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East Coast! Fxck You Tour Ends in Anaheim
December 16, 2025 Review by Kevin Gomez
The pride of New Jersey, Bouncing Souls brought their East Coast! Fuck You! Tour to its last stop at the House of Blues after running non-consecutively since April.
The East Coast Tour extended to far more than just the headlining act, with all four bands hailing from the East Coast, and even the music in between sets was East Coast hip-hop (Wu-Tang, Public Enemy).
First up for the evening was fellow Jersey boys Mercy Union. I would describe their music as emotionally-charged melodic punk, highlighted by Jared Hart’s powerful vocals. They opened with “1998” and “Young Dionysians.” My favorite song of the set was “Prussian Blue,” which featured co-lead vocals from guitarist Rocky Catanese and heart-wrenching lead from Hart.
Hart’s vocals on “The Void” reminded me of Laura Jane Grace or Brian Fallon. The band said how sad they were the tour was ending, especially as bassist Nick Jorgensen pointed out, “It’s snowing back home.”
Hart reiterated and said there was seven inches of snow waiting for them. Before their last song Hart reminded everyone to “take what we learned at Chain Reaction (legendary Anaheim venue closing this week) and Asbury Lanes (equally legendary Jersey venue) and let’s keep building on that.”
The lights turned down signaling the next band the theme song from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” filled the venue. Although not headlining, I cannot emphasize how many people came early to watch Dave Hause perform with his band The Mermaid.
I like to refer to Hause’s music as “working man’s punk,” embracing elements of bands like Bruce Springsteen and The Menzingers. Hause opened with one of my favorite songs of the night, “Cellmates,” featuring fantastic backing vocals from brother Tim Hause and bassist Luke Preston.
They played “Enough Hope” featuring the lyrics, “if you give ’em enough hope they’ll hang themselves.” “Look Alive” gave me glimpses of “Teenage Wasteland.”
Hause said, “25 years ago I was a roadie for the Bouncing Souls and they were kind and generous enough to say, ‘go start a fucking band.’ I continue to be inspired by them.” He dedicated “Damn Personal” to “anyone out there who’s lost someone way too young.” For “Dirty Fucker,” Hause told the audience, “You can shout this out to billionaires who have everything and want to take from you… but I’m singing this out to the president of the United States!” Dave Hause and The Mermaid closed a strong set with “The Ditch.”
H2O stormed the stage and wasted absolutely no time jumping into “Nothing to Prove” and “Everready,” as the crowd chanted the intro, “Try, but you can’t bring me down!”
The crowd had been timid, although still passionate, for the two openings bands but H2O was just what they needed to draw them into a frenzied mosh pit.
Lead singer Toby Morse led the crowd in the intro for “Family Tree” before guitarist Rusty Pistachio began singing a cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” during the song’s breakdown.
“Faster Than the World” featured sick guitar from Matt “Wildcard” Henderson from Madball. Morse reminded the crowd that their self-titled debut album was turning 30 next year.
Morse, who has been straightedge his entire life, dedicated “1995” to “the chosen few” who have dedicated themselves to straightedge. “Spirt of ‘84” featured a nice bass breakdown from Adam Blake. I really liked the drumming from Toby’s son, Max Morse, on “Thicker Than Water” (featuring lead vocals from Pistachio on the second verse) and the breakneck speed of “5 Yr. Plan.”
Sharp/Shock’s Dan Smith joined them onstage and took lead vocals for the last verse in “What Happened.” A song asking where the heart and passion of punk and hardcore music had gone (“passion before fashion”); a song written 17 years ago, but has never seemed more relevant.
For H2O’s final song of the night, “Guilty by Association,” Morse dedicated it “to our brothers who are playing L.A. right now, Madball.” Sepultura’s Derrick Green came out to do vocals on the last verse as a huge pit broke open.
As they always do, Bouncing Souls walked out to “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” They started off strong launching right into “The Gold Song,” then went into “East Coast! Fuck You!” replacing the lyrics in the second verse to the tour’s opening bands.
Lead singer Greg Attonito lead the crowd in an “oi” chant as they kicked into “Manthem,” featuring co-lead vocals from bassist Bryan Kienlen and guitarist Pete Steinkopf. Kienlen’s bass thumped away for fan favorite “The Ballad of Johnny X” before Steinkopf’s solo.
The band was really showcasing “How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” featuring eight songs, more than twice any other album. This meant we got some real gems like “Late Bloomer” and “No Comply.” Attonito led the crowd into a chant for “Here We Go” before the band went into “That Something Special” leading every voice in the House of Blues to sing, “I want to start again.” Attonito dedicated their new song, “POWER” to “each and every one of your power.”
The last time the Souls had played Southern California was last December, where Attonito sat on a stool in a boot due to a broken ankle. It was great to see him bouncing (no pun intended) around again and when he came down to the barricade to sing “Lean on Sheena.”
The band took song requests and by popularity they played “Shark Attack,” their cover of The Kinks’ “Better Things,” and one of my favorites, “Kid.” They closed their regular set with two classics, “Lamar Vannoy” and “The Freaks, Nerds, & Romantics.”
The Souls came back out to finish off one of the best shows all year with “Apartment 5F,” “United,” and “True Believers.” Highlight of the night was as the band closed with “Gone,” members from H20, Dave Hause & The Mermaid and Mercy Union all came out to sing along with the band as Kienlen was the last one still playing the guitar outro.
It was a great night for music completing the tour with an exclamation point. Fans just finished see the Souls and they were already talking about seeing them next time they return to the OC.
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Todd Markel Rock Images
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SID 251212 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
