By Jase Walker
It’s Friday, it’s cold as fuck, but in Melkweg tonight, it’s time to spontaneously grow a fringe and get stuck into some pop punky emo shit so let’s have it. The Story So Far are here on a quick stomp around the ÜK and Europe and fortunately one stop is Amsterdam. I probably should start paying rent here. Along for the ride is melodic hardcore outfit Angel Du$t so it’s a one-two punch of good shit to have a bounce around to this evening and I’ve got some great company to really amp up the hype for the evening too.
The signature torch flash to the sound desk quickly signals the start of Angel Du$t‘s set, no intro song or the like, it’s time to go. They kick off and remind me pretty strongly of Turnstile’s earlier work, although I’m not totally sure I would refer to them as melodic in the way I know other bands. It’s a lot of fun though and the centre front of the crowd is already kicking the fuck out of each other so I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start.
There’s seldom much subtlety when it comes to hardcore, just a solid riff and a bunch of shouting that provides a ridiculous amount of movement and Angel Du$t are getting just that. While this sort of stuff is definitely not my kinda thing I can definitely appreciate the sort of hyped up energy that they’re getting across as well as their outrageously good crowd response.
The Story So Far also not opting for a grandiose intro song, they walk on and it’s time to fucking go. The singer dresses almost like Ian Brown, no idea how he can sport a jacket like that in here considering how bloody warm it is. Anyway the crowd are already going absolutely apeshit, pints launched all over the place while the center of the crowd wants to throw each other around like a competitive sport.
The amount of arms in the air constantly throwing forward to the beat of every single word while a dull roar of the words around is almost deafening is unreal. This sort of experience is exactly what I love about pop punk and emo adjacent shows, the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd screaming out every song as if it carries such meaning is the sort of thing you so rarely get at many other shows.
The Story So Far don’t even have to try for audience participation stuff, everyone knows when to clap along and when to sing along in place of the band. This sort of crowd involvement isn’t as common as you might think as so many shows I’ve been to are just “big riff big gurn” and that kind of pushes the show along.
The sheer number of crowd surfers at this show is incredible too, there’s seldom a moment where at least four people aren’t bouncing across the crowd to the front. It’s wild how even though this feels so short as they’ve hammered through their set, it feels almost like it’s been short, but that’s just the effect of a great set. I’ve been every bit as enamoured with the crowd response that has seen them scream every single word of the show throughout. It’s clear that they’ve built up a truly devoted following, I’ve seen so many bands that have been around for longer where the crowd has clearly enjoyed it but not to the extent where every single word is known.
The Story So Far have put on a magnificent show that’s been energetic from the start and the crowd that attended tonight has matched it every single moment.
This sort of experience is what I live for, even though I’ve not been as closely familiar with The Story So Far as the others with me. This has been an absolutely fantastic performance from not just the band but every single person here.
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