As time goes on, old trends tend to repeat themselves. A decade ago, the nineties were having their renaissance, and more recently, the Y2K aesthetic has made an overwhelming resurgence into pop culture. Riding on the success of Y2K’s comeback is the re-emergence of emo music — think of acts like My Chemical Romance, Sunny Day Real Estate and Hawthorne Heights.
This past Saturday, San Antonio emo fans flocked to the Plaza Guadalupe for the first ever A Very Emo Valentine’s Music Fest. The stacked bill featured headlining act Hawthorne Heights, supported by legendary acts Saosin and I Set My Friends On Fire, along with smaller, local acts such as Medusa Complex and Sleep Schedule.
With 21 performances, the day was long, but San Antonio was unafraid — filling the venue to the brim. Each artist had their own draw, bringing in fans of local acts and small touring artists, simultaneously introducing emo fans to a whole new world of fifth-wave emo music.
Likely the most hyped performance of the night, Saosin took the stage at 7:45 p.m. Their commanding presence entranced the audience; for many, they had seen the band here in the countdown city 10 years ago, but for the younger crowd, it was their first time seeing these legends. With the excitement of finally being able to see the emo powerhouse, the energy swelled from the crowd and surged over the barricade. While crowd surfers were redirected back into the crowd, the band deflected that energy right back into the masses.
When hit track “Seven Years” rang through the venue, the crowd grew still yet restless. Everyone laid in wait for the cue “The story ends,” before the powerful screams commanding “I would find a way without” tore through the stage monitors into the crowd’s heart.
Saosin led a more than memorable experience — claiming “We’re up here like a bunch of sigmas,” while trying to relate to their younger audience.
Following Saosin is I Set My Friends On Fire, an aggressive and comedic emo band from Miami, fronted by Matt Mehana.
The band would go on to have the most exciting performance of the night, pushing the crowd to engage more and join the on-stage antics. In breaks between songs, Mehana would talk about how he was “really hungry for brisket,” leading to one attendee giving him their tater tots, while another yelled, “Go get some f—cking puffy tacos dude.”
Mehana and the band really knew how to wow a crowd, with a two-minute period of concertgoers throwing wristbands and rave candy at the band. Following this, he was pushed to but eventually refused to try on a pair of plastic shutter shades, exclaiming “I can’t wear these, I look too much like the guy from LMFAO.”
With an exhilarating performance from such a goofy group, how could anyone live up to I Set My Friends On Fire’s performance? Luckily, the last band was not just anyone, with Hawthorne Heights taking the stage immediately after Mehana’s group. The group had a massive 80-minute block to perform in.
Hawthorne Heights did more than live up to what came before, giving a legendary performance for the 210.
Opening their performance, lead vocalist J.T. Woodruff expressed his gratitude for San Antonio.
