Rock trio Waterparks played to a sold-out crowd at House of Blues on the first of their two-night stop in Orlando, Florida.
Joined by Pollyanna and Loveless, Waterparks set out on their Sneaking Out of Heaven Tour, the second run the band has played in promotion of their 2023 album INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. At 6 PM, doors opened and the line of fans stretched around the venue filed in to fill the room.
Pollyanna set the mood for the night by opening with a short yet energetic performance. Most of the six-song set included top tracks from the band’s debut album Slime including “Relationship Anxiety” and “Slut,” but their cover of Lady Gaga’s “Judas” won the room over. Vocalist Jill Beckett encouraged participation from the crowd who were eager and excited to scream along to the iconic refrain. After finishing their impactful rendition of the pop hit, Pollyanna closed the set with another favorite, their original titled “Mars.”
The second opening slot saw Loveless play a well-balanced mix of songs – old and new, originals and covers, chill and hyped. After kicking things off with “Haunting Me” from their self-titled debut album, the rock duo pulled from their more recent releases. Following the release of their 2022 LP End of an era the band dropped a series of singles including fan favorites of the night “I Hope I’m Not Sick” and “Picasso.” The 2024 single “Addicted” would not be the newest song that would make the set though, as the crowd was treated to an unreleased song titled “I Love It When It Rains.”Throughout the set, vocalist Julian Comeau made a point of interacting with fans in the pit, pointing them out individually to wave and say “Hi.” Toward the end of their set, he addressed the collective, introducing a medley of covers that would be sure to please the fans who first discovered them via social media. After a slower track, during which the house lights were turned up and phone flashlights were pulled out, the crowd was rested and ready for the back-to-back snippets of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” bridge, “Running Up That Hill,” and “Middle of the Night.” With “Worst Case Scenario,” the set came to its end and the room prepared for the main event.
The crowd buzzed with excitement as the final changeover began, screaming when the large drapes that shrouded Waterparks’ set pieces were pulled off to reveal a symmetrical back wall complete with doors, windows, and staircases. The lights dimmed down to an ominous red as the windows began to glow. Through the doors, guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood emerged to take their places on each staircase. Shortly after, singer Awsten Knight burst through the curtains of the central doorway as the lights flashed on for the beginning of “Watch What Happens Next.” Immediately, crowd surfers started rolling over the barricade, excitedly looking to the stage as they rushed back into the pit. Knight and Wigington took turns jumping back and forth across the stage, playing from each of the risers set up along the front.“Blonde” and an extended medley covering the majority of the 2021 album Greatest Hits kept the energy high as the set progressed. After the incredibly catchy “You’d Be Paranoid Too,” a large white curtain covered the stage as a recorded interlude played over the speakers. When it ended and the curtain dropped, the crowd cheered wildly for the wardrobe change and slight tweaks to the set that had been revealed. With the non-INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY section of the set behind them, it was time to switch into gear to cover the newest album. The opening track of the LP “ST*RF**KER” and the tour’s namesake “SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN” led to fan favorites “SELF-SABOTAGE” and “RITUAL.” In the center of the floor, a large pit opened as fans moshed to one of the band’s heavier tracks. Knight sat down to play piano, a skill he picked up specifically for this tour, for an acoustic section that included “High Definition” and “Snow Globe.”
The band ended the regular set with “FUNERAL GREY,” immediately prompting the crowd to scream for one more song. After a long few minutes, the extended wait proved to be well worth it when the band reemerged for an encore of three songs. “REALLY SUPER DARK” closed the night on a high note, leaving fans ready to do it all again on night two.
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