Sugar, we're going down to emo night: Why the genre’s thriving in Seattle and beyond

Move over disco night. Forget about '80s dance night. Emo night has taken over clubs throughout the Seattle region, and frankly the United States. Fans young and old(ish) pack clubs to dance and scream to a lineup of their favorite emo music.

But what even is emo to begin with?

This article comes from the emo episode of KUOW's arts podcast "Meet Me Here." Listen to the full episode below.

This all started when I went to play some pinball at a bar in Tacoma and found that there was a $10 cover at the door. It was emo night. Now, I love emo music. Sunny Day Real Estate has been in the background much of my life. I'm partial to Jawbreaker and can always go for some Mineral. You know, emo music. So I paid 10 bucks.

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The emo night underway was "This Party Sucks," which regularly transforms Tacoma's Airport Tavern into a passionate night of fans swaying and screaming to the music. They knew every lyric and sang with their eyes closed. They didn't just dance, they felt it, as if they all were in on a shared memory, connected through each song. It was a real scene.

And all night, as I listened ... I didn't hear a single emo song. If there was Cap'n Jazz or The Promise Ring, I missed it. I heard Green Day, I heard Fall Out Boy, and a bunch of other bands that sounded more like somebody gave instruments to high school theater kids. Many of these songs could be put on stage with choreography and jazz hands. This wasn't emo.

Also, and this is important, I am completely wrong. This was 100% emo.

"I think that you have a lot of these people, especially in Seattle I've noticed, that are very music snobby when it comes to Seattle music," DJ Danny Vigil said. "It's understandable. You have the Nirvanas, the Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam. But to me, Pearl Jam was always old. Like, they just weren't my generation of music."

Mark me down as one of those snobs Vigil points out. The music that was fresh and relatable to Vigil as he came of age was pop punk/emo. It made a strong impression. Today, when Vigil is not on air at Seattle rock station KISW, he's a DJ for Emo Nite, a regular event at Neumos and also in Spokane. He was there as emo became the soundtrack of the millennial generation.

"We all grew up as the perception of misfits, but I think what we realize now is that there were a lot more of us that felt that way," he said. "Whether it's true or not, we all felt that way and we all found this escape in music and now we get to come together and celebrate it. It's such a fun atmosphere, I think that's why [Emo Nites are] so successful."

By the way, Vigil's Emo Nite — which also has events spanning LA to New York — should not be confused with the another touring Emo Night, nor should it be confused with I’m Not OK: Emo and Pop Punk karaoke night, or the Emo Rave, or the Emo Easter that just happened in Bremerton.

"I think that it does lend to a somewhat younger audience because ... most millennials who are in their upper 30s ... I think you have the people who want to come out and relive their teen years," Vigil said. "In Spokane, we actually do an all ages Emo Nite and we have teenage kids there. Their parents bring them. They're up singing every line to every song that I play and I'm like, 'How? You were not even a thought in your parent's mind yet.' I think that speaks to how powerful the genre is."

For Vigil, this emo music is very much a millennial genre. Baby Boomers get oldies and protest songs. Gen X gets grunge. Millennials own (post-2000) emo with bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Paramore.

Emo music

Emo music is a subgenre of punk rock that can be traced back to the 1980s with bands like Rites of Spring. It takes the angst of punk in a more emotional and melodic direction. The term became more common in the 1990s and the emo label was given to bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbreaker. But it became a more solid brand after 2000. With the millennial generation, emo transitioned to prime time with a more pop-punk sound.

Asking around, I'm not the only one with this emo blind spot. A few music nerds I consulted were, like me, more tuned into emo from the 1990s that embraced that era's indie and DIY aesthetic. This emo demographic gave me a weird look when I asked them if they felt Avril Lavigne or Simple Plan were emo.

After the year 2000, younger millennials were introduced to emo under very different circumstances. Their youth included 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Then came the Great Recession, and lagging economic prospects. It's an anxious generation apt for emotional music.

There's a line that divides these generations of emo. For lack of a better term, we can call it the "Hot Topic line."

Other than the reminder that being a music snob isn't a good look, this all ended with the realization that music evolves. Music has generations of its own. And emo gets to change, too.