The loudest screams last October 31 or Halloween night are not in horror houses nor in theaters for a horror movie, nor any Halloween Party but it’s on SM North Edsa’s Skydome with Silverstein as they returned to the Philippines after 3 years!

The Canadian rock band from Burlington Ontario, which was a part of the emergence of the pool of rock and emo music of the early 2000s, shook Manila again, highlighting their hits of 20 years of music in one night.

Band members Josh Bradford, Paul Koehler, Shane Told, Billy Hamilton, and Paul Marc Rousseau, brought the house down as it clashed again with the “emo capital of Southeast Asia”, proving again that this was never a phase with us, as mosh pits, wall of Death and non-stop singing with the band blanketed the night.

Our Heroine

Silverstein did not hold back in being loud that night as they matched the energy of their fans who waited for them to come back. The setlist was carefully curated and connected with the rock/emo enthusiasts, with screamo attached that just mutes all senses you get when you listen to it.

“We told you it wouldn’t take us 10 years to come back!” vocalist Shane Told told the crowd during one of the many many pauses they had that night to interact with the fans. They recalled that the last time they were in the country while singing on stage was during the deadly eruption of Taal Volcano last January 2020. For safety, all flights going in and out of the country were barred and they remained in the country longer than anticipated. “It could have been worse but we f*cking love it. You guys were the kindest, and sweetest people ever so thank you for having us back here, and thanks for being with us tonight!”

The crowd was on the edge throughout the evening and wanted to set loose with the band as they kept on promising that there would be the opportunity to let it go and unleash everything with a Wall of Death. A wall of death is a type of moshing in which the audience splits into two parts on either side of the venue, before each side runs towards the other, crashing the two sides together. We don’t see this that often in our country as safety was always a big thing in concerts here, sometimes even more than necessary but as the night went deeper, the songs got wilder, and more songs were sung with all the lyrics by the crowd. It was never surprising to see the Filipino crowd sing in perfect lyrics with the artists, even shocking the band with how perfect and in sync they were all throughout the evening. Like we swallowed the whole music catalog of Silverstein for breakfast like it wasn’t decades worth of music.

It was the pandemic that stopped the band from coming back here sooner as all artists have, and the ensemble did not fail to thank the Filipino fans for their support during the worldwide lockdown. “By the way, thank you so much for all the love you gave us during the pandemic… all the live streaming we did… we heard you, we saw you, we video called some of you, it’s a beautiful thing to know, we had that love. When we were sitting at home, with nothing else to do, our show here in Manila was the last thing we were thinking!”

The band was having so much fun on stage that they opened drinks and called to the crowd, “Tagay!?” Cheers indeed as it’s obvious that the Philippine bug got this band good, who even asked if anyone had dried mangoes in their pockets while remembering that those were the tastiest snacks they had in the Philippines!

Misery Made Us

“All the hardships in life, all across the world… we all found something together and that is music,” Shane called to the crowd. “That is the scene, that is this community. So for us to be here, halfway across the world and everyone in this room who is smiling right now is what it’s all about.”

A bit of a hiccup with the sound system stopped the show for a bit but the band took the opportunity to talk to the crowd instead, and they expressed that they never took any of the moments they had in the music industry for granted, pointing out they’ve been doing this for 22 years already.

Two decades and more in the music scene and all the tours they’ve done all across the world and the Filipino fans still reigned impressive as Shane stopped singing during a part of one of the most known songs, “My Heroine” and let the crowd sing. A frenzied, “Oh my god!” from Shane and the rest of the band’s awe that a crowd didn’t need any backing from the vocalists for the lyrics was truly a spectacle. The most awaited mosh pit happened during “Smile in Your Sleep” and it was nothing but a respectful chaos. Everyone pushed and pulled but after the song ended, the camaraderie and respect for each other showed, clapped each other’s backs, and threw high fives to each other who joined in the chaos.

The Wall of Death was orchestrated by Shane Told himself and the crowd was more than ready to clash as the final song, “The Altar/Mary” took over, as it’s the final moment to let go of everything. Witnessing a display of what Silverstein’s music can do to the crowd with its powerful finish, you will see again that rock/emo was never just a phase and all it needs is a reminder that it is part of who we are as the sad generation that coped with music and healed together in the trauma bond we all shared during the 2000s.

We will always be the emo kids, and artists like Silverstein are there to remind us that we all made it to this day and all it took for us to cope were sad songs, eyeliners, tight band t-shirts, fists in the air, and long bangs. Stitches with hearts and angst music anyone? We know you’re up for that. Long live the emo kids.

Words by Arielle Elep; Photos by Kerwin De Dios