Can’t Swim And The Plot In You Lead The Charge On Silverstein’s 20th Anniversary Tour

 

After COVID-19 delayed the original dates of this tour twice, the third time proved to be the charm as Silverstein’s 20th Anniversary Tour kicked off in early November.  Since the original tour release back in 2020 Silverstein had reloaded the lineup from Four Year Strong and I The Mighty with the hard hitting Jersey outfit Can’t Swim and Ohio Metalcore four piece The Plot In You.  Tonight this amazing lineup makes its long awaited stop at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg where a venue full of fans finally got the show that’s been over a year and a half in the making.

To start the night off fans are greeted to the sounds of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’s infamous whistling intro which gets the applause started immediately.  Can’t Swim flood the stage and crash right into a track off of their new album Change of Plans with the hardcore rhythmic Set the Room Ablaze.  They had no problem setting the pace for the show and getting the crowd moving.  The band seamlessly moves into the lighter pop punk fused … sometimes you meet the right people at the wrong times off their 2018 release This Too Won’t Pass.  The song’s upbeat feel and three part vocal harmonies between singer Chris LoPorto, guitarist Danny Rico and bassist Craig McDermott really made this one of my favorite songs of the set.

In the middle of the short but in-your-face song Prick, LoPorto announces to the crowd that his little brother was actually working the merch table for them.  And out of appreciation for his little bro he ignites a “STEVE” chant with the fans which could probably be heard down the block.  Another new song bestowed to the fans is the moving track Deliver Us More Evil.  This had Chris LoPorto really showing off more of his vocal range as his melodies and cleans really lend themselves to this powerful track.  This would also be one of the softer songs on the album, just rounded out a perfectly balanced collection of excellent songs.

During the song Power you could see Craig and Danny’s look of concern as they tried to figure out how to fix Craig’s no sound issue.  At the song’s conclusion they now had a member of the crew on stage trying to help.  In the midst of the technical difficulties this gave Chris the opportunity to hold a little Q&A with the crowd.  Fans threw out every question from “What’s your favorite Rush song”, “What’s your favorite color” to “What’s your favorite part about Disney” and “Can you swim”.  Every question was answered in its fullest just in time as he got the thumbs up from Craig and the band jumped into the first song they ever wrote together with Your Clothes.

Can’t Swim wrapped up a really solid set with their moving anthem Strangers off of their 2017 record Fail You Again as they won over a new audience.  Can’t Swim was full of energy, charisma and despite a minor delay really impressed me as well as all those in attendance.  The band’s new record This Too Won’t Pass just dropped on October 22nd and is a solid collection of songs that really cover all bases.

 

 

Filling the second slot of the show would be the very talented The Plot In You.  Singer Landon Tewers wastes no time reaching the mic as he starts to go acapella which proves to be the calm before the storm before the rest of the band files in behind him and explode into Face Me which is off of their new album Swan Song.  Tewers’ voice soars off the stage before it changes over to a defining scream while the stage lights ignite all around the stage.  The song had brutal riffs around every turn and a constant driving rhythm that got the adrenaline kicked up a few notches.

The band did not hold back on unleashing new material right out of the gate or a lack of ferocity as Fall Again and Enemy gets the fans cheering and moving across the floor.   They then move their attention earlier in their catalog and deliver a stunning performance of Time Changes Everything from 2015’s Happiness In Self Destruction.  As soon as Landon and guitarist Josh Childress started playing the crowd’s cheers were emphatic.  For the first time of their set the fans’ voices could be heard echoing through the courtyard under Landon’s.

When the rest of the band joins in, the white lights on stage dance around the crowd and surrounding walls like the reflections of a disco ball.  From the first note it felt like being on an emotional roller coaster and just when it looked like it couldn’t get more impassioned, Landon asks the fans “If you got a lighter or a phone with a light on it, put it up now”.  As he continues on with the next verse the entire area and stage is illuminated by the fans alone and puts an incredible atmospheric end to an amazing song.

If there was a song that could snap us back from the emotionally charged performance we just witnessed, it was going to be Paradigm.  The latest single off Swan Song has the perfect culmination of vocal contrast, addictive hooks and crushing guitar riffs that never leave your head.  The song had originally been intended for another band but luckily Landon Tewers decided to keep it for himself and turn it into a staple of this record.

Too Far Gone would be the last of the new material for the set and one fans would remember.  Once again The Plot In You does an amazing job with creating a poignantly elevating song that really moves the audience.  You could feel the build up start after the second chorus until it comes to its climactic uppercut as Tewers’ screams hit multiple octaves.  After Landon’s encouragement of crowd surfing, the band would wrap things up with their powerful track Feel Nothing from their album Dispose.  Throughout the song wave after wave of fans floated over the crowd pounding their fists in the air as the collective group belted out the songs lyrics back to the band and ending The Plot In You’s set on a very high note.

These two bands really got things going at this show and I’m sure that they’ve done the same throughout the tour.  I Can’t Swim and The Plot In You had big shoes to fill replacing 4 Years Strong and I The Mighty on this run.  But Silverstein did a great job with getting both bands on this bill.  With only 5 dates left on the tour time is running out to not only catch these two great bands but also to catch Silverstein perform a unique 3 part set touching on 20 years worth of incredible music!