Waterparks brough their Intellectual Property tour to a sold-out Roxian and filled the theatre with pop-punk fun, promoting their most recent album of he same name.
Opening the show was Elliot Lee. With only a pink microphone, Elliot took the stage to an already packed theatre. For being their second tour ever, they took command with cute and spunky energy. Between songs, Elliot very excitedly told the crowd that they had the opportunity to go to the Pittsburgh zoo earlier and saw their favourite animal: warthogs! Their enthusiasm was so contagious, and it led to an incredibly captivating performance.
The second band on the lineup was Hunny, a rock band from California. The guitar and bass duo took the stage to such roaring cheers that you’d think they were headlining the show. Their light and poppy songs were threaded with heavy bass and got the crowd jumping. Everyone was clapping and singing along and just having a wonderful time.
Finally it was time for the headliner, the reason everyone gathered on a Tueaday night. I’ve been to a lot of sold-out shows at the Roxian, but this crowd was dense, with everyone packed in tight trying to get as close to the stage as possible. And when Waterparks came, the crowd erupted in cheers. From then, it was 90 minutes of non-stop pop-punk fun. With jumping and clapping and singing along to every song, fans were hyped. There were even multiple circle pits that rivaled those at metal shows.
Throughout the set, frontman Awsten Knight interracted with fans. From chatting about tattoos to checking to make sure everyone was doing okay, Awsten was so personable and genuine. He even chatted with fans on the balcony, saying that center balcony is his favourite section when seeing a show. It was also guitar tech Nick’s birthday, so Awsten brought him out on stage for a roaring ‘Happy Birthday’ song and chants of “Nick! Nick! Nick!”. And of course, the chanting continued through the whole show, as is tradition.
From start to end Waterparks lit up the theatre with their fun yet honest pop-punk music. The stage was set with window-like monitors displaying colours and videos synced with the music. Combined with multicoloured spotlights, the show was incredibly vibrant, matching the upbeat tone of the music. It was an absolutely incredible performance from one of the best modern pop-punk bands.
