Silverstein, Thursday, Arm’s Length, and Split Chain Bring Emo and More to l’Olympia

Silverstein, Thursday, Arm’s Length, and Split Chain, took over l’Olympia this past Saturday, February 15th. It’s Silverstein’s 25th-anniversary tour, and they brought a stacked lineup, ranging from 2000s legends Thursday to steadily rising Arm’s Length and new kids on the UK block Split Chain. Silverstein has been a constant presence in the Montreal live music scene, touring here nearly every year and performing to larger and larger crowds in some of Montreal’s biggest dedicated music venues.

L’Olympia is one of the older venues in Montreal, celebrating its 100th year this year. It’s got the traditional charm of a theatre venue, with a large stage and red wooden panelling - hand-carved, ornate - decorating the walls and impressively high ceiling. It’s a venue deserving of its grandeur, and an exciting place to be for live music. The hall was packed Saturday night, crowded with die-hard Silverstein fans already wearing their merch - whether bought in the long lineup that day or from one of their previous dates in Montreal.

The night opened with Split Chain. Hailing from the UK, they’re a band that calls back to 2000’s nu-metal, shoegaze, and grunge, while bringing fresh textures and energy and a modern production. This tour, with Silverstein, was their first-ever North American tour (they called it the “US” tour, but we’ll forgive them). It’s not surprising that they’ve been on an upward trend, releasing 10 singles in the last two years and with an upcoming headlining UK & IRE tour. It was an energizing, enveloping set, both punchy and emotional. I have no doubt they’ll have albums forthcoming in no time, and can’t wait to hear their next project.

Arm’s Length was next. An emo band hailing from Quinte West, Ontario, they’ve skyrocketed in popularity in the last few years. They’re the youngest age-wise of all the bands that played, with frontman Allen Steinberg commenting on how surreal it is to be performing for so many people when they were all around twenty-five. They had a lot of fans in the crowd, singing all the lyrics by heart. It’s a wonderful experience at live shows in the emo-adjacent scene, where crowd participation is encouraged. They played 7 songs, primarily from their 2022 debut album Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, released on Wax Bodega Records. It’s a softer focused emo/emo pop sound reminiscent of The Hotelier. They also performed “Funny Face” off their upcoming album There's a Whole World Out There.  

Thursday was next. I won’t try to hide it - they’re the reason I wanted to go to this show in the first place. Their newest single, “White Bikes”, has been stuck in my head nearly every morning this past month. It’s a beautiful song about a dear friend who disappeared. It’s no surprise, given the emotional resonance their songs have, that they’re considered legends by a number of my favourite artists. Formed in 1997, they’re a band that’s so important to the 2000s emo and post-hardcore scene, mega-influential in their screaming vocal style. Their music is deeply personal and political, addressing themes ranging from war and the military-industrial complex, to love and grief. They bring all of this energy and more to their live performances. It started with a voiceover announcing the band, which was unusual but funny nonetheless. The first member to appear onstage was actually not a Thursday member, but Wade McNeal from post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, who was replacing Tom Keeley for the show. Geoff Rickly, frontman and vocalist, is at ease as both a performer and a frontman. He has captivating energy, with smooth choreography and a sense of timing perfected over years. He took the time to talk about how it feels being an American band in Canada right now, and the feeling of shame at how his country is treating ours. The set started off with “The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)”, a favourite from their album A City by the Light Divided. They followed up with “Cross Out The Eyes”, “Signals Over The Air” and “Jet Black New Year”, all energetic and moshable tracks. Geoff Rickly had just begun the opening vocals of the ballad “This Song Brought To You By A Falling Bomb” when the music cut - a fire alarm had gone off. Why during Thursday? Couldn’t it have happened between sets (or anytime after Thursday, really). The building did not (thankfully) burn down, nor were we evacuated, it seemed it was a false alarm. We did, however, have to wait for fire personnel to ensure that the building was safe, which probably took some twenty minutes. Returning to the stage, Rickly graciously told us that Thursday would only play two more tracks so as not to cut into Silverstein’s set. They ended by thanking each of the members of the band, including replacement drummer Jeff Gensterblum, then joking that Wade McNeal could sleep in his own bed tonight. While I wish their set had been longer, it was a fun, exciting set and I can’t wait to see them next time they come to Montreal, which will hopefully be soon.

The final act was the most awaited, the final stop on Silverstein’s anniversary tour. Their set opened with a video-projected trailer of sorts, recapping their twenty-year journey from Burlington, Ontario obscurity into l’Olympia-level stardom. They have a real rockstar energy to them, with an elevated drummer, and multiple visual projections on the stage. Their set was rock-solid, with incredibly precise playing, and album-ready live production. And the energy was Non. Stop. With transitioning quickly from one song to the next, never pausing for a breath or for a beat, the moshpit did not let up for a second. They played a career-spanning set, with four tracks from the second album Discovering the Waterfront, and one or two from every other one, including two tracks from the upcoming 2025 album Antibloom. You can find the entire setlist here. Hearing the span of their career gives you an appreciation for the recent rise in popularity. Their sound has evolved from a more hardcore-influenced sound to incorporate pop and EDM-like energy, giving them a widespread appeal while still keeping that punk edge. They played an immense set, with seventeen regular tracks and three encore tracks, nearly one for every year of the band’s existence. A memorable final set from their huge anniversary tour.