https://youtu.be/lu9DQU1Gdgk Video Credit: Colin Austin

by Colin Austin

This past Tuesday, SeeYouSpaceCowboy and If I Die First tore up Houston’s White Oak Music Hall with a fusion of the nostalgic emo sound that many young adults grew up on and the new wave of metalcore that today's kids get to watch explode. The show also included performances by local groups Pacmanthemovie and Splice, who’s sound and energy filled the tightly packed room with banging heads and flying fists.

Pacmanthemovie kicked the show off with a fast-paced, sound effect riddled set that shocked the crowd in the best way possible. Lead vocalist Wynton, dressed in a blood stained shirt that read “I’m fine.”, brought a very DIY feel to the show, playing sound effects off his phone before grabbing the microphone and screaming his guts out to the “high-decibel hysteria” provided by the rest of the group. Having never heard the bands music before the show, I was pleasantly surprised by the creative blend of hardcore and mathrock they brought to the stage, and it seemed as though the show allowed them to gain a few new members of what could easily become a massive fanbase.

Splice was next in the lineup, and they brought some serious violence to the small but packed room. There isn’t much to be found about this Houston based hardcore group besides a small collection of tracks across digital platforms, but on stage they seemed right where they belonged. Their frontman, whose aggressive vocals were a stark contrast to his speaking voice between songs, brought raw energy to the crowd, partly due to the fact that he was in it more than he was on stage. Their set included some riot-inciting breakdown that got the venue more than pumped to see the headliners.

If I Die First’s set was one that brought both nostalgia and excitement, as the group is taking the emo sound that flooded warped tours for years, and revitalizing it with some of the most innovative sounds that have ever been brought to metalcore. The group is an interesting mixture of musicians who have been in what is commonly referred to as the “emo rap” scene, including nedarb, who has produced songs for Lil Peep, $uicideboy$, Xavier Wulf and more, as well as Lil Lotus and Zubin, who both had success in the past belting emo vocals over rap beats. If I Die First is a completely different project, however, moving fully into the emocore sound that members of the group clearly were raised on. The show was the band’s first time in Houston, as they are currently on their first tour ever, promoting their debut project “My Poison Arms”, as well as their recent ep “They Drew Blood”. For such a young band, they seemed right at home on stage, with Lotus’s screams floating over the violent, yet melodic sound that comes from the band. Fans were clearly thrilled to get to see this group, as they crowded the stage amidst flying arms and legs, screaming lyrics back at the group. 

SeeYouSpaceCowboy closed out the show as the headliners in an incredibly satisfying manner, with screams coming from both the vocals and the guitars in a way that is beautifully ear piercing. The set started with the opening theme from cowboy bebop, the show which the band got its name from. This was a humorous contrast to what soon turned into an outbreak of violence from the band and the audience alike. The band describes themselves as sasscore, which seems fitting when you hear the whines that are often found within the screams delivered by lead vocalist Connie Sgarbossa. There was no shortage of moshing throughout the set, as the energy in the room never seemed to dwindle for even a second. Hardcore fans passionately recited lyrics towards the stage while newer fans of the group such as myself thrashed along, entranced by the aggressive beauty of the performance. I couldn’t spot a single still body, and if one was present it probably wasn’t long before that person was slammed into the action of the crowd. The show concluded with members of If I Die First returning to the stage for a performance of the two groups collaborative track “bloodstainedeyes”, off of their “A Sure Disaster” split, which was a perfect sendoff that left fans grinning ear to ear.