Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
From the name to the visuals to, frankly, the lineup, it’s easy to label Best Friends Forever as a simple nostalgia fest. To be sure, that is a massive part of the appeal: Minus the Bear, Cursive, Bear vs. Shark, and Pedro the Lion all played anniversary shows; Jawbreaker, Penfold, Knapsack, These Arms Are Snakes, Hey Mercedes, Marietta, Pity Sex, Snowing, and Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) reunited specifically for this festival; Bear vs. Shark, Rilo Kiley, Texas Is the Reason, and Elliott performed at the festival as part of ongoing reunion tours; and Mineral’s set on Friday night was billed as their very last ever.
But—and this is big—neither the crowd nor the performers were primarily geriatrics. In fact, some of the youngest bands got the biggest reactions, and across the board the most passionate fans were the ones who couldn’t even drink yet; Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach said it himself that Saturday night: “Kids are the future.” It’s nice to be reminded, in a place like this, that for as much as certain people may groan about the state of emo these days, the scene—the music and the passion—is as vital as ever. Toward the end of their set, Elliott vocalist Chris Higdon remarked that “every band here made me who I am today.” I know he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
Day One
Crochet
The favored children of Vegas’s screamo scene played across their short but excellent discography, bringing the frenetic intensity of their live shows to the 3rd Street Stage. Despite now being spread across the country and having limited practice time, the band absolutely ripped their set and helped set the tone for an insane weekend to come.
Snowing
For those around for Snowing’s initial run, it’s safe to say the haze and giddiness of a blurry basement show is tied to many memories of the band. Even on a big stage, at a sizable festival, the spirit and energy of Philly’s favored emo torchbearers could not be diminished in any way. A special shoutout to Square of Opposition Records Corporate Overseer Chris Reject for overseeing the set.
Superchunk
The rain came down hard during Superchunk’s set, a unique omen of a day many expected to spend a at beating the heat. Undeterred, the band tore through their discography with all the grace and skill of a group that has been doing—and loving—this thing for a long, long time. What a time to be alive indeed.
Bear vs. Shark
You’ll see dancing, whirling, flying, and every other forms of release when Bear vs. Shark takes the stage. Hardly letting up for even a minute, the beloved post-hardcore ass-shakers were an easy highlight of the day and didn’t let a slippery stage keep them from climbing, grinding and grooving across the Best Friends Forever Stage as they tore through their classic Terrorhawk.
Cursive
Despite what could easily be called a torrential downpour and amidst a spirited showing of lightning and thunder, Cursive took the stage once a safer environment made itself available to the festival grounds. The legendary Nebraska band played through their critically acclaimed and rightfully beloved breakthrough album Domestica. Cursive has not missed a beat, step, or string since the album’s release, and they put on a spectacular showing for it. Apologies to those in our immediate vicinity who heard me squeal with girlish delight when the Burst and Bloom EP’s iconic cover came up on screen as they launched into an unexpected playthrough of the full thing.
Mineral
I, like so many others at the festival, were milling about and doing some internal handwringing over what had been billed as Mineral’s final set—time will tell. The legendary emo act was finally riding off into the gentle gloam, and those here were all ready to bear witness to it. An emotionally powerful set, one that might’ve been my favorite of the weekend, the legendary emo act crafted a truly perfect goodbye for a setlist, ending on a moving, explosive rendition of “Parking Lot” before evaporating in the desert night.
Day Two
Knumears
SoCal’s favored sons were the first band of the day but had already drawn a sizable crowd. Their fanbase’s feverish devotion is well-earned, as the band passionately ripped through select tracks from their discography, including the live premiere of their brand new single “Breaking Ground,” recently release Summer Shade and through their new label Run For Cover. Even a blaring sun couldn’t dissuade the true screamo heads in the audience from screaming and shouting along to the bands sharp and electric setlist.
awakebutstillinbed
Bridging the gap between the new wave of screamo bands an the older, more melodic emo bands anchoring the fest was awakebutstillinbed. They played nearly half of what people call low self-esteem is really just seeing yourself the way other people see you, and Shannon Taylor’s anguished roar sounded like it could carry for miles from the 3rd Street Stage. The only thing that could’ve improved their set would’ve been the inclusion of more material from 2023’s underrated chaos takes the wheel and i am a passenger.
