Hot Water Music have been on the road celebrating 30 years and they've brought along Post-Hardcore vets, Quicksand. Joining the final leg of the tour was Avail's Tim Barry opening the show. It's a killer line-up that's likely to appeal to fans of any band on the bill, but at the end of the day, we're here to commemorate Hot Water Music's three decade long career. That was not something I wanted to miss when the tour rolled through Southern California.
Tim Barry's been soloing since Avail's initial hiatus in 2007. Just traveling with nothing more but his guitar and love of life. He ran though a number of tracks from his first album, Rivanna Junction like, "Avoiding Catatonic Surrender" and "Church of Level Tracked" and "This November" from 2008's Manchester. Fans sang along to nearly every word, and it was clear how appreciative Barry was to have such a response after having not toured the West Coast in awhile.
Next up was Quicksand. Walter Schreifels has had a busy year bouncing from Rival Schools, a Gorilla Biscuits show here and there, and now bringing Quicksand back out... and he doesn't miss a beat. The band opened with "Omission" from 1993's Slip and ran through tracks from 1996's Manic Compression like "Thorn in My Side" and "Brown Gargantuan," as well as their latest release, Distant Populations. They seemed to ignore 2017's Interiors. After all these years, Walter still continues to hop around the stage and lose himself in the music while Vega can still make the walls shake with his signature deep bass tone.
It was time for Hot Water Music to hit the stage. They launched right into the set with Caution's "Remedy" before breaking out "Menace" from their new album Vows. There were a few surprises in the set, like "Alachua" and "Freightliner" from Fuel for the Hate Game. This was my first time seeing them with Chris Cresswell from The Flatliners. It was a different experience from seeing Wollard. As wonderful as it is for Hot Water Music to be celebrating 30 years as a band, Wollard's presence was greatly missed from such an occasion. However Cresswell's energy and passion fills the role well.
Fans of Avail will especially not want to miss this tour. Hot Water Music ended the night with a cover of Avail's "Simple Song" with Barry on vocals. Living on the opposite end of the Country from Richmond, Virginia, this is the closest Ive gotten to seeing Avail after I missed their last official tour in 07. The crowd went all out for what might be the only chance they'll get to hear Barry do an Avail song without traveling. Hot Water Music may be celebrating 30 years, but they still play like their in their 20s. They've got something for every era of fans on this tour. From classics like "Turnstile" and "Rooftops" to later career tracks like "Drag My Body" and "Turn the Dial." Most exciting of all though, after 30 years, they're still putting out music and getting out there to promote their newest, Vows. Grab a ticket and pay your respects to one of the best and most real punk bands to ever do it.
