[All photos by Thomas Gerloff]
Saturday, September 30th The Noise took a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona to help celebrate the one-year anniversary of Riot Night – aka Arizona’s emerging Emo Nite-like party hosted by two music diehards Justin Chard and Katia Kianpour. Wednesday, October 4th we are still currently trying to recover and recollect exactly what happened that night.
See, Riot Night isn’t your typical emo nostalgia trip through your high school days where you remember all the music you used to listen to. Instead, it’s a party embracing the songs you still blast in your car on an everyday basis from bands like The Used, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance and more.
Commemorating their one-year anniversary at the chic-yet-charming oldtown Scottsdale venue Rock Bar, Chard and Kianpour went big bringing out guest entertainers Jack Barakat of All Time Low and ex-Yellowcard frontman/guitarist Ryan Key.
However, before the night’s guests of honor took the stage, the jam-packed crowd of twenty-to-thirty-somethings were treated to emo cover band Hands Down. Playing jams like Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness,” Finch’s “Letters To You” and Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging,” it’s easy to see why the five-piece act quickly won the crowd over.
Shortly after Hands Down finished warming up the somewhat-inebriated eventgoers who had been helping themselves to the night’s drink specials (which included “Damn If I Drink Ya (Damned If I Don’t),” “The Irony Of Choking On A Mixed Drink” and more), local boy Seanzy took over hype duties playing some acoustic tracks like Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home.”
Then, after a DJ set from a group of local Arizona acts including As Thick As Thieves, Note To Self and Ella Kaye, it was time for Key to take center stage and remind everybody just how much we all really miss Yellowcard.
Playing a collection of classic fan-favorite tracks like “Light Up The Sky” and “Lights and Sounds,” the former Yellowcard member eventually brought tears to everyone (and we mean everyone) once he started singing the memorable lines “There’s a place off Ocean Avenue.” Followed by his very own DJ set, Key then stepped aside as seasoned Emo Nite LA DJ and All Time Low guitarist Barakat took over.
With the night in full swing and fans fully engaged (and yes, quite intoxicated at this point), Barakat ripped into AFI’s mesmerizing “Miss Murder.”
Now, this is where things begin to get a little murky. After watching people dance on stage in giant dinosaur heads as Barakat played Sum 41’s “Fatlip,” we ventured over to the bar to sip on a few blue drinks labeled as “Emo Shots.” What happened after that, you ask? Well, we saw what we’re pretty sure was This Wild Life’s Kevin Jordan and Asking Alexandria’s Cameron Liddell outside and then that’s pretty much where our night came to an end.
While we wish we could recall exactly what happened after that, we’re completely content knowing our first ever Riot Night experience was one we’ll (somewhat) remember for the rest of our lives. For a little bit more from our eventful night out in Scottsdale, be sure to check out some photos from Thomas Gerloff below. For more from Riot Night, head here.
