Movements:

On November 17^th, 2018 at the Franklin Music Hall (formerly known as Electric Factory) in Philadelphia, PA, Movements was the first band to hit the stage for the The Story So Far headlining tour.  As soon as the band hit the stage, the crowd was ready to go. Throughout their set, Movements presented the audience with a variety of selections that came from their hit record “Feel Something”. The success of this album was apparent, for the crowd was yelling back with just as much energy as the lead singer throughout every song. Movements, as performers, have morphed into their stage presence immensely over the past year. The first time I saw Movements was when they played the “Full Sail” Stage on the 2017 Vans Warped Tour. When they played this stage, you could tell that the band was small, and that they hadn’t figured out their quirks as a band, especially in terms of live performance. Now, they are opening up for a tour that is easily going to be one of the best concerts of the generation due to the lineup, and the band is not only holding their own; rather, they are making a statement for and of themselves. The minute the band jumped onto the stage, you could see the passion of each track from each member of the band in their own way. Movements kept the energy high throughout the entire set; however, the band played their song “Submerge”, which is a more solemn track, so it was cool to experience a track that isn’t played that much, and it gave the audience a quick breather. Overall, Movements was an incredible opener for this concert, for their sound meshes perfectly with the music presented by the bands that follow them, and the energy of the band and the energy that their music portrays just adds the perfect amount of passion that the concert needs.

 

Citizen:

Next up, a band that everyone was excited to see: Citizen. Just like when Movements hit the stage, the crowd was not one to hesitate when the band was ready to go: they were ready to give it all they have. For their performance, Citizen gave the audience a setlist that provided old and new favorites. This helped to keep the energy of the audience on point until the end of the set. As one watches Citizen, it is apparent that the band has a vision of their sound in mind, and they execute it during every second that they get to be on the stage- it’s that simple. When watching each individual member of the band, one notices that they are just digging into their own instrumental or vocal parts- just giving it all that they have. This is admirable and fantastic to experience, for it inspires the audience to just live in the moment of their set, and to give it all they have because that’s exactly what the band is doing. Keeping this in mind, one of the best parts of the set is when the lead singer Matt turned the microphone towards the audience, gesturing for us to take the reins and give it all we have, vocally speaking. These moments were special, for you could hear the lyrics to those moments just ring throughout the venue. During those times, you could see each band member just living their best life as we all were enjoying their music because, in that moment, that’s all that mattered. Overall, Citizen was a perfect inclusion for this lineup, and it is no surprise that they gave it all they had, and their performance was spectacular.

 

Turnover:

Next up was the one, the only: Turnover. When Turnover hit the stage, the audience went back and forth between jamming out/swaying all together and running around and moshing, which makes for the perfect Turnover set. Turnover, throughout their set, gave the audience a variety of tunes, most of them coming from their beloved album “Peripheral Vision”. This gave the audience the opportunity to experience both older and newer selections, which made the crowd have such a huge fluctuation in activity. From the moment that the band walked on to the stage, it was evident that they were pulling through with their characteristic brand. Meaning, the band is going to come onto the stage and just live through playing their music. Turnover’s music is simple yet so ornate in the same breath, so it was really cool to watch each band member perform their small musical nuances with ease, and then, be able to experience other people reacting to their musicianship. As one watches the band perform, it is apparent that they all just stay in their tiny bubbles as they perform their relaxed music. This works for this band because their music doesn’t require backflips, kickflips, huge guitar riffs, or anything of that nature; rather, simple movements where they can simply focus on the vocal line and the gentle instrumentals is enough, and that’s exactly what the band brought to the table. Even though Turnover’s music is of a lesser intensity when comparing it to that of Movements, Citizen, and The Story So Far, that doesn’t make them any less eligible to be a part of this lineup because their sound meshes well with all of the bands in the cut, and they take a similar musical approach and make it totally their own, which is what makes them so successful as an artist in this scene. Furthermore, Turnover was a great addition to the concert lineup, for it gave the audience an emotional moment to attach to while also giving them the opportunity to continue with their high levels of energy if they wish.

 

The Story So Far:

The band that everyone in attendance was dying to see: The Story So Far! Throughout their entire performance The Story So Far primarily played new selections from the album they just released entitled “Proper Dose”. However, throughout the night, the band did provide some throwback tracks for the audience to get down to, which made the enjoyment of the night rise all the more. The sound of their newer music was well-received by the audience. Their newer tracks don’t utilize as much bite as their older tracks; however, that didn’t stop the audience from holding back one bit. Actually, it felt like the audience members were full sending the new material, which isn’t common when a band first tours their newest album. As the band performed all of the selections on the concert, it was apparent that they fit this new music into their stage presence with ease; also, it felt like these new selections fit perfectly with the “The Story So Far brand”, which made the concert run smoothly with high intensity from the jump. When looking back on the concert, one thing that is important to mention was the amount of joy that was radiating from every member, especially the lead singer, Parker. After every selection, Parker would clap as the audience applauded the band, and as we and he did so, he had the biggest smile on his face. This helped to show that the band was having an amazing time, and that they appreciated how well-received their new music is, since they took a shift in their musical sound, which is a risk for any artist. Overall, The Story So Far gave their audience a performance that was not one to forget, which made for the perfect ending to a great evening.

 

Final Thoughts:

 Overall, I would give this concert a 6/5 stars, and honestly, I would give it a 10/5 stars because it was that amazing. The lineup for this show put a lot of pressure on the performers, for everyone knew exactly the type of evening that they were getting themselves into. Therefore, when everyone hit the stage the expectations were high, and every band in the cut did what everyone would expect and then some. Each band came to the event and gave it 10000%. This made for an overly enjoyable evening, where the voices of the audience members were lost by the end of the night. Therefore, if you’re late to the game and haven’t seen any of these bands live, please do yourself a favor, and do so ASAP! Fantastic evening all around.