Images: Story of The Year, Like Moths To Flames, Hawthorne Heights & more October 22, 2013 at Henderson Events Plaza (Scream It Like You Mean It)

The Scream It Like You Mean It tour hit the Henderson Events Plaza on Oct. 22, with rock veterans Story of the Year headlining and Like Moths to Flames, Hawthorne Heights, Set It Off, and I Am King rounding out the bill. In its fifth year, this tour was considerably smaller than previous packages but it was still a pretty amazing night, nonetheless.

Less than a week after putting out their latest full length Onehundred, Pennsylvania hardcore band I Am King took to the Henderson stage to perform songs from it, including “Alpha,” “Fallen” and “Julia.” I missed these guys when they were here over the summer so I was super stoked to finally get to see them. Next up was Set It Off, who I’d heard described as an “orchestral pop punk band,” so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with frontman Cody Carson’s stage theatrics, and the audience was eating it up too – holding him up as he walked out over the crowd’s raised hands.

If you were a teenager in the early 2000s then you probably know who Hawthorne Heights is. The emo group is alive and well and the whole crowd was singing along with frontman JT Woodruff as the band powered through songs like “Skeletons Remain,” “Memories of Misery” and big hits “Niki Fm” and “Ohio is for Lovers.” I’ve seen Like Moths To Flames perform several times before and they never disappoint. The metalcore outfit incited moshing straight from set opener “Learn Your Place.” LMTF isn’t a stranger to this tour and it’s easy to see why they keep making their way back on the bill. We were treated to hits from An Eye For An Eye and When We Don’t Exist, and there were quite a few crowd sing-a-longs as Chris Roetter held out the mic into the crowd. They finished with new song “Lord of Bones” and crowd favorite “You Won’t Be Missed,” and I was left wishing for a longer set.

Headliners Story of the Year took the stage to an eruption of cheers. This night was special, as they played an extended set that included the entire tracklist from their 2003 release Page Avenue (out of order, but no one was complaining). Despite some sound issues, frontman Dan Marsala overcame and the crowd eagerly screamed along with every word of “Swallow the Knife,” “Burning Years,” “Page Avenue,” and then the 10-year anniversary acoustic version of “Razorblades.” This little gem helped break up the band’s extended set which went on to include tracks like “Sidewalks,” “The Antidote” and “Divide and Conquer.” A fan also proposed to his girlfriend on stage which was a pretty special moment, and I personally can’t imagine very many things cooler than having the opportunity to propose on the same stage that your favorite band is playing on. To close out the evening, Story of the Year performed a medley of early 2000s emo-rock songs that featured hits like Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue,” Taking Back Sunday’s “Cute Without the E,” My Chemical Romances’ “I’m Not Okay,” and The Used’s “Taste of Ink.” And of course, the curtain closed on crowd favorite “Until The Day I Die,” leading the entire audience to scream ourselves hoarse.

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