It’s been over a decade since The Rocket Summer (the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Bryce Avary) visited Tucson but that all changed with an intimate show at Club Congress on Tuesday night. Even though most of the room admitted to driving down from Phoenix, the close-knit feel of the iconic main street venue made for an unforgettable celebration of Hello, Good Friend.
The California rockers in Crooked Teeth kicked off the night with a set of “pop punk crap”- their words- while keeping the mood lighthearted, fun and energetic. The band clearly takes the music seriously while poking fun at being in a band and ribbing each other between songs. The audience was in on the joke, laughing with the band and bobbing appreciatively throughout the set. They closed their brief time onstage by thanking Avary as a longtime influence and inspiration before ceding the stage to the main event.
Avary loves Arizona as much as Arizona loves him so he emerged to a small but mighty crowd ready to sing along from the first immediately recognizable notes of “Break It Out”. It can be no easy task choosing a setlist with so much music in his discography but Avary curated a performance in three acts- starting with a mix of tracks designed to get the room moving. The audience was more than happy to take the wheel on “Shatter Us” with Avary on the keys and groove to the endlessly catchy “So Much Love”. He made use of his trusty loop pedal while showing off his instrumental skills right into “FL, CA”.
The first act completed, Avary jumped right into the full playthrough of Hello, Good Friend, putting his own current spin on two decades of memories woven into these songs. He swapped between the guitar and keyboard, encouraging the fans to sing along to “Tell Me Something Good” and “Never Knew” before bathing the stage in green light and dedicating “Brat Pack” to the Brat queen herself, Charli XCX.
The Rocket Summer’s shows always feel like a family gathering and Tuesday night was no exception- the cozy space and smaller crowd made everyone right at home. Avary even jumped into the middle of the room for a sing-a-long to “Goodbye Waves and Driveways” as the fans kept a respectful distance. “You guys are so polite, it’s freaking me out,” Avary chuckled between songs.
After all 11 minutes of “Christmas Present”, deafening cheers brought the band back onstage for a career-spanning encore that concluded with Avary taking us to church on “So, In This Hour”. There was indeed so much love in that room on Tuesday and Avary said he’ll certainly be back to Arizona with new music very soon.
