Waterparks

The Haunt, Brighton

30th September, 2017

Houston’s Waterparks have taken over one of Brighton’s
popular music venues, The Haunt, tonight, for their sold-out debut headlining
UK tour. The cinema-turned multi-purpose venue is over-packed with fans of all
ages, the older generations gathered at the bar with a drink in their hands.

The Bottom Line are the first to ascend to the stage, their
upbeat modernised take on pop-punk filling you with nostalgia, their opening
songs ‘I Still Hate You’, ‘Everything’ and ‘Insecure’ sounding similar to the
works of Sum 41 and Bowling for Soup.

Next up is the US duo Chapel, who slow things down with their
indie-pop tunes, full of electronic melodies that even the oldies can’t refuse
to dance along to. The calming vocals from Carter Hardin and smooth drums from
Kortney Grinwis merge to make an engaging and interesting performance.

The level of energy for Waterparks can easily be seen as
guitarist Geoff Wigington jumps around the stage between his backup vocals
within their first song, drummer Otto Wood throwing his whole body into the
beats he plays. This can be seen in the crowd too – security having to tell a
group of fans to calm down and put their shirts back on.

Vocalist Awsten Knight points out a fan with a sign saying
it’s her birthday, before making the crowd swoon by putting on the cat ears she
had. “Happy birthday. And to make sure no one feels excluded, happy birthday to
all of you. Even if it isn’t your birthday, it is now!” Knight jokes.

The trio’s earlier material is put on a bit of a back burner
as they continue to tour their debut album, Double
Dare, however we’re treated to a few of the old favourites, such as
‘Silver’ and ‘No Capes’, resulting in rewarding screams from the fans.

Waterparks’ performance only shows that they are destined to
be playing bigger venues, suggesting that they weren’t expecting their first
headline tour to sell out like it did.

Writing

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