Going Back in Time – 25 Years of Noise with Silverstein

December 6, 2025 – If you asked me how many times I’ve seen Silverstein over the years, I would not be able to give you a definitive answer. They’re one of those bands I locked onto over 20 years ago back when I was in high school. I have consistently gone out to their shows when they play Vegas, and they have remained among one of the more solid bands that stays on my rotation. There was no way I could miss them this time around either! The 25 Years of Noise Tour, along with Silverstein, featured Bloom, Free Throw, and one of my all time favorites, Thursday. 

Bloom

Don’t you love seeing a young band hit a stage and just blow you away? That’s what I felt watching Australia’s Bloom. These guys are a spunky melodic hardcore band, and were a little heavier than the rest of the bill. This was their first time playing here in Vegas, and they were so pleased by the crowd reaction that they dubbed Vegas the best date of the tour so far. I called these guys young, but they’ve been wrecking stages since 2017 according to their Spotify profile. Bloom has a really good combination of energy and aggression that’s balanced out with some sprinkles of clean vocals and breakdowns that are sure to get you nodding your head in approval. 

Free Throw

Coming from Nashville, Free Throw were up next, and these guys really packed a punch with the high energy pop punk sound that I really enjoy. The fans really dug this band as well, it wasn’t too long into their set before you could see crowd surfers come flying over the barricade. Their live performance reminded me a bit of Four Year Strong mixed with Say Anything. A really cool blend of the pop punk and indie sounds, and as I said… the fans really loved them! The front row could be seen screaming out lyrics in excitement. The last two or three songs were filled with fans flying over the crowd, and this always makes me giggle a bit because sometimes the security doesn’t expect it, but they handled everything pretty well this night so props for them. 

Thursday

Where do I even start? Thursday is one of my favorite post hardcore bands, and they do not make their way to Vegas very often. So this was an extra special treat for someone like me. I held my composure much better this time in comparison to crying while singing their set at the first When We Were Young festival a few years ago. I’ve always seen Thursday as a severely underrated core piece of 2000’s post hardcore. And they’re a huge reason I even got through my teen years all together. 

Upon looking up the setlist for this run, it looks like Thursday changed some songs up through the tour, but they didn’t leave out those fan favorite bangers! The last time I saw them, Signals Over the Air was a closing song that, for the last decade, they have dedicated to their crowds in the name of human rights, reproductive freedom, and for the freedom to identify however they see fit. 

“Fuck the president, fuck every president, we have to take care of eachother.” As if I needed any more reasons to love Geoff Rickly. 

Thursday closed out their set with “War All the Time”, a track from their 2003 record of the same name. A solid set from one of my favorites, and I hope they are able to make their way back to Vegas without so much of a time lapse. *fingers crossed*

Silverstein

I don’t think I mentioned this already but this evening at House of Blues was SOLD THE FUCK OUT. You all know how much I love a crazy sold out show, especially one where a band like Silverstein are headlining. These guys have always done pretty well here, but I’m also going to give a little credit to the millennial nostalgia marketing of the last 5 years or so that’s really upped the popularity of this music. That’s not a complaint, by the way. (Though… I won’t forget you weirdos who made fun of me for my music tastes back in my youth.) I don’t ever pass up the opportunity to see Silverstein, and this run was a little more special than previous years.

Celebrating 25 years of their formation, Silverstein started their set with the stage blacked out, with the words, “THIS IS FOREVER” in white laid across the black screen. A short recap of those early years, showing clips from the MySpace days and other… interesting music that was popular during the time. (I’m not going to dog on *Nsync, but they did have a short clip of the Bye Bye Bye music video while mentioning the pop music of the time.) One of the security guards and I chuckled at feeling old at the mention of MySpace, especially when I told him I met my husband on MySpace in 2006. (We went to the same school, but there were like 1,500 students so it wasn’t always easy to find people with similar interests… MySpace made that easier. Anyway….) The younger faces in the crowd maybe don’t quite understand those references, but that’s okay. 

Opening up with “Negative Space” and “Drain the Blood” off their latest record, Pink Moon, the crowd completely erupted! Now, I admittedly have yet to listen to the last record in full. Life gets crazy. But I was pleased nonetheless. As I mentioned above, Silverstein are one of the most solid bands in the game, and have been for years. Later on in their set, vocalist Shane Told mentioned the obvious… we were going back in time. Starting with all the newer music first, and then hard crashing into all those old goodies from the earlier days. 

The whole set was already great, and then things got a little more fun when those earlier 2000’s tracks came up on the list. Especially ending “Worlds Apart” from 2007’s Arrivals & Departures with a rendition of My Chemical Romance’s “Helena”, with the music video on the stage’s LED screens and all! The songs that followed hit all of us right where we needed it, with “Your Sword Versus My Dagger”, “Already Dead”, and “Smile in Your Sleep” off of 2005’s Discovering the Waterfront. 

It also wouldn’t be a Silverstein show without Shane playing “My Heroine” on acoustic guitar! But yet another fun little treat came right after when they played “Smashed to Pieces” off of 2003’s When Broken is Easily Fixed… The band brought up American Idol contestant Ryan Hart, who auditioned here in Vegas with this song. How fucking rad for him to be able to sing it live with the band!? I love that so much for him. Closing out this stacked set with “Bleeds No More”, and I think my little emo heart exploded a little bit on the inside! 

So what’s my final verdict? Go fucking see Silverstein, that’s what. No, seriously. They are always so consistently solid, providing setlists that please all levels of their fanbase, and you’re sure to walk away happy from one of their shows. I always look forward to them when theyplay Vegas, and I can’t wait for the next time. Now if you’ll excuse me… I have to go listen to the two albums they released this year. You should do that too, if you haven’t already!

Until next time… 

Remaining tour dates on this run:

12/12 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
12/13 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
12/14 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
12/16 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
12/17 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
12/19 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
12/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount