Images: A Day To Remember, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low, The Wonder Years September 23, 2013 at the Henderson Pavilion

On Sept. 23, the Henderson Pavilion was home to one of the younger generation’s most anticipated tours as Rockstar Energy’s House Party Tour rolled through town with A Day To Remember, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low and The Wonder Years. And despite being a school night for 95% of the fans in attendance, there was not a single empty seat in the amphitheater.

Unfortunately due to a mix-up at the gate, I missed most of The Wonder Years’ set but I could hear the roar of the crowd as the Philadelphia pop punkers took the stage and played their hits. With the rest of the bands on this tour being in a slightly different vein than them, I’d wager that much of the crowd hadn’t heard The Wonder Years before this day, and it definitely looked like they walked away with a ton of new fans.

Over the screaming crowd, Baltimore’s All Time Low took the stage, opening with “So Long, and Thanks For All The Booze” from 2012’s Don’t Panic and then heading straight into hits “The Reckless and the Brave” and “Weightless.” They broke out some older material from Put Up or Shut Up with “Coffee Shop Soundtrack” and towards the end, they played their latest single “A Love Like War” featuring Pierce the Veil’s Vic Fuentes. All Time Low closed their set with their biggest hit to date, “Dear Maria, Count Me In” as excited fans sang along with every word.

As the crowd broke out in chants of “Pierce the Veil,” giant “PTV” letters illuminated the stage as the band came out with “Bulls in the Bronx” from their latest record Collide With The Sky. For being a seated venue, there was not a single kid sitting down. Despite a few technical sound issues, everyone was dancing along to the heavy guitar riffs provided by Tony Perry, pop-melodic singing by Vic Fuentes, gut rattling bass of Jaime Preciado, and pounding beats by drummer Mike Fuentes. The San Diego-based group played songs mostly off their latest record but they did sneak in crowd favorites “Bulletproof Love” and “Caraphernelia” from 2010’s Selfish Machines (which featured a guest appearance on stage by A Day To Remember’s Jeremy McKinnnon). The band ended on a high note with “King for a Day,” and the only thing that could have made it any better would have been a surprise appearance by that song’s guest vocalist Kellin Quinn.

After a video intro and an elaborate housefront mock-up complete with garage door, A Day To Remember took to the stage. The crowd erupted into a roar as the band sped through “All I Want,” “I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You?,” “Fast Forward to 2012” and “2nd Sucks.” This led into a brand new song titled “Right Back At It Again” from their upcoming release Common Courtesy, which fans already knew well enough to hangbang so hard it hurt to watch. Halfway through the set, we were treated to an intimate acoustic session of “You Had Me At Hello” and “If It Means A Lot To You” as the crowd sang along with singer Jeremy McKinnon and lit up the venue with cell phones and lighters. ADTR finished their main set on “Monument” and “A Plot to Bomb the Panhandle” and exited the stage only to return for an encore comprised of “Violence (Enough is Enough),” “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” and “The Downfall of Us All” which featured a bevy of VIP fans on stage dancing along. McKinnon commented that despite being an awkward venue, this was easily the best seated show the band has ever played. And I have to agree that it was definitely the best seated show I’ve been to in a long time.

-Tylor Thuirer | https://www.flickr.com/photos/thuirermedia/