A Night of Wonder with Papa Roach and Silverstein at the Stir Cove
by Chaiston Crumpton
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA — Tuesday the 21st brought Californian rockers Papa Roach all the way to Harrah’s Stir Cove for a special night of their Rise of the Roach tour. The group stole Missouri-natives, Story of the Year and Silverstein, a post-hardcore band hailing from Burlington, Ontario, away from their own co-headlining tour to give fans a unique and memorable lineup.
Despite the heat, the amphitheatre was packed well before Story of the Year even stepped foot out from behind the curtains — housing one of the fullest shows it had had in a while. They opened their set with And The Hero Will Drown from their debut album Page Avenue. While they played some fan favorites, they didn't shy away from playing songs from their new album, A.R.S.O.N., stating that “[We] doubt any of you have listened to it... You should. It's really fucking good. You won't be disappointed."
And disappoint they did not.
The crowd needed no time to get their energy up, with mosh pits opening across the grounds from the minute they took the stage that carried throughout their entire set. The wooden floor laid over the fields started to lift from how hard they were being trampled, which led to a few fans having to level them out again as a few lingering moshers circled around them. As soon as it was fixed, though, the festivities resumed.
Next up was Silverstein, who opened their set with Negative Space from their latest release, Pink Moon. Despite their set being only eleven songs long, they still managed to cover a wide variety of their discography. The group played tracks from seven of their thirteen albums, meaning that whether you became a fan twenty years ago or during their last album cycle, you were almost guaranteed to hear something familiar. Just by looking at the fans gathered before the stage, it was easy to tell the difference between the many that were members of the younger generations and the ones that came before them. Still though, they all sang the same when vocalist Shane Told commanded them to belt out the final chorus of Smile In Your Sleep. They closed out their set with Bleeds No More, a well-loved song from their debut album When Broken Is Easily Fixed.
By the time Papa Roach finally made it out on stage, it was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. The dusk brought a much needed break from the heat, which ensured that even as the night began to end, the energy didn't die down. They played some newer songs along with some oldies, such as Scars and Between Angels and Insects. Dan Marsala of Story of the Year made his way back onto the stage to join the group for BRAINDEAD, a single they released in 2025. They also squeezed in a handful of covers during the encore, including Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit and My Own Summer (Shove It) by Deftones. The selection was perfect, only amping the energy up even more for one last hurrah as they transitioned into their iconic Last Resort, before finally bidding crowd farewell.
