Hawthorne Heights, Emery @ House of Blues

Words and Photos by: Canonblue Lalley

New Orleans, LA

Hawthorne Heights hit the road for the first time in a long time to bring us a full play through of The Silence in Black and White on the album’s 15th anniversary release. Joined by fellow emo era fan favorites Emery, HH stopped at the House of Blue’s Parish Ballroom to kick off the Rawring 20’s in the best way. It’s a surreal experience to see the bands that were the soundtrack to our formative years take the stage at this new cycle in our lives and still be able to drum up the same feelings as it did when we were teenagers.

Perhaps the greatest part of it all was the interaction between the bands and fans. JT Woodruff spoke candidly about being back in New Orleans, and being back on the road for the first time in such a long time. He made light of “we’re getting old” style tropes and simply thanked the crowd for coming out on a Wednesday when “we’re all old and have day jobs.” Fifteen years of musical maturity gave us a completely and full sound, filled with just as much emotion and angst as was present in 2004, if even more heavily received as the weight of experience peppered the lines of “Ohio is for lovers.”

The Parish is such an ancient and beautiful place and I was grateful that the show took place there. It’s more intimate with fans only inches from the stage, bodies smashed together as they sang their the lyrics that brought them through the darkest times in their adolescence.

As a note, the two opener bands Bad Luck and Vagrants warmed the crowd up with their full energy and incredibly vibe. In an age where the “emo” era is but a nostalgic memory, these two are still out here keeping the scene alive for the fledgling generations.

Catch Emery and Hawthorne Heights on their final two dates before returning home and breaking our hearts once more.