After 20 years, seven albums, and innumerable miles logged on the road, Philadelphia experimental rock band mewithoutYou has reached the end of their collective road. Their final show on Saturday, May 20th, offered a 32-song, career spanning setlist, touching on all of their studio albums — from the propulsive post-hardcore of Catch For Us The Foxes to the moody indie folk of It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All A Dream! It’s Allright to the dazzling rock atmospheres of their final [Untitled] LP.
With “Farewell” and “Better Luck Next Time” projected behind the stage, plants lining the front of the stage, and balloons and lights set off for the encore, the scene was set for a memorable and high-energy gig for the massive crowd of fans in attendance.
Along with the concert came an outpouring of love and appreciation on social media. Hayley Williams posted on Instagram that “No band ever mattered more to me than mewithoutYou. I mean, Paramore, yeah… But what good is one glove without the other?” Poetic hardcore outfit La Dispute Tweeted that “Might never have been a band without mewithoutYou, at least not this band. Resisted the comparison for ages but it’s the truth. Incredible band, incredible people. We owe a debt, all of us.” And singer-songwriter Julien Baker — who was in town after playing the Wild Hearts Tour Friday night — Tweeted a request for “My Exit” (which, bummer, didn’t make the setlist).
Podcaster Mason Mennenga shared a much-retweeted appreciation of the band and their one-of-a-kind nature.
Philly-rooted artist Dominic Angelella — currently the bassist in Lucy Dacus’ band, but with a deep history in various projects around Philly — wrote a piece for the Talkhouse remembering his time playing bass in mewithoutYou and talking about how it shaped him as a musician and changed the course of his life.
Matt Scottoline of Philadelphia’s Hurry shared reflections of the impact mewithoutYou made when he saw them play the first DIY show he ever attended as a seventh grade kid, along with video from the Fillmore concert.
The show even got memed (in a good way) when Twitter user Jeremy Anderson put a festival girl spin on their album Ten Stories.
And Philly’s Connor Feimster, who works behind the scenes on numerous national tours that spring out of our city, captured a glorious 30 seconds of the finale on Twitter with an apropos caption that was repeated around the fan base: mewithoutYou forever.
Below, check out a full gallery of scenes from mewithoutYou’s farewell concert, beginning with opener David Eugene Edwards.
