Southern California has long held a large piece of Bryce Avary’s heart so it was only natural that visiting Anaheim would feel like coming home. The singer-songwriter performs under the name The Rocket Summer and this spring marks 25 years of the band and 20 years of Hello, Good Friend– so Avary took to the road to celebrate both auspicious milestones at the House of Blues on Friday night. In order to give his discography more time to breathe, he was joined by only one opener and this made for a perfect night of music on a rainy California evening.
Mae is also celebrating multiple decades of music, translating that experience into an acoustic set from singer Dave Elkins. Despite feeling under the weather on only the third day of a lengthy tour, Elkins was in good spirits and told stories between songs to keep the audience engaged before slipping right back in time with every song. His time onstage was brief but included “Giving It Away” and “The Ocean” before ending on the perfect note with “Suspension”.
Over twenty years of music means that The Rocket Summer has built up a mightily dedicated following and this came to life when Avary took the stage and immediately began recognizing faces in the crowd from countless shows past. There would be time for the album play later but first Avary built up to that moment by opening with “Break It Out”, “Hills and Valleys” and the more experimental “M4U”. The classic hit “So Much Love” really got the audience warmed up, segueing right into “Move to the Other Side of the Block” to kick off Hello, Good Friend. Many fans had attended the 10-year anniversary tour for this album and were more than happy to return for this important marker as well.
Avary remains a magnetic and charismatic performer, switching effortlessly from guitar to piano and even breaking out the original yellow guitar from the album cover for a few songs to capture the spirit of the album. He described the opening riff of “I’m Doing Everything (For You)” as being akin to orange juice and shouted out “Brat Pack for Life!” at the album’s midpoint.
Not even the bigger venues could shake the feeling that we were all attending the same backyard barbecue and show so Avary embraced that energy and waded into the crowd for an acoustic performance that included “Goodbye Waves and Driveways” as fans stood at a respectful distance to sing along.
“I feel like I know everyone in this crowd,” he remarked, looking around and calling fans out by name before a misunderstood crowdsurfing request returned him to the stage by more traditional means. The album wasn’t even completed yet and the energetic “Destiny” led into the final lengthy notes of “Christmas Present” and Avary’s signature looped jam session to round out the main set.
Anaheim wasn’t ready to let him go, however and the night stretched on as he re-emerged with a huge grin to cheekily mark “the halfway point of the show”. Requests were shouted from the audience- as is tradition- and he picked out “Circa 46” and “Colors” on piano before bringing the band back on “Cross My Heart” and “200,000”. Looking around the room on these final songs revealed a space bathed in the glow of the venue’s massive disco ball as it illuminated fans having the time of their lives singing and dancing along. Avary shouted out the Brat Pack Queens at the back of the room, decked out in matching gear and celebrating all the occasions.
It was a Friday night and the room would have been happy to continue long past curfew but eventually the set came to a final end with “Do You Feel” and “So, In This Hour…” Avary couldn’t help but gush about his enduring love for California and it’s an unspoken promise that he’ll always return there on tour to a room full of true friends that will never neglect the chance to dance with The Rocket Summer. Cheers to 25 years- we’ll be here for the next 25 and beyond.
