Pop-rock band Waterparks performed for a sold-out crowd at the House of Blues in the Dallas Arts District, and I was lucky enough to go with former Herald editor-in-chief Rebecca Robinson. 

Not only was this my first Waterparks concert, but my first concert ever. 

The show started at 7 p.m., with Waterparks coming on stage around 9 p.m. Bands Pollyanna and Loveless opened, but the two hours between them and waiting for Waterparks seemed to drag on and on.

Neither band had particularly fantastic music and their covers of far better songs, like Pollyanna’s version of “Judas” by Lady Gaga or Loveless’s rendition of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, didn’t do much to save face. 

Pollyanna had the benefit of having a short set and was somewhat fun to watch, but Loveless overstayed its welcome with a nearly 45-minute set. I found myself checking the time more often than not, instead of enjoying the music.

When the Waterparks took to the stage bathed in red light, opening with “Watch What Happens Next” from 2019’s “FANDOM,” electric energy flooded the venue as the band moved seamlessly from one track to the next.

While the show featured a solid mixture of songs from each of Waterparks’s five studio albums, 2021’s “Greatest Hits” and 2023’s “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY” had the most songs performed, and 2018’s “Entertainment” got the short end of the stick with only one song, “Blonde,” played.

The band was just as fun to watch when interacting with fans as when performing. Lead vocalist Awsten Knight took a FaceTime call from an audience member’s mom, and fans successfully bullied the group into an impromptu performance of “Group Chat.”

One of the best moments was Knight’s acoustic performance of “21 Questions,” which was lit with only audience members’ phone lights and everyone shouting each word. 

With the lighting matching the color of each album, dangling hazmat suits, overgrown ivy and billowing smoke, the stage was filled with tons of Waterparks easter eggs and added to the over-the-top energy of the show. 

Bringing an extra layer of tension to the concert was the “RELIGIOUS GUILT” interlude, which projected an image of Knight sitting alone against a white cloth as walking hazmat suits surrounded him and frogs croaked in the background. When the cloth finally dropped, fans roared as the band kicked into “SOULSUCKER.”

Knight said he tries to make each show different, and for the SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN TOUR, he brought out a piano to play “High Definition,” “Snow Globe” and “Crying Over It All.” “Snow Globe” has become one of my favorite Waterparks songs, so hearing this new take on it made me fall even deeper in love with the song.

Concluding the show with an encore of “Numb,” “Turbulent” and “REAL SUPER DARK,” the nearly two-hour setlist flew by and left me wanting more. It’s safe to say I have seen the light and will be seeing Waterparks and many more concerts the next chance I get.  

Final Score: 9/10

Favorite Songs Played: “Snow Globe,” “Magnetic,” “Stupid for You” and “You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You)”

Wish They’d Played: “Not Warriors,” “Rare,” and “Royal”
Travel Note: House of Blues is a 6-hour and 15-minute drive from the Arkansas State University campus.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment