Photos and Review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

Waterparks lit up The Fillmore on April 4, 2024, marking the second to last stop on their Sneaking Out of Heaven Tour. As band members Otto Wood, Geoff Wigington, and Awsten Knight got ready to take the stage, the venue popped with excitement as fans waited for their favorite #parx to come out and entertain them.

From the moment Waterparks started up it was clear that they’d deliver a great show. Their energy was cranked up, the pit was packed to the brim with photographers, and pierced and tattooed fans smashed against the barricade trying to get as close as possible. Stage set dec was colorful and visually interesting with screens, upside-down crosses, and platforms for Knight and Wigington to jump on and off of.

Throughout the night, Waterparks treated fans to a 22-song set filled with all-time favorites spanning their catalog. Highlights included “I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore,” “Snow Globe,” and a medley featuring hits like “Lowkey As Hell,” “See You In The Future,” and “Fuzzy.” Knight’s performance of “Snow Globe” while seated at a piano was memorable, after he talked about how he’d been learning the piano lately.

A standout moment came midway through the set when the band took a kind of intermission to reset the stage behind a long flowing sheet. As text was projected on the makeshift sheet-screen over a silhouette of Awsten Knight, the audience read about how they should break free from the constraints of organized religion’s culture of shame—a pointed but powerful message that the crowd seemed to embrace.

Fans were raucous and screaming throughout, and mid-set Knight shouted for the middle of the floor to part like the red sea to make room for a big swirling mosh pit. It was more swirl than mosh, and didn’t go on for too long but seemed fun while it lasted. Fillmore security was on high alert (five guards in the pit) due to crowd-surfing worries, but the sold-out crowd seemed mostly filled with young women who ultimately didn’t get into any serious aggro action.

The band has a lot of lore behind it, what with Knight’s alter-ego “St*r,” and the mythology of “The Property,” and the backstory to each album having a thread of continuity that binds them all. It’s a puzzle worth checking out, and it gives fans a lot of meat to sink their teeth into.

Openers Loveless and Winnetka Bowling League had some fans of their own there and the room was packed before Waterparks even got on stage, a big feat on a rainy San Francisco night.

Waterparks played a great set with lots of favorites, and the fans clearly loved it, which is always the best barometer of all. This tour ended in Los Angeles on April 6^th, but for all the latest news and information check out www.waterparksband.com and @waterparks.