Emo Nite LA has been bringing friends and strangers from Denver together for a night of nostalgia and great music for almost two years now, but their most recent party at The Marquis Theater was easily the most exciting night yet. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, Emo Nite, the brainchild of founders Babs Szabo, T.J. Petracca and Morgan Freed, is an event that brings together people who share the love of emo rock music from the 90’s, 2000’s, and today. Although it initially started as a monthly event in Los Angeles, Emo Nite quickly grew and took things on the road as the trio learned that there were former (and current) emo kids in every state that needed a night like this as much as them. Flash forward two years, and Emo Nite has not only brought the party to multiple states across the country (including a massive three story event at Webster Hall in NYC), but they’re also getting ready to head out on Warped Rewind later this year and of course, they’ve also hit Denver quite a few times in between.
Each time Emo Nite comes through Colorado, the buzz around the event only seems to grow more and more. Back in 2015 when they first brought the show to The Marquis, the room was about half-full of the venue’s regulars, friends and those deeply immersed in the music scene. Most weren’t quite sure how the night would go and were uncertain about the future of Emo Nite in Denver, but by the end of the evening, it was apparent that something really special was happening. Those who arrived as strangers left the show as friends, hoping that Emo Nite would return to Denver once more. Thankfully, about four months later they would, and things only grew from there.
On election night last November, friends and strangers came together to shut out the rest of the world and celebrate love for quite possibly one of the most emotional evenings that The Marquis has ever seen. Despite the outcome of the election, there was a sense of community and friendship in the room as Morgan Freed closed out the night with the usual “Soco Amaretto Lime” – something that those in attendance will likely never forget. Then, at the end of 2016, Emo Nite celebrated their two year anniversary with a massive show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles and surprised everyone with the reunion of Sonny Moore and From First To Last. Those were weren’t paying attention yet certainly were now, and the next time that Freed would bring the show to Denver in February, it quickly sold out. So did the event in April. This time around, the show sold out before doors even opened on Wednesday night, prompting Emo Nite and The Marquis Theater to finally implement a “one in, one out” policy, allowing those who weren’t lucky enough to grab a ticket in advance a chance to still have a good time.
The second that the doors to The Marquis opened on Wednesday night, it was apparent that there was something different about this Emo Nite. Generally, it takes a few Fall Out Boy or My Chemical Romance hits to get the crowd going (especially those who have never been to Emo Nite before) but this time, the energy was high from the get go. Within moments, Emo Nite veterans were already on stage, hyping up the rest of crowd as T.J. Petracca and Colorado’s hometown hero Rob Denver provided the soundtrack. Both Petracca and Denver would comment throughout the night about how this show was the best one in Colorado yet, and thankfully, they had a few tricks up their sleeves as well.
At about 11:30, when the party was already in full swing, the music cut out for a brief moment before 3OH!3’s “Chokechain” rang out over the speakers and Colorado natives Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte took the stage to take over Petracca’s job for a bit. In the months following the two year anniversary and FFTL reunion, Denver emos have been begging for a guest DJ in their city, and Emo Nite finally delivered with the perfect fit – 3OH!3. And if you thought the energy was already high in The Marquis before, you should have seen it when the duo began pumping out hit after emo hit (and “All Star” by Smash Mouth).
Following 3OH!3’s guest spot, the party continued to rage well into the night, wrapping up just before 2am with – you guessed it – an emotional singalong to Brand New’s “Soco Amaretto Lime.” Before the song started, Petracca addressed the crowd, reflecting on last year’s emotional show on election night, pressing the importance of the friendship and love in the room, and once more, those who started the night as strangers quickly became the best of friends. Throughout the night, emotions ran high, the energy was absolutely wild and there was no questioning if Emo Nite would return to The Marquis again. They’ve found a second home in Denver, and we’re happy to keep the party going.
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