by Chloe Seymour

Remember how important the order of your Myspace Top 8 was? The last time you cared about that was around the time we last heard from Envy on the Coast (I’m certain we can all agree this is an incredible fucking name for a band). After a six-year hiatus, the band reunited and toured again.

To quote the band’s frontman, Ryan Hunter, directly from the stage last night, “We honestly don’t know why we stopped doing this. Seriously this is so fun, we can’t figure it out.”

If you watch their music videos on YouTube, which I did prior to the show to prep myself, you’ll find remnants of simpler, more emotional times – shots of roses and graveyards, and the band unexplainably playing in living rooms with chipped paint.

Luckily, the music videos have evolved since the angst-ridden emo scenes of the early-2000s, and much has changed since then; although a guy standing in front of me was sporting checkered Vans. Fortunately, Envy on the Coast’s on-stage chemistry is still intact, and Hunter’s beautiful, vibrant voice is as pure as the days it came out of your iPod shuffle.

Though the show was at the smaller Shelter venue, the energy emitted from both Envy and the crowd could’ve comfortably filled a larger space. The set-list catered to the diehards who had been holding out for the reunion since the band’s farewell back in 2010 (Detroit was their last stop on the nine-date tour).

There’s no question why fans came out on a Sunday night for this show. The chorus of voices that filled in the words of “Starving Your Friends” made it clear that Envy hadn’t been forgotten. Hunter and lead guitarist Brian Byrne slowed down the set to parade their vocal chops with covers and songs from their solo projects (1st Vows and The Hand That Wields It).

The show inspired me watch for new music and throw Envy on the Coast back into my Spotify playlist rotation like its ’08. Maybe I’ll take a trip to the nearest Journeys and grab a new pair of Vans, because this shit is all still so nostalgic.

As fans were belting out every word to “Lapse,” Hunter stepped away from the microphone to let the chorus of voices take over and fittingly exclaimed: “That’s the Detroit I remember.”