Pity Sex
Pity Sex was a band I was excited to see. Having missed their initial run in their heyday, and have been happy to see them come back into a scene that would ride for them (one that would be more respectful too). The bands dueling vocals and energetically pop-accented shoegaze punk hummed through the air and had plenty in the crowd, moving, nodding and dancing along. Their stage presence was also quite fun, exhibiting how Michiganders use their hands to signal where they’re from, as well as being spurred into bringing up Magic the Gathering, noting a very good-looking and intelligent audience member was wearing a Magic longsleeve. By the way, Pity Sex, if you’re reading this: my favorite card is Elspeth Conquers Death.
Tigers Jaw
Tigers Jaw was another 2010s act I was around for but never managed to catch live. They never quite stuck with me in the same way as many others, but I’m always of the mind that a live performance can really make an album click. Point proven. The band was a blast to watch and their choice of cuts sounded especially fun traveling through the warm Vegas air.
Hey Mercedes
I’m going to say something, and it’ll make people angry, but I need to be honest. I’d take Hey Mercedes over Braid anyday, even as much as I love that band and, of course, their classic Frame & Canvas. There’s just something about the band’s brand of exuberant emo-pop, something the way Bob Nanna’s voice glides and melts into his hooks, that feels perfect. Hey Mercedes hadn’t played in almost ten years, but everyone knew every word; when Nanna stepped away from the mic for the end of “Eleven to Your Seven,” the crowd didn’t miss a beat.
Texas Is the Reason
There’s something about the driving meander of a Texas Is the Reason that feels both of its time yet fresh enough to make you want to move and dance. The NYC outfit came on strong and kept the energy up for the entirety of their set. They played nearly every song they’ve ever released, and they even broke out an awesome, if too brief, cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room.”
Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker broke up before I was born; I never thought I would the chance to see them perform. I certainly didn’t think, if I somehow did, they’d be any good. So I was wrong twice over, and that’s a great feeling. They played a career-spanning set, all four of their studio LPs represented—we even got “Sea Foam Green” from the rarities collection Etc. Even better is that the band played like it was 1995 (or how I imagine they played in 1995). Blake Schwarzenbach’s voice hasn’t lost that iconic rasp and, if anything, some of the songs they played off Dear You sounded even more aggressive that night than on the album. The only hitch was that the band played right up until curfew, which meant fan favorite “Kiss the Bottle” got axed; instead, they ended up closing with “Accident Prone.” That felt equally appropriate, and it was nice to see that, after three decades, their swansong is finally getting the love it deserves.
Day Three
Tiger Bike
You know, I’ve been saying this for years, but people sleep on Salt Lake City. It has a pretty great music scene and a good number of bands across the years. Tiger Bike may have remained SLC’s best kept secret, but their tireless work ethic and powerful tunes labor against such things. Their set was short, sweet, and full of rippers from start to finish.
empire! empire! (i was a lonely estate)
It was great to get to hear empire! empire! (i was a lonely estate) live. While I was a fan during their initial ten-year run, I was never able to catch a show; in the middle of the street at 2:30 in the afternoon may not seem like the ideal venue to hear What It Takes to Move Forward cuts live for the first time, but the band sounded excellent. While Mt. Oriander has been doing a great job filling the void Keith Latinen’s first band left, there was something special about hearing “Everything Is Connected and Everything Matters” and “I Was Somewhere Cold, Dark…and Lonely” that day.
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was a bit of an outlier on the bill, but that didn’t mean their set wasn’t an absolute blast. Toward the end of their set, the Seattle dance-punk band played “Speakers Push the Air,” the kinetic opening track from 2002’s Good Health. “Do you remember what the music meant?” Andrea Zollo bellowed on the chorus. By the way the crowd screamed every word back at her, I think she got her answer.
Elliott
As Elliott is currently on tour for the 25th anniversary of their classic False Cathedrals, all seven songs they played came from that record. While that might’ve disappointed some of the fans hoping to hear some of the harder-edged material from their debut U.S. Songs, it’s hard to imagine anyone coming away from Elliott’s set underwhelmed. They played with a ferocity that rivaled any of the zoomer skramz bands that kicked off the weekend, turning soft-hearted ballads like “Calvary Song” and “Blessed by Your Own Ghost” into massive singalongs.
