Emily Isaac
Jambar Contributor
It was a night of mosh pits, music and teen angst at Suzie’s Dogs & Drafts in downtown Youngstown at Teen Angst Night.
Teens and young adults gathered to relive their days of rebellion and restlessness, as The Teen Angst Band, a Youngstown based punk-pop emo cover band, performed their last ever show together.
Due to the uncertainty of where the Angst members will be as of spring semester, fans from previous shows, along with some first-timers, crammed into Suzie’s to experience the last Teen Angst Night ever.
Fans were full of excitement waiting for the band to get started as they warmed up.
“When I was younger, I saw all these bands and they perform just like they do and that’s why it’s so cool. It’s like reliving that over again,” Ramsey Keller, a YSU sophomore art major said.
Know the band performed songs like “Move Along,” “Dirty Little Secret,” “American Idiot,” “All Star” and more.
According to fans, some common things to expect from a Teen Angst Night would be loud music, screaming, dancing, singing and mosh pits.
The Teen Angst Band’s debut was at Suzie’s Dogs & Drafts on April 27, 2017, for their first ever Teen Angst Night. It was supposed to be a special one-time event, but according to band member and part founder Eric Finkelstein, it was an instant success and everyone loved the show.
Fans wanted more, which led to the second show, then the third and eventually two shows this past summer at The Cove at Louie’s in Sandusky, Ohio.
The pop-punk event began with Finkelstein and Justin Randall, part founder, friends and longtime fans of 2000s pop-punk, emo music.
According to Finklestein, the two were discussing the bands they used listen to when they were children and bands they still listen to today.
That’s when the two hatched the idea to start a band dedicated to early 2000s pop-punk and emo music.
“The Angst Band came to be mainly because myself and the other members were stressed out by school, and we all shared a common bond of emo and angsty music,” Randall said. “We figured doing a cover band in this genre and putting on an Angst Night at Suzie’s would be a great outlet.”
“We knew that figuring out who else would be in the band would be really easy, considering we were both music students at Dana [School of Music at Youngstown State University] and were surrounded by so many talented people,” Finkelstein said.
The lineup for the concert consisted of Fletcher Dunham, vocals and guitar, Reese Maslen, vocals and guitar, Hobie Butcher, vocals and drums, Frank Toncar, vocals and guitar, Stephen Spencer, vocals and guitar, Randall, vocals and keys and Finkelstein, vocals and bass.
For their final show, the performers consisted of every single existing Angst band member as they have varied previously from show to show.
“We received so much love from all of our fans and it’s with a heavy heart that tonight is our last show,” Finkelstein said.
“Teen Angst Night has been our way of sharing our love of angsty/emo music with people who are just like us, grew up with this music and it has a special place with all of us,” Randall added.
