No band calls to mind the angst-filled days of middle school better than alt-rockers Relient K.
The band brought old favorites and unreleased songs to the Bijou Theatre on Thursday night, accompanied by ear-deafening screams and a dash of nostalgia.
For a crowd that stuck by the band for nearly 10 years, it was Relient K’s older hits that brought the excitement.
To peak the audience’s nostalgia, lead singer Matt Thiessen began by reminding fans of Relient K’s upcoming 10th anniversary—and it’s celebration tour.
“We’re going to do a tour at the end of October,” Thiessen said. “It’s gonna be our fourth album—I don’t even like saying the album title—it’s ‘Mmhmm,’ and we’re going to play the whole album.”
Appropriately, the band began the night with numerous songs from the celebrated record.
Up first was the upbeat, punk rock meets emotional weather forecast hit, “High of ’75” followed by the pulse-quickening hopeful love song “The One I’m Waiting For.”
The band easily identifies with the usual fast-paced electric guitar, hard-hitting rhythms and intense lyrics that make up a pop punk rock band. Yet, their performance of “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” reflected their Christian rock undertones and illustrated the band’s lyrical and overall musical diversity.
To further reveal their uniqueness, Relient K took a moment to quiet the screaming crowd and bouncing mosh pits with a short acoustic set, including the rockin’ avoidance turned regret anthem, “I So Hate Consequences.”
While a less electric piece might come as a surprise from the punk rockers, one member of the audience, Knoxville native Katie Leonard, said it was the highlight of the night.
“I liked the acoustic parts when he had the guitar,” Leonard said. “I liked that sound.”
However, to slow the high velocity down even more, the band introduced a new, unreleased song to the Bijou crowd that stilled the air as Thiessen wowed the audience with a meaningful, “Instagram isn’t beauty” themed ballad.
The song was entitled “Look on Up” and touched on the current generation’s tendency to concentrate more on an Instagram filter and less on what the sky actually looks like to the naked eye.
“Look on up to the sky/wonder why I put a filter between beauty and my eye/Look on up into your eyes/It’s time I put down my devices and I start to live my life/look on up to the sky,” Thiessen crooned.
The new song received a mix of whistles, hollers and the attention of a crowd who was jumping with excitement not three minutes prior.
The Bijou served as the perfect place to house both the good times and the slower moments, even from the beginning with openers Birds in the Airport and Golden Youth.
UT graduate Joey Wooliver, also took note of the concert venue’s ambiance while enjoying the show Thursday night.
“I like the environment here,” Wooliver said. “It’s an interesting vibe.”
And for Relient K, it felt like home. The crowd roared as a familiar guitar riff paired with scene setting lyrics of the school dance themed hit, “Sadie Hawkins Dance.”
The catchy, hook-filled song wasn’t the only song the crowd had been waiting all night to hear.
To end the rock-filled night, Relient K ended with a song most audience members listened to on repeat during their middle school years, “Be My Escape.”
The song made for an appropriate ending to the night. For a crowd that desired to relive the catchiness along with the angst, Relient K let the nostalgia set in.
