The Perfectly Unfamiliar Tour: In Her Own Words, Every Avenue, Felicity, Palettes
Seattle was in for a treat as "The Perfectly Unfamiliar Tour" hit Substation for a sold out show on October 8th, 2026. The tour is a co-headliner with In Her Own Words and Every Avenue celebrating their biggest hits. Felicty joined as an opener for the first half of the tour, and Fluorescents will be taking over on the second half. They've also been joined by local bands on select dates which I always think is so fun and a great way to support up and coming bands.
Starting the night off right in Seattle was a very loved local band and friends of mine, palettes. They started promptly at 7:30, and after rushing there from work, I managed to make it inside with just 2 minutes to spare before they took the stage. I was already excited for this tour when it was first announced, but learning palettes would be opening amplified the anticipation. They definitely draw a crowd whenever they play a hometown show so I think having them on this lineup was a great idea. Their set was almost all songs off their 2026 album. "white. (noise)" beginning with "magenta. (restless)" and "sandstone. (silhouettes)." All of their songs are tilted with a name and whatever color the song makes them feel. There were tons of people wearing palettes merch and singing along. The one song they played off their first EP was "sky blue. (writing me off)" which is a fan favorite and always a party to hear live. They rounded out their set with a few more new songs like "rust. (nothing ever changes)." Overall palettes was a great edition to the bill for the night, it is always exciting getting to see them.
Next up was Felicity, a self described "trash rock" band out of Orlando formed in 2013/2014. They put on a chaotic, fun, high energy show that had fans jumping the whole time. They were all over the stage, spending their 12 song set interacting with the crowd and each other, including some little synchronized dances which were a highlight of the night for me. The set opened with songs like "She's Nuclear" and "Lovesick Blues" off volume 1 & 2 off their "Mixtape for the End of the World" albums. I didn't think that I knew any of their music but once they started playing "GOD MODE" I was so excited as the song features a band I love so I knew every word! Probably the most fun part of their set was when they played "Emo Trash" because the crowd was so hyped about the song and the energy in the room skyrocketed. At one point they pulled out a giant paper scroll with a list of ways to support the band and had the audience read them out loud. It was extremely creative and something I've never seen before. They also handed out sashes to fans in the crowd that said things like "merch master" and "honorary band member." After the set ended with a cover of "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, the band spent time handing out setlists, guitar picks, and drumsticks to fans. By the time they left the stage it was clear why they had so many fans there wearing merch and screaming every word. Fans love bands who love them right back!
Third to play was Michigan based pop punk band Every Avenue. Their set mainly focused on their 2009 album "Picture Perfect" which was extremely successful and helped build a fanbase that has followed them to this day. They began with the title track before launching into some songs off other albums like "Tie Me Down" and "Days of the Old." About halfway into set, half the band exited the stage, leaving just vocalist David Ryan Strauchman and guitarist Cameron Byfielf to play 3 acoustic songs. They did an absolutely beautiful job and this part of the show was another highlight for my night. One of those 3 songs was a new unreleased track titled "The Wreckage" which they wrote as a response to their most popular song, "Tell Me I'm A Wreck." After they finished playing those songs, the other band members rejoined them back on stage and went on to play 5 more songs including "Girl Like That" and "For Always, Forever." Their set concluded with the earlier mentioned "Tell Me I'm A Wreck" which was one of the songs I was most excited to hear going into the night. I wasn't the only one excited as the crowd erupted with excitement, dancing and singing along. It was a great way to end their set and I'm stoked to have finally heard it live.
10:30 rolled around and it was finally time for In Her Own Words to take the stage. They are a pop punk-esque band formed in California in 2007. Their set was in honor of the 10 year anniversary for their 2016 album, "Unfamiliar." The venue cleared out a little bit by the time they began, which is to be expected with a co-headliner that goes so late into the night. But I think it just made the set feel more special and intimate. You know the kind of show where the vocalist spends the whole time practically in the crowd while fans passionately scream every word back to them all while jumping, dancing, and aggressively finger pointing? It's a very special kind of set that I typically see more with Midwest emo bands like Movements and Real Friends. This was my first time seeing IHOW and I wasn't expecting that kind of show but it's exactly what they delivered. It warmed my heart to watch as it was a reminder of how meaningful music is and how much it brings us all together. They began with their song "Nothing Left" and continued to play every song off the Unfamiliar album, almost in tracklist order. There was of course a few newer songs sprinkled in like "I Think It's Time" and "Sugarcoat." Vocalist Joey Fleming is feautured on a track by opening band palettes but because they were unable to perform that song together, they brought out palettes vocalist Adam Blasi to perform "Silver Lights" with them instead. They ended the night with a bang by playing their most popular song, "Right Now." The song was originally released on the deluxe edition of Unfamiliar but also landed a spot on their 2019 album, "Steady Glow." It is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time and is constantly stuck in my head. The show went till 11:30, which is much later than what I would've liked, but getting to hear that song and scream the words with fans made it all worth it
After crashing into my bed as soon as I got home around 12:30 AM, I reflected on the night and how cool it was to see this show bring so many people together. The tour has about 4 weeks to go, mostly on the east coast, so definitely check it out if you haven't yet and hopefully you can still catch a show!
Photos & Review By: Hailey Hazen
Comments