After bringing out Kevin Devine at The Fillmore in their Philly hometown on Friday (8/19), mewithoutYou returned to the venue the following night (8/20) for their very last show before breaking up. They changed the setlist considerably from night one, hitting songs from all throughout their career, and they did a 32-song set, two encores included. They had a few guests in tow, including Norma Jean/The Chariot/’68’s Josh Scogin joining them for a medley of “Messes of Men” and the Norma Jean/Aaron Weiss collab “Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste” (as he did a few other times on this tour), The Psalters’ Scotty Kruger joining for the guest vocals that he contributed to the album version of “Four Word Letter (Pt. Two),” and former, 2000s-era guitarist Chris Kleinberg reuniting with the band for their final song, “In A Sweater Poorly Knit,” which also had several of the band’s family members dancing with them on stage, as the backdrop behind the band changed from saying “farewell” to saying “better luck next time,” a lyric from “9:27A.M., 7/29.” Watch videos of those three appearances and a few other songs, and check out the full setlist below.
Now that the band’s end is official, fellow musicians have also been posting tributes to the band. Touche Amore’s Jeremy Bolm wrote one earlier this year after joining them on stage in LA, and now La Dispute, who have been compared to mewithoutYou many times over the years, had this to say:
Might never have been a band without mewithoutYou, at least not this band. Resisted the comparison for ages but it’s the truth. Incredible band, incredible people. We owe a debt, all of us. mewithoutYou forever.
Myself especially. Aaron’s presence on stage was a revelation to me, watching him throw flowers in the crowd the first time I saw them play twenty odd years ago. Gave me the confidence to embrace what voice I had, to be on stage, to speak loudly and into a microphone.
To say nothing of the band as a whole, or the people in it. Might never get the credit they deserve but beneath so many bands there’s a mwY thread hidden. We owe them a debt for that. And I’m so sad to see it end but life is so much richer for having had them in it for so long.
Paramore’s Hayley Williams also posted an Instagram gallery, including a video of her playing with them, and wrote “No band ever mattered more to me than mewithoutYou”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChikYcNMRAa/
Read some other tributes below the videos…
Might never have been a band without mewithoutYou, at least not this band. Resisted the comparison for ages but it’s the truth. Incredible band, incredible people. We owe a debt, all of us. mewithoutYou forever.
— La Dispute (@ladisputeband) August 21, 2022
. @mewithoutYou forever 🙌🏼🙏🏼
— Will Yip (@willyipmusic) August 21, 2022
Mewithoutyou forever.
— Underoath (@UnderoathBand) August 21, 2022
They’re a band we all bonded over loving, and it was always amazing to watch their whole set anytime we toured with them. Absolutely one of the greatest to ever do it
— TWIABP&IANLATD (@twiabp) August 22, 2022
RIP to one of the best bands ever. I can’t believe I’m missing their final show tonight. Goodbye @mewithoutYou
— The Callous Daoboys (@callousdaoboys) August 20, 2022
Ok, now that its officially over. @mewithoutYou was possibly the most important band in my life. EVER!
They transformed the way i saw the world, other people, and myself. They gave me language to create my own faith, find peace in the chaos, and forgive my dad.— DerekZanetti (@ZanettiDerek) August 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/LilithTwo/status/1561027159849844736
https://twitter.com/julienrbaker/status/1560723719449894913
https://twitter.com/ericslickmusic/status/1561365863260950534
i told this story basically every night we toured with @mewithoutYou but i’ll say it again as i eulogize them: their first show was the first diy show i ever attended (i was in like 7th grade). they totally blew my mind, and i probably saw them 20 times before i even graduated hs https://t.co/Uc0PWP89y0
— Hurry / Matt Scottoline (@hurryband) August 21, 2022
It’s difficult for me to think of a group of musicians that have changed my life more than @mewithoutYou. In advance of their final ‘Farewell’ shows, I wrote about my adventures with them for @Talkhouse: https://t.co/5kLsV59dtU
— dominic angelella (@drgnkingDOM) August 18, 2022
Last night, there was an essence of such deep rich community before, during, and after the show. So many friends, new and old, coming together, having reunions though many of us have never met in real life. This, among so many other things, is what makes @mewithoutYou so special.
— mewithoutYou Archive (@mwYArchive) August 20, 2022
mewithoutYou @ The Fillmore – 8/20/22 (Final Show) Setlist (via)
Pale Horse
Bullet to Binary
Nice and Blue
Paper Hanger
East Enders Wives
Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume
Red Cow
Dorothy
Wolf Am I! (And Shadow)
Elephant in the Dock
Goodbye, I!
[dormouse sighs]
The Soviet
A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains
The King Beetle on a Coconut Estate
Nine Stories
Nice and Blue (Pt. Two)
Four Word Letter (Pt. Two) (with Scotty Kruger)
C-Minor
Bethlehem, WV
We Know Who Our Enemies Are
Mexican War Streets
Julia (or, ‘Holy to the LORD’ on the Bells of Horses)
Son of a Widow (with “Julian the Onion” intro)
Encore:
Break on Through (to the Other Side) [Pt. Two] (Aaron solo acoustic)
Cardiff Giant (Aaron solo acoustic)
The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie (Aaron solo acoustic, full band joins during bridge)
Messes of Men (with Josh Scogin) (with a snippet of Norma Jean’ s “Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste”)
January 1979
Torches Together
Encore 2:
All Circles
In a Sweater Poorly Knit (with Chris Kleinberg and several of the band’s family members)