Emo legends Hawthorne Heights return to the UK on their latest tour, with support from Mark Rose and SHVPES.
Opening is former Spitalfields‘ frontman Mark Rose, who introduces himself and kicks things off with the first song he learnt on guitar; Enter Sandman by Metallica. It’s a mellow version of the classic song but it works well. His set is filled with solo tracks, old Spitalfields songs and also a cover of Danzig‘s Mother. It’s undeniable that Mark is extremely talented and his voice is fantastic.
SHVPES ramp the energy up with heavy bass lines and whiskey soaked riffs right from the get go. There is barely time for anyone to breathe as they power through headbang worthy tracks and plenty of brutal breakdowns. The crowd are given a taste of forthcoming record Greater Than in Someone Else. While sandwiched between two more mellow acts, SHVPES probably weren’t playing to the right crowd, however, they held their own and got the room worked up.
Touring on the back of their latest album Bad Frequencies, Ohio’s Hawthorne Heights at no strangers to the stage and this is shown throughout their set. Opening with This Is Who We Are from 2006’s hit album If Only You Were Lonely, before powering into the titular track of their latest album, surprisingly one of only two tracks from the new record. A bit of an odd set list choice considering the tour is in support of Bad Frequencies. However, fans are still delighted that their old favourites including Pens And Needles, Somewhere In Between and Ohio Is For Lovers are still present, with the latter being the closing song. Just prior to Ohio Is For Lovers is the only other track from Bad Frequencies; Just Another Ghost, a brilliant piece of songwriting mastery. Despite the lack of new material in the set, there is little to complain about Hawthorne Heights‘ tight show, just as you would expect from a quartet held in such high regard.