Saturday marked the second show in as many nights for the duo of Naked Raygun and Hot Water Music at the House of Blues. I got there to discover the club was going to be a lot more crowded than the night before. As a matter of fact, it was a sold out show! I got my passes and made my way to the barricade to get ready.
The Arrivals
The Arrivals
The Arrivals
The Arrivals started this show off promptly. They warmed up the crowd nicely with their energetic blend of mid-tempo punk rock. They seemed to have their own share of fans in the audience too as I saw many people around me getting into them. This was my first exposure to them and their set seemed to fly by very quickly.
The Methadones
The Methadones
The Methadones
The Methadones soon followed. They played a half hour to an enthusiastic crowd. Aside from being less drunk than a couple of the times I’ve witnessed them, they were much like any performance they’ve given, which means they were catchy, upbeat, and pleasing to the ears. I don’t own any of their records so I can’t tell you what material they played but some of the songs I’d never heard them do before which leads me to believe they must have some new material out or coming out.
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
It was then time once again for Hot Water Music. They seemed to play some different songs this evening and they also seemed to have turned the energy factor up a few notches as they came across way better than the night before. Many in the packed crowd were jumping around and singing along which seemed to fuel the band’s fire even more. I liked this performance a lot more than the previous evenings, and got less of the feeling that a lot of the songs were sounding the same. It would appear that a packed room is what that band needs to really shine bright. For that hour, it felt like a Hot Water Music show as if they were the headliners.
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
The screen was lowered once more for the Naked Raygun presented cartoons. When they were finished the band started playing as the curtains just started to open and out popped Jeff’s head as he starting singing the first verse of “Home of the Brave” The band seemed a lot more amped up than the night before and were playing with more intensity. I blame it on the packed room full of excited fans. Much like HWM before them, Naked Raygun outdid their outing the previous evening even though they played the exact same set as they did at that show. That set list was so solid though I don’t think I would have changed much so there was no faulting them for repeating it again. Jeff was extra entertaining this evening with his between song banter than often had me cracking up and as they played hit after hit the crowd went nuts with crowd surfing and singing along. Tonight’s “Free Shit” consisted of Naked Raygun beer coasters and I was once again at that point way too far away to nab myself one.
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
After they finished up their encore, I was tired but beyond satisfied. I wondered if seeing the same show two nights in a row might end up feeling a little stale but both of the main acts this evening went above and beyond the call of duty in their performances and made the second night a must see after already doing such a good job on the first night. Double your pleasure indeed!
as always, great photos. good to see you as well. we were lonley up in the nosebleed section!