Screamo Legends Orchid Reunite, Announce First Shows In 22 Years
One of the last remaining holdouts is no longer holding out. The fractured, chaotic hardcore punk bands who made up the late-‘90s screamo scene — the ones who basically invented screamo — are all getting back together. In recent years, we’ve seen reunions from bands like Pg. 99, City Of Caterpillar, Jeromes Dream, and Saetia. Now, Orchid are getting back together, too.
The Amherst, Massachusetts band Orchid started in 1997 and ended in 2002 — pretty much the same years that I was in college. In that time, they released three albums, as well as a bunch of splits and EPs. They perfected a thrashy, apocalyptic form of basement-punk, and you can still hear its echoes in the vibrant screamo underground today. (If you look up “screamo” on Wikipedia, a picture of Orchid is the literally first thing that you see.) After Orchid broke up, members went on to bands like Panthers, Ampere, and Transistor Transistor. Guitarist Will Killingsworth is a vital figure on the American underground, and he’s produced, engineered, mixed, and/or mastered literally thousands of DIY records in the past few decades.
Orchid haven’t played live since 2002, but next May, they’ll head out on a short East Coast tour — just five dates between Philadelphia and Toronto. On Instagram, they describe it as “five friends in a room playing the music they created together stepping onstage for the first time in over two decades.” Tickets for the Toronto show are already on sale; the others will be available on Friday. Opening acts haven’t been announced, but I can think of plenty of bands who will want to be on those bills. Check out the dates below.
TOUR DATES:
5/06 – Boston, MA @ Royale
5/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
5/10-11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
6/01 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater
