WATERPARKS
Waterparks, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA. 4/6/24.
On April 6th, Waterparks completed their Sneaking Out of Heaven Tour at the Hollywood Palladium. Waterparks was supported by Loveless and Winnetka Bowling League, making it an incredible night with every band putting on a great performance. Winnetka Bowling League played a short but energetic set to a welcoming crowd, including an announcement of their upcoming debut album Sha La La, out on May 31st. Loveless, a relatively new band that released their first single in 2020, gained popularity on TikTok for their pop-punk covers of trending songs. They have since shifted their focus to their original music, but played a medley of a few of their viral covers, “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush, and “MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT” by Elle Duhé. Loveless got the crowd surfing started, with lead singer Julian Comeau continually telling the crowd to not drop the surfers and to put their hands up. The energy Loveless had on stage was infectious and kept the crowd engaged and hyped for what was coming next. Once it was time for Waterparks, the venue had filled up and everyone was brimming with excitement for the last show of the tour. Every time I’ve seen Waterparks, they have stepped up their game; from the production to their stage setup to the setlists, everything is leveled up from the tour before. This time was no exception, they just keep getting better and raising the bar for themselves. They played a killer medley with “Fuzzy”, “Violet!”, “American Graffiti”, “The Secret Life of Me”, “Just Kidding”, “See You in the Future”, and “Lowkey As Hell”, which was amazing, especially considering those songs might not get played very often or at all in the future. Leading into “SOULSUCKER”, from their most recent album “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY”, the band left the stage while a video played. The voiceover talked about religious trauma and how hard it is to unlearn harmful behaviors and beliefs that have been ingrained in you since a young age. As these ideas are the basis of their latest album, the voice ended with “find peace, find yourself, everybody is a god once you make it out of the property”. Later in the show, lead singer Awsten Knight mentioned how they’ve opened for artists at the Hollywood Palladium, but this is their first time headlining the 4,000 capacity venue. Last year I saw them play at the much smaller Fonda Theatre, which is a great sign of Waterparks’ growth in less than a year. The trio, with Knight on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Geoff Wigington on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Otto Wood on drums, gave it their all for an incredible performance on their last night of the tour. The stream of crowd surfers was so constant the crowd and security could barely keep up. Someone did backflips in the pit and Knight loved it so much he asked them to keep going - and they did! Waterparks closed out their set with one of their heaviest and most energetic songs, “REAL SUPER DARK”, and the crowd went ballistic, screaming and surfing till the very end.
Shot and Written by Natalie Ryan.
