Hawthorne Heights' first album was a seminal music tome in the annals of emo history. They kept that momentum going with their second album If Only You Were Lonely, released in 2006. With it now being 20 years since the release of that album, Hawthorne Heights have hit the road to celebrate the anniversary, playing it in its entirety. Fans sold out the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA - with blacked-out eyes and memories of darker days - to sing along with music that helped shape and save them through their troubled teenage years.

Supporting this anniversary show was letlive. I had become a big fan of Fever 333, which was the project lead singer Jason Butler started when letlive went on hiatus back in 2017. So, I had been eagerly waiting to see what he brings with his first band, and a letlive show is just as chaotic. Starting things out with rhythm guitarist Jeff Sahyoun grinding his guitar on a metal trash can, while Butler drummed on an amp along the backline, they were creating a tone to set the show. But it was when they truly exploded into their opening song "Le Prologue" that things got wild.

Butler is known for his chaotic stage performance - from whipping the mic cord violently around the stage, constantly jumping around, eating the microphone, and even tossing the metal trash can around the stage. You never know what this man will do next. Sahyoun was just as wild next to Butler, running around the stage and screaming at the fans. Lead guitarist Jean Francisco Nascimento was a bit more reserved, letting his playing stand out. With the final song "27 Club," Butler climbed the side of the stage to get onto the second floor of the venue and walked to the back of the seated area. From there he let himself go wild, feeling like he was going to fall over the banister, and the fans in the seats tried to process how they wound up right next to Butler. letlive's show is true uncontrolled chaos wrapped around a solid musical performance. You truly feel like anything could happen, and you're excited because of it.

It was then Hawthorne Heights' time to take the stage, and for us to hear songs we may never have heard live before. Opening the night with the lead song from If Only You Were Lonely, "This Is Who We Are," it took no time for the fans to lose their minds. The mosh pit spun up, crowd surfers started coming over the barricade, and you could see people singing and crying with joy from getting to be in the room for this experience.

Vocalist James Thomas "JT" Woodruff still sounds the same live as he did 20 years ago on this album, which just takes you right back to laying in bed with headphones on while listening to the CD. Guitarist Mark McMillon, though he did not perform on the record, truly inhabits the emotion and tone of these songs with his playing - bringing honor and nostalgia to each note. Bassist Matt Ridenour kept the groove heavy as he synced up with drummer Dango Cellan, who kept the heartbeat of the songs pumping.

Every song from If Only You Were Lonely had the fans in high energy and singing along. The deep cuts were shown just as much love as the singles, proving how special this album was to so many of us. Once they played through the album, the band came out for a three-song encore of "Niki FM," their newest single "Like a Cardinal," and ending with the anthemic "Ohio Is for Lovers." The final song has truly evolved into a cultural staple. With the final song, Woodruff jumped onto the barricade and sang the entirety of the song with the fans, as the song belongs to us now and he wanted to share that with us.

I love getting to see these anniversary shows where bands play albums in their entirety. As fans, we truly gravitate to so much of the music, and many favorites can be deep cuts or less-played songs. As bands get bigger and release more music, the chances of hearing our favorite deep cuts grow lower. These tours give us a chance to sing our hearts out to songs we may only hear live this one time, and we show the bands just how much all their songs meant to us. This leg of the tour wraps up at the end of the month, but a second leg has been announced running through October and November. If you ever blacked your eyes and felt those songs save you, this tour cannot be missed.