3OH!3
White Oak // Houston, TX // November 16th, 2018
Photos and review by Heather Ann Phillips
White Oak Music Hall in Houston took a time travel back to 2008 last Friday when 3OH!3 and Emo Nite took over the building.
Emo Nite L.A., an event started by three friends in a small dive bar, has grown into a full-blown phenomenon that strives to bring people together with emo music from the 90’s and early 2000’s. A pair of Emo Nite DJs kicked off the show in Houston with all of the hits ranging from bands like Taking Back Sunday, Good Charlotte, Sum 41 and more acts that defined many of our teenage years. Fans were encouraged to jump on stage, dance and sing along to all of the emo classics. Rapper Lil Aaron was also on the bill to get the crowd ready for the main act.
After Lil Aaron’s set was complete Emo Nite continued to spin more emo hits while the crowd, still hyped up, was no doubt ready for 3OH!3 to take the stage. Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” blared over the speakers only to be interrupted by the sound of a doorbell indicating it was time for the real party to start.
3OH!3 choosing to call this a House Party tour couldn’t have been a more accurate title. With a stage complete with a couch and wolves with lasers, yes lasers, for eyes; the atmosphere of the venue felt less like a traditional concert and more like a huge hangout between hundreds of people that have known each other for years.
Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte may have released their debut album, Want, 10 years ago, but the duo didn’t miss a beat Friday night as they played through every single track on the album. Want contains a bunch of electronic, sexual innuendo filled songs that no doubt graced your Myspace profile at one point and hearing those tracks live in 2018 was a nostalgia trip that we all needed.
The duo finished out their set with an encore of no doubt their biggest hits “My First Kiss” and, of course, “Don’t Trust Me.” Fans were encouraged once again to get on stage to finish up this house party up close and personal with the guys as they jumped and sang their hearts out to the last tracks.
It may not be considered “cool” by some people’s standards to listen to these songs these days, but being in a room with hundreds of other people singing every word to them brings a sense of togetherness that dismisses those thoughts completely. This tour is more than halfway over, but if you need a strange but fun trip down memory lane, I highly suggest checking out the remaining dates and get prepared for a party like you’ve never seen.
