Las Vegas is a phenomenon. Born from nothing in the desert, the city evolved over decades to become the entertainment capital of the world, and every corner you turn reinforces that title. From 9PM breakfasts to casinos with no windows or clocks, from the faux skies of the Venetian to the artificial cobblestone streets of New York, New York, there’s something for everyone in this city that truly never sleeps. When We Were Young Festival is no different. In its third iteration now, the festival aims to bring the nostalgia of the mid-30s emo’s teenage years back to life in one jam-packed, chaotic, extravagant day festival.
The day isn’t just packed with music, there’s plenty to do around the venue too. The organizers appear to have transported my bedroom from my teenage years to the middle of the grounds, and countless vendors offer different experiences. The Beatbox party bus gets me hooked on a dangerous alcoholic beverage of the same name, while Wynn Las Vegas and Ghost Energy have some fun activation lounges to explore. There’s a tattoo truck – although it’s hideously expensive – and the now iconic purple astroturf carpet under some huge building blocks made from featured artists’ album artwork.
The one recurring motif of the day was overhearing conversations or speaking with people who claimed that many of the albums being played in full have “changed” or “defined” their lives today, myself included. I first heard The Black Parade after saving my lunch money for a week and buying it in HMV on a rainy Saturday in rural Lincolnshire. I played that album on repeat for so long that my mother threatened to remove the speakers she’d gifted me for a recent birthday. Eventually, she’d come to let me listen to it in the car, and even ended up attending the album’s release tour with me at the venue now known as Nottingham Motorpoint Arena. Music is infectious, and the feelings it instills are categorically unrivaled. So, to see a day-long festival of those artists that defined my teenage years and ultimately shaped my life and career? You’d better believe I’d fly across the world for that.
With such a whirlwind day, there was never going to be any chance I’d catch every single band on the lineup, but early sets from LS Dunes and Neck Deep set the energy high. Mayday Parade’s “I had a dream last night we drove out to see Las Vegas,” is screamed so loud I’m fairly sure it can be heard from the strip. Underoath’s performance of They’re Only Chasing Safety in full has me in tears from the outset. They’re one band that have remained consistent from my youth, continually putting out fantastic albums, but this is where it all began for me and so many others.
Denver duo 3OH!3 take to the Ghost stage in the early afternoon to showcase Want from 2008. Wearing high-vis neon yellow, their stage presence is a force to be reckoned with as they leap around, inciting crowd engagement. As they close with Don’t Trust Me, that famous single that’s still played during alternative club nights across the country today, I’m exhausted from their energy but overjoyed at being able to witness the spectacle. Shortly afterwards, Cobra Starship bring out Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump for an amazing performance of Kiss My Sass, while Senses Fail hurl countless inflatable sharks into the crowd during Shark Attack.
Chiodos put on one of the most memorable sets of the day for me, as Craig Owens takes to the stage with them for the first time in eight years. While the set goes as expected, the true surprise is the announcement of a 20th anniversary celebratory tour which will see the outfit joined by Hawthorne Heights, Emmure, and The Callous Daoboys. It’s no secret that the Daoboys are the best thing to happen to mathcore since the birth of The Dillinger Escape Plan, so it looks like I’ll be booking flights back over to the States soon.
As the stunning Vegas sunset starts to drape over the Festival Grounds, the highlights of my day begin to throw themselves onto the stage one by one. While Taking Back Sunday are an embarrassing mess, with vocalist Adam Lazarra appearing to slur his words and throw himself around the stage with reckless abandon, the nostalgia takes over during Cute Without the ‘E’ and I manage to somehow enjoy the track despite the frontman. Pierce the Veil bring out none other than Jason Butler (letlive, Fever333) and a squeal escapes my mouth – he’s one of my all-time favorite frontmen, and having just canceled a recent UK tour with Fever, I wasn’t expecting him to join PTV for their collaborative track Tangled in the Great Escape. It’s an added bonus when Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens also joins the band for King for a Day – I cannot understate how many times I’d run to the television when this track came on Scuzz to ramp up the volume.
Jimmy Eat World play an impressive but unremarkable version of Bleed American in full. It’s enjoyable but no screaming this time around. The Used’s set is astounding with so much pyro that I don’t quite know where to look. (It’s at Bert, obviously.) After having seen A Day to Remember only a few days previously at an official WWWY sideshow at the Fontainebleau, I’m surprised by how excited I am by their set tonight, too. This time around they’re playing Homesick in full, and the stage is adorned with huge elements taken from the album art. There’s something quite hauntingly beautiful when I turn around and see the entire field lit up with lighters and phone torches for the acoustic If It Means A Lot To You.
Fall Out Boy are one of a small handful of bands who don’t settle on one album to play in full. Rather, they dish out their version of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour – named Days of Fall Out Past. This sees a small selection of tracks, including some deep cuts, from each of their albums followed by an encore. The set changes aesthetic with each album, to make it easily identifiable which era we’re in, and the crowd seems to scream nonstop. I’m unsure whether it’s in appreciation of each song, or just Pete Wentz’s mere presence with his tiny space buns atop his head. There are some deviations from the setlist presented last night, but the best surprise for me is the appearance of Folie A Deux’s Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet. I first heard this track live in 2023 when Fall Out Boy played a sold-out 500-capacity venue in Manchester, and I believed I’d never hear it live again. To see it performed here tonight is an astonishing spectacle. During the encore, Fall Out Boy bring up a magic 8-ball, which Wentz asks, “Should we put Cupid in a Chokehold?” When the 8-ball confirms that they should, Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy takes to the stage for a rendition of Cupid’s Chokehold that sees the venue erupt. Fall Out Boy take the crown for the performance and production of the day, easily.
By contrast, My Chemical Romance playing The Black Parade in full is very understated. The band are, most often, lit in monochrome but that’s all this prestigious collective needs. From the haunting opening notes of The End through to the tongue-in-cheek interlude of Blood which plays before an encore that surprisingly doesn’t feature I’m Not Okay, the band are flawless. There’s an electricity in the air – everyone present knows they’re witnessing a spectacle that, most likely, will never be repeated again. It’s never been done before, but The Black Parade in full helps me to relive those teenage years. I can almost feel the angst returning. Some of these songs haven’t been performed live in over 15 years, and some of them never before, but hauntingly beautiful new additions including string arrangements and Gerard Way’s monologues elevate tracks such as Mama and Cancer to unseen heights. My Chemical Romance don’t need the huge production, pyro, or visuals to showcase this album in its most pure, flawless form. As the closing notes of Helena ring out and a field full of adults transported to their teenage years scream, “So long and goodnight,” I can’t help but feel I’ve witnessed something that may never come around again. With Warped Tour being announced for 2024, it’s unclear whether WWWY will take the punt on putting on another iteration or wait until 2025, but one thing is for certain – I’ll be there.
