Seaway, Grand Rapids, 5/8/19 @ The Stache

I attended a show at The Stache on May 8th, which is a separate room connected to The Intersection up in Grand Rapids, MI. I have been a long-time listener of Seaway, a Canadian-based pop punk band. I first saw them back in 2015 when they were touring with Sense Fail, Bayside, and Man Overboard. Since then, I have been dying to see them again in concert and was super stoked to hear about their Fresh Produce Tour around the United States. Along with them they brought bands by the name of Young Culture, Heart Attack Man, and Free Throw.

Young Culture

Young Culture opened up the night. A new band to the scene with a lot of energy. Recently signed on to Equal Vision Record Label. They just released an EP earlier this year titled (This is) Heaven and hosted a CD release show for it back in February.

It was my first time listening to any of Young Culture’s music and despite it all being new to me it still felt like it was home. Though they had many instrumental interludes sprinkled throughout their songs, they still had a very strong sense for the drive that comes with a lot of pop punk music. Their lead singer Alex Magnan seemed to have the most energy of them all. He was constantly running around the stage. It was refreshing to see a band that didn’t just stand and sing into the mic.

Heart Attack Man

Heart Attack Man was second in the lineup that night. They recently released an album titled Fake Blood and also played a release show right after coming off of this tour in Ohio.

Heart Attack Man was my personal favorite of the night. They had a wonderful stage presence and have found myself listening to their music the most out of the bands that performed that night. Listening to their music live it sounded like a heavy Weezer and The Menzingers, both bands I love. After the show I followed them on Twitter and can confidently say that they also have a very strong social media presence. I highly recommend spinning their newest record and checking them out.

Free Throw

Free Throw came on directly before Seaway. They released an album titled What’s Past is Prolouge. Free Throw was an emo band to the core and it released a strong sense of middle school nostalgia. They definitely led with the image of being an emo pop-punk band. They also had a very strong stage presence and seemed to have a lot fans at the show. The lead singer, Cory Castro led the group with charisma despite coming off of what sounds like a stretch of having very little vocals to give. I was also a big fan of their last song titled Two Beers In, a tune I have heard many times but had never put a song to a band. Their sound leaned more towards a classic emo sound, much like that of Real Friends. Right after this tour they played Bled Fest, a festival held in Howell, MI that was headlined by The Wonder Years, another classic emo band.

Seaway

The headliner for the night was Seaway. Seaway has been one of my favorite bands for a while now. Some of my favorite albums being Colourblind and Vacation. Right before this tour they released a new album titled Fresh Produce which was a collection of B-sides and putting new spins on their older songs.

Watching Seaway live this time around was a completely different experience for two reasons. First off, they seemed to have a different energy about them. The lead singer, Ryan Locke, was much peppier than I remembered which led to an entirely different experience. Secondly, I actually knew the songs that they were playing. It was so nice to finally get a chance to jump around and sing along to some of my favorite tunes so close to the band.

Overall, I had a really great time at this show. I was worried that I wasn’t going to have as much fun as I did, but I’m very glad that I was able to let the worries and stress of everyday life slip into nonexistence as I danced and sang along to music for the few hours I was there.