WATERPARKS AT THEATRE OF LIVING ARTS IN PHILADELPHIA
Houston Trio Waterparks made their way back to Philadelphia for a second sold out show at Theatre of the Living Arts as part of their “A Night Out on Earth” tour. The band recently released their full length album Greatest Hits back in May, so fans were eagerly awaiting hearing the new tracks live. Buckle up kiddos, because a Waterparks show is a wild ride.
When phem took the stage to open for Waterparks, fans in the crowd went wild. The quirky, energetic singer/songwriter captivated the audience with her beautiful voice and fun stage presence. Her catchy songs had the audience singing and dancing along. At one point before playing her unreleased song “Silly Putty”, she encouraged the audience to record and leak the song so her record label would let her release it, which got the crowd pretty excited to whip out their phones.
Waterparks have always had a larger than life presence, both on the stage and online thanks to vocalist Awsten Knight. Their incredibly dedicated fanbase (nicknamed the Parxies) are always sure to show their support whenever the band comes around to their area. Philadelphia was no different. As mentioned previously, this would be the second sold out show at the TLA that week. They played there several days prior at the beginning of the week as well (also sold out). The stage was quite beautifully set up - a large structure stood in the back with three doors painted blue, yellow, and red (a signature color scheme). Attached to the structure was a ton of “clouds” which had color changing lights underneath. When the band came out on stage and opened with “Greatest Hits”, the title track to the most recent album, the crowd went absolutely bonkers. Fans screamed and sang along with every single word to every single song that was played. Drummer Otto Wood jammed out in the back center, back lit by the incredible background. Guitarist Geoff Wigington spent time moving between both sides of the stage to play towards the audience. Vocalist Awsten Knight sang out to the crowd and danced along the stage.
Throughout the show they played a ton of great tracks from their discography such as “Numb”, “Magnetic”, “Stupid for You”, and “Turbulent”. They played a bit of their song “11:11” as fans in the front had signs asking for it to be played since the date was 11/11 (“11:11” on 11/11). The most notable thing about being at a Waterparks show, is that you need to be prepared for some really ridiculous stage banter. Awsten likes to have quite the chat with the audience at each show, sometimes spanning minutes at a time in between songs, making you feel very lost in the moment and in their set. Honestly at points I had to ask myself what was even going on, because looking away for even just a minute would bring you back into a completely different conversation. Nevertheless, the crowd was kept entertained the whole time, which is a very strong characteristic of the band. The environment is so positive and really helps you feel totally immersed, away from the worries of life.
Waterparks still have plenty of dates left on this massive tour, so be ready for a fun night out if you can make it to one of the remaining dates!
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!