When I pulled into the parking garage, it was a warm but overcast typical Arizona afternoon. By the time I got out of my car (not 5 minutes later) a full-blown monsoon was raging outside. Rain was blowing sideways through the parking structure, wind was testing the limits of the trees outside, and the power was flickering on and off. At this very same moment not even 100 yards from where I stood Hot Mulligan and Stand Atlantic were inside the Rialto theater in Tucson, AZ going through sound check. I could only imagine the frustration of having the power cutting in and out at the venue you’re supposed to be playing a sold-out show in. I was later told by some of the opening-band members that they were glad the weather held out during the show and everyone got through their set without a hitch.
The first band of the night was a local band from Tucson called Annie Jump Cannon. You could tell these guys were absolutely stoked to be here, who he is something I really enjoy. Energy, and the ability to project it, is something that I feel is necessary to have to be a good performer. These guys came out and crushed it. They are a mix a pop punk and emo with a little bit of an indie feel to them. During the second song they released a giant bag of balloons with mostly Hot Mulligan song names on them. The balloons ended up being a blast for the crowd during the entire show. Annie Jump Cannon played a set of about 5 or 6 songs and left the crowd wanting more.
After a short intermission we had a high energy pop-punk 7 piece from Oklahoma by the name of CLIFFDIVER. With two vocalists and a saxophonist the stage was a little crowded but it definitely cranked this show to another level and turned it into a straight up party. This band was just an all-around good time. I loved the harmonies and the back and forth between Joey Duffy and Briana Wright. Briana was a force to be reckoned with on that stage. She brought a truck load of energy, and flooded that room with it. Her voice dominated that venue and blew the roof off that place. Saxophonist Dony Nickles added such a fun and unique element to this show, I’m still blown away at his talent on that sax! I love how it added this jazzy element to their set. You’d be in the middle of pop-punk jam and here comes this awesome sad riff that would transport me back to the days in the mid 90’s, sitting in the backseat of my grandpa’s car as we jammed down the 5 freeway in California listening to smooth jazz. It wasn’t just that though! They used that sax to add in ska-like elements, which again just stepped their appeal up for me even more. When you have the ability to not only write music, but to blend genres and make it flow, you’ve got more than ability, you’ve got fuckin magic. CLIFFDIVER played a set of about 8 songs that included some jammers and bangers like “IKEA Strikes Back”, “F.A.K.E.”, and my personal favorite “Gas City”. The crowd was raring and ready to go for the onslaught of pop-punk badassery that was about to take the stage.
Stand Atlantic is a pop-punk/emo band from Sydney, Australia. These Aussies know how to throw down! I’m sure many of you reading this have hear of them, and if you haven’t, I suggest you put this on pause and go check them out right now…don’t worry, I’ll wait. It is such an immense pleasure to watch vocalist Bonnie Fraser perform. One thing that I love is when singers can perfectly replicate what they did on an album. I’ve seen many tour-hardened veterans hit the stage and absolutely BLOW it. Not Bonnie! This woman is a powerhouse and her awesome personality will have you entertained from beginning to end. The band was tight as fuck and flawless! I swear they couldn’t have played a cleaner show. What was really amazing though – and this carries through for the rest of the entire show, not just Stand Atlantic’s set – was the emotional response. Stand Atlantic is known for writing deeply emotional songs and you could feel it in that room. People in the crowd were pouring their hearts into this just as much as the band was. They played an amazing set that includes some of their biggest songs like “Deathwish”, “Switchblade”, “Jurassic Park”, and “Lavender Bones”. The songs were broken up by some hilarious banter between Bonnie and the crowd. She even went as far as to do a shoey on stage and even baptized the crowd with some premium store brand bottled water (I’m sure it was blessed by a rock and roll shaman that lives deep in the Outback of Australia).
Up next was the reason that most of us were there. This was Hot Mulligans first headliner tour and they’ve been on a damn roll. I’ve been following this band since about 2018/2019 and once they released their 2020 album “You’ll Be Fine” they BLEW. THE. FUCK. UP. Every show I’ve seen since then has been progressively more unhinged (in the best ways possible). With every tour the crowds have gotten bigger, wilder, and more dedicated. There were people that drove from as far away as Colorado just to see Hot Mulligan perform. They opened their set with their single “Drink Milk and Run” and after that Vocalist Tades told the crowd “I want to see the weirdest fucking dance moves that I’ve ever seen. I wanna see shit that scares me.” They jammed through a badass setlist of all their biggest songs, including “*Equip Sunglasses*”, “How Do You Know it’s not Armadillo Shells?”, “Feal Like Crab”, and “BCKYRD”. If you ever want to see an emotional show, something that punches you right in the fucking feels, go see Hot Mulligan. Their lyrics are always spectacular, and they’re almost always very deep and heartfelt. The messages within some of these songs is just heartbreaking and I think it part of what makes them so good. They bring things to the surface that maybe you’ve been running from and help you face them in such a beautiful and cathartic way. The crowds at these shows never fail to disappoint when it comes to participation. When they played “*Equip Sunglasses*” you could barely hear Tades vocals because the crowd was singing so loud. They closed out their set with “BCKYRD” and didn’t even pretend that they weren’t going to do an encore.
This tour and Sad Summer Fest are over, but these bands aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Stand Atlantic is currently headed back home to tour across Australia, and then they’ll be heading off for a tour in Europe in November. Hot Mulligan has just released news that they’ll be performing yet another headlining tour, this time to celebrate the release of their newest album Why Would I Watch? across the U.S. between November and December. These bands are on their way to the top and I highly suggest getting to see them now before they’re playing sold-out arena shows and tickets are triple the cost! Well? What are you waiting for!? Go find a date near you and snag your tickets! GO!
