A Proper Dose of The Story So Far at Sold Out Amsterdam Show

It’s been less than two years since The Story So Far played Amsterdam, but luckily, the California band decided that’s way too long ago. In a short European tour, only going for a week, they wouldn’t dare to skip over Amsterdam. The Dutch poppunk fans got to see them return to the Melkweg MAX this Wednesday, June 10th, for a night of pure unbridled punk chaos. To make it even more sweaty, they invited along DRAIN as special guests.

DRAIN has been around for about 12 years, but somehow never made their way to Amsterdam until now. Clearly, the fans knew exactly where to find them, already filling up the venue well before their start time. From the first second vocalist Sammy Ciaramitaro jumps up on stage, the entire room erupts. He asks if we can outdo the Antwerp crowd from the day before, and it doesn’t take long for him to state they’ve already surpassed it. The shark balloons floating throughout the venue are a clear indication at least a portion of the crowd tonight is here for this band (as their latest record …Is Your Friend features a chilling shark).

The entire supporting set is one big summer party, making temperatures rise within the venue walls very rapidly. The hardcore punk fans start jumping the barricade, giving the security a run for their money. Sammy jumped down from the high stage, annoyed by the barricade between him and the fans, to have them scream along to the songs with him, throwing the mic into the crowd, and crowdsurfing himself as well. For the last song, he really challenges the barricade more, asking for “at least 100 crowdsurfers,” which the fans happily oblige in. The band has set the pace for the evening, and it won’t slow down anytime soon.

With no new music released officially since 2024, The Story So Far thankfully took the release of their live album I Want To Disappear In The US as an excuse to tour. Fans of the pop-punk band surely won’t complain, ready to go all out, relentlessly moshing from start to finish. While Parker Cannon is known for his somewhat stoic and nonchalant stage presence, he clearly feels right at home in Amsterdam, the ecstatic crowd and the band really hyping each other up throughout the night.

Over the years, The Story So Far has grown into one of the staple pop-punk bands, not all that bothered by what other bands in their genre are doing, as they’ve always just done their own thing, and they excel in exactly that. They’re six members strong on the stage, making their live sets sound even better than what you’d find on their studio records. They’re not the kind of band that would include a lot of frills or gimmicks, their thing always has been more “what you see is what you get,” and the fans truly don’t need anything extra anyway. The music is what you’re supposed to be here for, and they more than deliver in that aspect. That being said, we find a band on stage that also has a hard time staying as static as usual, clearly finding a lot of joy in playing this tour, city and/or venue. While it might be a tour in promotion of their live album, it could also be a very real possibility they’re just touring for the love of playing for crowds like these.

With a total of 21 songs on their setlist, and not a lot of breaks between songs to catch our breath, the venue is heating up more and more with each following song. The band completely bangs through hit after hit, each song more energetic than the one before, with little to no talking in between, so the moshpits and crowdsurfs are never-ending. We only slowed down by the penultimate song, the emotional acoustic “Clairvoyant.” With just guitarist Kevin Geyer and Parker left on stage under a spotlight, this vulnerable song is such a strong way to end nearly two hours of jumping around, serving as a reminder of how good this night has been. Of course, they do come back on stage for one more loud bang with the even bigger favorite “Quicksand,” giving the crowd one last chance to release the last bit of energy they still have left, and they’re more than happy to do so.

This short European tour unfortunately already finished up in Paris the day after Amsterdam’s show. The Story So Far is making its way to Warped Tour in Washington, DC this weekend, the Long Beach dates later in July, as well as a handful of other festival sets during the summer. Tickets for these festivals, and their upcoming North American tour in fall, can be found on https://thestorysofarca.com/#TOUR.