Marietta
I’ll be honest, I was dead tired while Marietta was playing. The much-beloved Midwest emo act was tight and full of life—and also pretty funny. I wound up laying down and looking up at the sky as they tore through “Deck Wine.” But, gathering from the cheers and chatter around me, the crowd was having an incredible time.
Cursive
Everyone thought we knew what we were getting when Cursive walked onto the Best Friends Forever Stage for the second time that weekend, but rather than launching right into their performance of The Ugly Organ, they began the set with a smattering of more recent cuts, playing a song from each of the albums they’ve released since 2003, save Get Fixed. (Last year’s Devourer got two instead, the singles “Botch Job” and “Bloodbather.”) Then, to the expected fanfare, we got our “songs perverse and songs of lament.” Jenny Lewis came out to do her part on “The Recluse” in an unforgettable moment, and the rest of the set was just as magical.
Wednesday
The loudest band of the weekend, Wednesday walked onstage to ear-splitting applause. They brought a decidedly different energy to Best Friends Forever than any other band, but they put on an incredibly fun show. All throughout their set Karly Hartzman flailed and writhed as though possessed, and she howled, wailed, and shrieked her way through “Bull Believer” (which they stretched to over ten minutes—I timed it) and “Wasp” like she was auditioning for a spot at Hellphyra next year (to say nothing of their unexpected cover of Flyleaf’s “I’m So Sick”). Even the more country-leaning numbers from Bleeds had some serious muscle behind them. Impressively, even relative deep cut “Fate Is…” was met with rapturous delight from the screaming crowd. It made a few things clear: Hartzman is a magnetic presence, and Wednesday is an unstoppable force on an upward trajectory.
Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley was pretty clear, when they first broke up in the early 2010s, that that was it for them. What a treat it was, then, when the Los Angeles indie rockers embarked on their first tour in nearly two decades this May; it got even better when that tour extended into late summer. They band seemed to be having just as much fun as everyone sprawled out across the field. More than almost any other band on the lineup, Rilo Kiley’s music was made for a festival setting. Their poppier songs, like Under the Blacklight’s “The Moneymaker,” really went off in that environment. But on their softer songs, like “Paint’s Peeling” and “A Better Son/Daughter” off The Execution of All Things, that’s where they shined. When they’re on, they’re really fucking on, and they were on that Sunday evening.
Penfold
As far as I could tell, there was no other band all weekend that got people going the way Penfold did. I never saw them when they were active, of course, but I’d be surprised if they ever got that sort of reaction during their original six-to-seven-year run. Nobody in the crowd, whether in GA or VIP, stood still while they ripped through a handful of cuts off 1998’s Amateurs and Professionals, and no other band saw nearly as much crowdsurfing as Penfold. They closed their set, of course, with “I’ll Take You Everywhere,” and it felt like all of Las Vegas rushed right up to the barrier to scream out that last verse. Maybe it’s because I was in GA, but from where I was standing the kids went absolutely bonkers for that song, that set, that band. One of the best things, I think, about the internet is the way that art that was relatively marginal in its own time can be rediscovered years or decades later and take on a life of its own. I’m not sure if “Microchip” or “M” or “The Secret Nine” are big on TikTok or whatever, but I know the children yearn for Penfold—and they clearly got what they wanted. Although the band hadn’t played a show in over a decade, as far as I can tell (besides a warm-up show at a small club in North Jersey), they sounded immaculate. There was something poetic about the way the crowd shouted back those lyrics at the end of “I’ll Take You Everywhere”: “It’s too late to tell you that I care / and I wish that you were here / and I think it would be better if you had never left at all.” I think the band felt it too.
Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World—now that’s a hell of a band. It’s not hyperbole to say they’re one of the greatest acts in emo history, and their set was definitely another shining moment in their long and storied career. They’ve been painted and labeled by many with all sorts of regular and frankly plain genre modifiers, but I, and everyone else in that crowd, knew what type of music this band plays and what that sound means. They brought some rarities out for the first time in years (Never imagined I’d get to hear “Believe in What You Want”) and dug deep into their Clarity bag, and they even threw a couple Static Prevails cuts into the mix. Jimmy Eat World might’ve been the closing act of a long and exhausting weekend, but the crowd responded strongly, pits and crowdsurfing going strong until the final note was strummed.
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Elias Amini | @listentohyakkei
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
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