At The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on November 11th, 2023
North Jersey has always been the epicenter of Emo. With bands like My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail, Thursday, Major League, Midtown, The Early November, and of course, Armor For Sleep all hailing from Jersey. So when it was time for Armor For Sleep to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of their album, “Dream to Make Believe,” what better place to end the East Coast leg of the tour than right here in Montclair, NJ.
Written by Stephen Moss / New Rock City
Montclair is about 15 minutes away from the childhood home of lead singer, Ben Jorgensen. This show was very sentimental for Ben. During the show, he even said multiple times how the New Jersey Emo scene is so special because it gave him a place to feel accepted and a sense of camaraderie at a time when people like us were deemed “freaks”, “weirdos”, and “losers.” Ben went on to say, “Thank you for not only making the New Jersey scene a safe place for me, but also a safe place all these years. And for keeping it a safe place for my kids and the new generation.”
Despite being a nearly sold out show, it had the feel of the small VFW shows back in the early 2000’s. The venue was filled with the bands local friends, and family. One of the opening bands was The Early November, who were also pioneers of the New Jersey Emo scene of the early 2000’s.
At the end of Armor For Sleeps set, Ben took a band photo with the crowd and said it was their favorite New Jersey show and again expressed just how special New Jersey is to him.
The band played the album “Dream to Make Believe” in it’s entirety. They also played hits off their first album and even threw in a couple off their brand new album. It was such an amazing night.
Emo is, in fact, not dead in Jersey!
Armor For Sleep social links
Photo Gallery form Armor For Sleep performance below. Photography all rights reserved by Stephen Moss / New Rock City.
Armor For Sleep upcoming Tour dates:
December 1st: Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
December 2nd: Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
December 3rd: Las Vegas, NV – 24 Oxford
December 4th: Mesa, AZ – Nile Theater
December 6th: San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
December 7th: Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
December 8th: Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
December 9th: Roseville, CA – Goldfield
December 10th: Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
December 11th: Seattle, WA – Corazon
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