One of the coolest parts of being a music-lover is growing up with your favorite artists, following along on their journey through trying out new looks and sounds. I first heard of Waterparks at the ripe age of 16, and the pop-punk essence of their first LP, Double Dare, instantly hooked me. As they’ve grown since I found them in 10th grade, their music style has changed a lot.
Just a few weeks ago, on April 14th, 2023, Waterparks released their fifth full-length album, Intellectual Property, an album that plays a lot into high energy, bright sounds. Although this album strays away from the pop-punk sound I was first introduced to them with, it is definitely an album that is interesting to listen to. Every listen to each track reveals more layers to it.
Shortly after the release of Intellectual Property, Waterparks departed on “The Property Tour” with support from Hunny and Daisy Grenade. Luckily for myself and other Pacific Northwestern Waterparks fans, stop number four on the tour was in Seattle, on May 2nd, 2023, at The Showbox.
To kick off the night, Daisy Grenade, a “power-punk bubble grunge” duo, took the stage. From the second the lights dimmed in the venue, they lit the stage up with an electric energy. Throughout their set, there were no signs of slowing down amongst the duo, jumping, dancing, and singing for the entire time they were on stage. As someone who had never heard of Daisy Grenade before, it is safe to say they gained a new fan after their set, which also seemed to be the general consensus among the people near us once they left the stage.
Up next was Hunny, an indie-rock band, who’s in-ears instantly caught my attention, since they were actually over-the-ear headphones! I thought that was very unique, as it fit their vibe to a T, and they had the whole crowd nodding heads and tapping feet almost instantly. After their set, the crowd was loaded with energy and excitement, antsy for the headliners to take the stage.
The lights in the venue went out, and when they came back on, the singer of Waterparks, Awsten Knight, appeared on stage with his bandmates, guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood, in a giant parka. After the initial confusion the crowd had in unison (since it was so hot in the venue already!), the show began.
After the first few songs, Awsten stopped to mention how out of all of the shows on the tour they had played so far, the floor had not shaken as much as it had been shaking so far at the Seattle show. During this break, Awsten also told us about the band’s new album, Intellectual Property, and mentioned that this tour was for this new album. However, that was his segway into a few older songs, including “Crave,” a song I very vividly remember hearing live at Warped Tour in 2018 under the scorching hot sun. Memories came back as Geoff was singing his solo (a fan-favorite, since he doesn’t sing much), and before I knew it, we were back to the new tracks.
As Waterparks made their way playing through the new album, the energy in the room stayed high, despite seemingly extreme temperatures in the venue. One of my favorite songs off of the new album is “RITUAL,” and seeing this song live definitely did not disappoint. We were jumping along for the whole song, and at one point, the biggest circle pit I’ve ever seen opened up. It was quite literally as big as the entire floor of The Showbox, and if you’re familiar with this venue, you can imagine how wide the pit was.
After a quick acoustic break for some fan requests, the energy was back up for the remainder of the set, ending with the closing track on Intellectual Property, called “A NIGHT OUT ON EARTH.” If there’s one thing Waterparks has under their belt, it’s their on-stage production. From the intricate lights to a giant set with screens behind them, there was always something to look at on the stage. Just from the title of the song, “A NIGHT OUT ON EARTH,” it is pretty easy to imagine the kind of energy and production that came with this song live. The floor shook for the entirety of the song, and upon the band’s exit, the crowd immediately started chanting “Encore! Encore! Encore!”
Not even a minute later, Waterparks was back in front of us on stage, ready to end the show with an even bigger encore than what we had just experienced. First, they played one of my favorite songs from Intellectual Property, “REAL SUPER DARK,” which is very angry and noisy, just how I like it. The next song in the encore was “Turbulent,” a song off of their third studio album, FANDOM. The giant circle pit opened up again during this song, and it was too tempting for me and my friend to not join in. After a rowdy pit with a few losses (a moment of silence for my lost AirPods…), we were all pumped and ready for the last song of the night, “FUNERAL GREY.” After that, they promised to come back to Seattle soon, and a very happy crowd began to file out of The Showbox.
Waterparks never fails to put on a good show, whether it’s a headliner, a 35-minute set on Warped Tour, or even an in-store acoustic performance. Their energy is always through the roof and their very devoted fans always match or exceed it. I already can’t wait for them to tour again!
DIANA SAMBOTIN | KXSU Production Director