Article by Ryan Piers, Images by Stephanie Cincinnati
English rockers Creeper were the night’s opening band, personifying the stereotype of emo with their black, gothic attire and white makeup. They were loads of fun, often working the crowd. Creeper earned an A+ for making everyone feel welcome. They stuck around, adding ambience to the Hawthorne Heights as vampires in the crowd. I saw many fans in the first two rows screaming the words right back at them.
Los Angeles rock veterans Letlive followed. How singer Jason Aalon is able to sound so clean while moving so much is one of music’s great mysteries. At one point, he dragged his mic and chord on top of the nearby bar to sing as fans sipped on beers below. From there, he made his way into the crowd and up to the front row. Once back on stage, the antics continued as he jumped from two stage wedges piled ten feet high, just about hitting his head on the pipes on the ceiling. Aalon led the crowd in violent mosh pits while keeping his pitch perfect. The whole set was phenomenal. They’ve been around since 2002, and they are definitely a band to check out if they ever come to your town.
Hawthorne Heights rode that energy through their 2026 interpretation of If Only You Were Lonely. The album features some of Hawthorne Heights’ better work, but not its best. That was saved for the final few songs of the set. About an hour into their set, the famous C-minor chord that opens the song “Niki FM” reverberated throughout the venue. The crowed erupted, phones once again flipping on. While the playing of If Only You Were Lonely brought on a wave of memories, the opening seconds of “Niki FM” delivered a tsunami. There’s just something about the line “You are the only station / You play the song I know” that screams mid 2000s. Everyone in the venue felt it, shouting the line back at frontman JT Woodruff. The final chord of “This Is Who We Are” hung above the crowd like smoke from a timely-lit joint when Woodruff said these words: “I’m asking you to remember the first time you heard these songs.” He didn’t need to ask. The 800-or-so fans who filled Baltimore Soundstage were mentally waiting for the Ohio natives to join them in their teenage years. Hawthorne Heights was about to play the remaining 11 tracks on If Only You Were Lonely. Somehow, it’s been two decades since the album flooded Myspace pages, LimeWire, Hot Topic speakers, and whatever other property emo owned in 2006.
The crowd erupted when Woodruff announced that Hawthorne Heights was about to play the album in full. Dozens of smart phones shot up in the air as Hawthorne Heights played “We Are So Last Year,” phones that were years away from being invented when the song was written. Every band member appeared completely connected. The guitars were crisp. The drums thumped but weren’t overbearing. Woodruff’s voice sounded pure, with a refreshing lack of obvious backing vocals. As the band rolled through the album’s singles, including“Pens And Needles” and “Saying Sorry,” the mosh pit opened. Veteran fans clapped to the latter song’s pre-chorus while a kid, no more than ten years old, crowd surfed. It was one of those songs to which everyone knew the words. Speaking of lyrics, some of them were particularly poignant. The line “If I could find a way to turn back time / Had to let you know I’m on your side” sliced through the nostalgia-filled room like a hot knife. That song, “I Am On Your Side,” preceded Woodruff’s astute speech about how contemporary social media spreads hate. He urged elder emos to tap into the love that filled their early Myspace pages.
As the set waned, a montage of young Hawthorne Heights lit up the large, on-stage screens. It featured Casey Calvert, who died after accidentally taking too much prescription medication in 2007. Woodruff didn’t share any words about Calvert. He didn’t need to. The song that came next, “Bring You Back,” said it all. It was a touching tribute to the scene legend whose screams made “Ohio Is For Lovers” an all-time emo anthem. Hawthorne Heights’ penultimate song was a new tune titled “Like A Cardinal.” Clearly, most fans hadn’t listened to it before. But by the end, they were nodding their heads along with the rhythmic chorus.“Like A Cardinal” gave way to “Ohio Is For Lovers.” As the first chorus hit, the mosh pit doubled in size. Woodruff’s voice was drowned out by the hundreds of amateur singers screaming, “I can’t make it on my own!” When the song’s final chorus commenced, Woodruff raised the mic into the crowd. The fans took over. There was not an explosion of confetti, nor any exorbitant, unnecessary lights. Just the band reliving the moment that made them famous with the fans who got them there. The final moment encapsulated the If Only You Were Lonely anniversary show. Where flash lacked, emotion took over. The performance was true to the music. It sounded like it did 20 years ago, with decades of memories and meaning baked in.
