The Bronx and Dave Hause & The Mermaid Live in Edmonton April 6th 2017

On Thursday night I went to the Needle Vinyl Tavern for The Bronx, Dave Hause and Iron Eyes triple bill. I was super excited about seeing The Bronx again, especially with them headlining finally.

First band of the evening was local heavy rockers Iron Eyes. I had never heard the band before but will say I think they have potential. They were loud, as was every band on this night. They rocked pretty good and people seemed to be enjoying them. A band to watch for.

Iron Eyes.

Next up was singer/songwriter Dave Hause & The Mermaid from Philadelphia. This was my second time seeing Dave Hause, the first time being when I saw him when he fronted the band The Loved Ones. This time around he has his own solo band. When this show was first announced I expected to see Dave just solo, but he had a full band backing him up on this tour. Dave Hause released a solo album earlier this year called "Burry Me In Philly". While I didn't know a lot of his music, I will certainly be looking into picking some up after his performance here.

His band The Mermaid, I guess that's what they are called as it was billed Dave Hause & The Mermaid was excellent. His band consisted of his younger brother Tim Hause on guitar whom Dave showed a lot of brotherly love to, which is always nice to see. The band was rounded out with Miles Bentley on bass, Kevin Conroy on drums and the cute and talented Kayleigh Goldsworthy on keys and guitar on vocals.

Dave's music I guess could be described as rooted in punk rock with some Americana in it. Just real well written heartfelt songs with some edge. Their show here was awesome, and it looked to me like there was just as many people at the show for him as The Bronx.

Dave Hause played some songs from his newest album including the title song "Burry Me In Philly", "Divine Lorraine", "The Mermaid" and a great sing-a-long song called "Dirty Fucker". A few songs "Autism Vaccine Blues", "Same Disease" and "The Great Depression" from his 2013 release Devour. I really enjoyed their set and got the chance to talk with Dave Hause after the show. A great guy and easy to talk with. I asked him about his old band The Loved Ones, in which he said they are no more. That's too bad, but he's got one hell of a band with him now, so that's cool. Look forward to seeing Dave Hause again hopefully in the near future, a great set!!!

Dave Hause and the Mermaid.

Next up was headliners The Bronx from Los Angeles, California. This was my second time seeing this punk band. There's not a lot of heavy bands these days that do much for me, but I have always been a fan of these guys. And on this evening they certainly didn't disappoint. You could feel the energy and excitement in the crowd before they started.

The band come out storming and very loud, and with that the crowd formed a pit and things got crazy. Fists pumping, heads banging, and of the crowd moshing. Lead singer Matt Caughthran started out with his famous scream, how this guy can sing/scream like he does and make it looks so effortless is beyond me. I would think his vocal chords would be ripped to shit, but some how he pulls it off and sounds damn good doing it. I can't remember now what they stated with but whatever it was it fucking rocked hard as did the whole show. Matt did the first two songs from the stage and then jumped off the stage and in to the crowd right in the middle of the pit and did the next half dozen songs from the floor while the band rocked out on stage. And with that you couldn't help but be pumped and get caught up in the dancing and moshing on the floor. So much fucking fun!

Some of the songs done were "Knifeman", "Six Days A Week", "White Guilt", "False Alarm" the awesome rocker "Shitty Future", "I Got Chills" which actually did give me chills it was so well performed. The band was tight and again Matt's vocals are amazing. There wasn't a bad song played and so much energy from the band and Matt and the audience. This show had me rocking out like I haven't rocked out in a very long time. At times Matt the lead singer reminds me of Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip if The Hip were a hardcore band, just the way he moves and shakes his head and such. An absolutely amazing show and surely will be one of my top shows of the year for sure. Did I mention loud, stupid me forgot to bring ear plugs, so my ears rang for a day after, but fuck it, well worth it. Good times, really good times!!!

The Bronx.

Dave Hause t-shirt.

The Bronx t-shirt.

The Bronx hockey puck. This is the strangest and most daring band merch I have seen sold at a show. Things could really go bad if the show isn't good. Brave I would say.

Ticket stub that I got autographed by The Bronx lead singer Matt before the show while he was manning the merch booth. Super nice guy.