God’s favorite boy band Waterparks snuck out of heaven for a packed show at The Van Buren in Phoenix this week. They were joined by Loveless and Pollyanna for a rowdy night in the pit.
New Jersey group Pollyanna concluded their brief run on this tour with a raucous set to open the show. This band is all about safe spaces and loud noises and they are excellent at creating both- the audience was head over heels for their unapologetic presence and didn’t hesitate to fill the room with their own vocal accompaniment to the best cover of Lady Gaga’s “Judas” we’ve ever witnessed. Vocalist Jill Beckett ended the set and the tour strong with a leap onto the barricade and the fans immediately rushed for the merch table afterwards to profess their newfound love for this stellar band.
After finding their niche on TikTok during the pandemic, Loveless has taken that momentum and run with it. As the supporting band on this bill, Loveless filled their set time with original favorites like “Killing Time” and “Addicted”. The fans did their part to keep the pit moving and augmented singer Julian Comeau’s glass-shattering vocals with their own raised voices. The band threw together a medley of their best covers before ending their set with “Lighthouse”.
April Fool’s Day had the pranks going wild for Waterparks’ set- but their openers let the guys get comfortable before unleashing their chaos upon the stage. In the meantime, Awsten Knight, Geoff Wigington and Otto Wood made the most of their production with large screens at the back of the stage and plenty of risers to jump from during the performance.
After a nostalgic cover of Liz Phair’s classic “Why Can’t I”, the momentum of the night really picked up and the shenanigans began. Loveless joined Waterparks for a special version of “Ritual” and the rest of the band jumped onstage as mannequins to drive the crowd into absolute hysterics at everyone’s antics.
The band powered through a whopping 19 songs before being summoned back for a lengthy encore that brought the house down with “Turbulent” and “Real Super Dark”. Fans who had camped through the cold and rain to be on the barricade left the venue gushing about the incredible evening and it’s a certainty that Waterparks will always be welcomed to Phoenix with open arms.
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Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
