volume.
letlive.: Pure Kinetic Energy
If Creeper set the mood, letlive. broke it wide open. The band walked out to a slow, atmospheric intro that gave no hint of what was coming, then lit up almost instantly. Frontman Jason Aalon Butler is one of the most magnetic performers in modern rock, and he used every inch of the room, feeding off the crowd and radiating enthusiasm.
Butler didn’t stay on the stage for long. He dropped into the pit area and worked his way through the crowd to the opposite side of the venue, where he climbed on top of the bar and sang from there. It was the kind of moment that erases the line between band and audience, with fans craning to see him perched above the room while the rest of the band kept the energy up from the stage. The set was a reminder that a great live show is about connection as much as volume, and letlive. delivered both.
Hawthorne Heights: The Album, in Full
By the time Hawthorne Heights arrived, the room was primed. The band played If Only You Were Lonely in its entirety, a record that has meant a great deal to a generation of fans. Anniversary shows can lean on nostalgia, but the point of this one was the shared experience of a room full of people who knew every word and every turn in the tracklist, and for whom this music has marked their lives.
They didn’t stop when the album ended. A four-song encore closed the night, giving fans a few more songs to hold onto before the lights came up.
Photography by Wes Shepherd
