The Bouncing Souls finished out the last night of their East Coast! Fuck You! tour at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Bringing a murderers’ row of East Coast bands with them, the Bouncing Souls curated an amazing show of bands who don’t always get out to the West Coast enough. This allowed an opportunity to three sets from bands I hadn’t yet seen. Let’s dig in.
Opening the night was New Jersey’s Mercy Union, a fantastic choice for this East Coast-centric group of bands touring. Tearing through their thirty-minute set, Mercy Union warmed the crowd up just right for the night ahead. You can definitely feel the Springsteen influence dripping off of them like a lot of bands from that area, which is why the clearly Cure influenced “Prussian Blue” was the highlight of Mercy Union’s set for me. I’m not sure if it is typical for the bass guitar to be a little louder in the mix during their set, but I’m here for it and Mercy Union.
After listening to Dying Scene Editor Jason Stone praise Dave Hause from the top of a digital mountain for the last year and a half, I got to experience a set for myself. Everything he’s said is accurate. Dave Hause and the Mermaid were another great addition to this lineup. I think this was one of the most energetic sets I’ve ever seen in a long time. While Dave (and most of the bands on this bill) broke the punk rock rule of playing songs longer than a couple of minutes, his set moved along pretty well. Playing songs like “Mockingbird Blues,” “Damn Personal,” and “Dirty Fucker,” kept the energy and the crowd moving.
Despite years of enjoying their songs, I finally got to see H2O. While it would have been great to see them before I retired from the pit, seeing them from the barricade is just as good. Hitting the staples like “Everready,” “Faster Than The World,” and “One Life One Chance,” Toby Morse led the band through an intense thirty-minute set that culminated with a cover of Madball’s “Guilty by Association.” As I’ve started writing concert reviews, I love watching drummers. H2O has a phenomenal one with Toby’s son, Max. The speed and precision shows a skill way beyond practice.
I’ve only seen the Bouncing Souls a handful of times growing up, and most of the time they’ve walked out to Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me,” a song they covered decades ago and wish they would again. Watching the set and processing the song choices over their vast discography made me appreciate the history this band has within punk rock itself. Jumping between their harder punk songs and more midtempo ones, the Bouncing Souls played their usual mix of silly and serious songs, moving the set through a myriad of emotions. While there are songs that I wish they still played, the Bouncing Souls hit some of my faves like, “Kate is Great,” “The Gold Song,” and “Here We Go.” They also took requests from the crowd for “Shark Attack,” “Better Things,” and “Kid.” They closed the night, as they often do, with “True Believer” and “Gone.” It was a reminder of the amazing output this band has consistently had throughout their decades long career.
This was one of the best lineups I’ve seen all year, and I can’t wait for either of these bands to come through again. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the crowd was hoarse the next morning; I certainly was. Looking at the other legs of the tour, the Bouncing Souls certainly know how to stack a tour and give fans their money’s worth. While none of these bands seem to be slowing down, they should be bands you don’t miss when they come to town.