Hawthorne Heights, Armor For Sleep, Spitalfield Sell Out Elevation
Hawthorne Heights, Armor For Sleep, and Spitalfield are on a lineup together? And the closest show is 2 hours away? Sounds like a road trip is in order!
Elevation in Grand Rapids, a connected venue to the famed Intersection, played host to a sold-out crowd on Saturday, March 25, and we did that quick jaunt from Detroit just to bear witness.
As the Emolution is upon us (as I’ve been calling it), the bands we’ve loved for decades are coming back in full swing, some with new music, and some with a stiff drink of nostalgia. This tour was on the cocktail menu, and it served up invigorating spirits we cannot deny.
SPITALFIELD
I’ll admit, I didn’t listen to a ton of Spitalfield growing up. I did, however, love their set, and recognized one of their songs, “I Loved The Way She Said L.A.” The band had great energy, and seemed to truly enjoy being there – even if they were the opening act. I ended up revisiting their music after the show and can say now that I’m definitely a fan. See their full setlist here:
ARMOR FOR SLEEP
Can I tell you a secret? My LiveJournal growing up was coded to have references of Armor For Sleep songs. I also made my own merch because we had a screenprinting station at my school as a teenager. Because of this, I was EXTRA stoked to catch this lineup, and felt like I was doing a service to my 13-year-old self. Armor For Sleep did not disappoint, and they played a ton of songs from both ‘Dream To Make Believe’ and ‘What To Do When You Are Dead.’
An endearing moment: By the time they got to “Car Underwater,” one of the security guards was filming the song on their phone, joined by another who was singing every word to the song. The lead singer hopped off the stage and got into the front row toward the end of the set, and made us feel like we were kids again.
See their full setlist here:
HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS
J.T. Woodruff of Hawthorne Heights cracks the mic noting that the night before, they’d been in Ohio (their hometown, but also a Michigan rival). If that’s not going to fire up a crowd, I don’t know what will. They stacked their setlist knowing the nostalgia would be heavy, calling reference to it, and welcoming that kinship. The back half of the set was a helping of ‘The Silence In Black And White’ with quite a few tracks from ‘If Only You Were Lonely.’ And of course, they played their most recent singles, “Dandelions” and “Lucerne Valley.”
The set also went mini-viral a few days later, when the When We Were Young Festival Instagram reposted a TikTok video of one of those security guards I mentioned earlier, singing along to one of their tracks.
In short, the night was absolutely wholesome.
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Check out their full setlist here: