NIGHT RIOTS AT THE FOUNDRY IN PHILADELPHIA, PA
Night Riots recently went back out on the road to headline their Dark Violet tour and stopped to play a fairly intimate show at The Foundry in Philadelphia, PA. It was my first time getting to see them, despite having toured with big names such as Andrew McMahon and The Maine, and I am upset I couldn’t have made it out to see them sooner because they were an absolute blast.
The night started off a little strange with a late start. The bill was supposed to have three bands on it but the opening band had not played, so many people had been standing around the venue hanging out and patiently waiting. Finally, Courtship took the stage to get everyone re-energized and ready to dance. From the minute they took the stage, the crowd was singing and dancing. Their song “The Kind of Woman” had a notable opening bass solo and synth part that was quite literally out of this world. Their use of spacey and celestial synth tones gave off a very fun vibe. The band interacted well with each other on stage while dancing and singing together and gave the audience a fun opening performance.
Night Riots took the stage shortly after and the already energetic crowd exploded. You know that feeling of intense joy and excitement you get when seeing a band perform? Night Riots was able to put me in that exact feel good mood instantly. I can’t stress enough how much fun their performance was. Vocalist Travis Hawley was constantly moving around the stage dancing and interacting with the crowd. It was impressive to see that he took care to make sure that he was interacting with all sides of the crowd and not just focusing on one section. The music produced by this group is exciting and dance worthy. There’s no way you could stand still while watching them! They played tracks from their latest album Love Gloom such as “Nothing Personal”, “Fangs”, “Contagious”, and “Don’t Kill the Messenger”. They also appeased fans by pulling from their older catalogue with “Back to Your Love”. Towards the beginning of their set we got a good laugh out of the memed line “Anyway here’s Wonderwall”, which led to the band covering the song. Some cool light up masks were worn during “Don’t Kill the Messenger” and the band had the crowd involved for a really enjoyable “Philadelphia” chant. The band split the crowd down the middle and had them chant before having everyone merge back together for an energetic dance party. Overall, the performance was very notable and it makes me excited to see what the band will have in store for the future!
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!