This year, Hot Water Music is celebrating a milestone reserved for only the most stalwart punk bands, and they are doing it in style. Currently on tour with Quicksand and Tim Barry, Hot Water Music is both celebrating their 30th Anniversary as well as supporting their recently dropped album, Vows (released earlier this year). Taking the stage at The Nile Theater, Chuck Ragan (guitar/vocals), Jason Black (bass), George Rebelo (drums), and Chris Cresswell (guitar/vocals), all showed that 30 years after releasing the first Hot Water Music album, they still have what it takes to pack a house to sell out capacity.
Opening the show with a mix of songs from across their discography (Another Breath from 2022’s Feel the Void, Menace from Vows, and Remedy from 2002’s Caution), HWM kicked the energy into high gear and it never abated. They visited songs off of almost every album over the course of nearly 2 straight hours of playing, including long beloved tracks “Rooftops” off 1999’s No Division and “Turnstile” from 1997’s Fuel for the Hate Game, ensuring that everyone in the crowd, regardless when they became fans, had their favorite song to sing along to.
Capping an incredibly raucous night off of mosh pits opening and bodies twirling, Ragan and crew careened through “Trusty Chords” while the crowd surged and sang along, as a prelude to their surprise encore. Without missing a beat in the song, Tim Barry (who opened the night acoustic) jumped on stage and performed “Simple Song” with the band, originally by Barry’s band Avail. The crowd’s singing turned into an absolute roar, as people crowd surfed, stage dove, and moshed through the end of the set. It’s difficult to pick out standout tracks from any bands set, let alone one spanning 30 years of music, so check out the full setlist after the photo break.
Set List:
Another Breath
Menace
Remedy
State of Grace
Turn the Dial
After the Impossible
Sweet Disasters
Burn Forever
Rooftops
Flight and a Crash
Never Goin Back
Turnstile
Keep It Together
Mountain
Drag My Body
Freightliner
Alachua
Hard to Know
Trusty Chords
Simple Song (Avail cover w/ Tim Barry)
