Hot Water Music | Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ | 01/25/08

All photos by Jason Bergman.

After months of tense anticipation, the almighty Hot Water Music returned from a three-year hibernation to blow the capacity crowd away at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on Friday night. I’ve ranted before about how I loathe when bands do reunion shows, but with HWM it’s different. Besides, the band never denied they would share a stage together in the future. Plus, anyone that knows me, knows my undying love I have for these dudes so I would never question another chance to see them.

Read after the jump for more commentary and pictures!

I arrived at the venue a bit late so I missed Static Radio, but I manged to catch a blistering set from one of my favorites, Chi-town’s Lawrence Arms. HWM-inspired beards fully grown, they steamrolled through 40 minutes worth of essentials like “Quinceptle Your Money,” “100 Resolutions,” and “On With The Show.” Of course, never doubt that co-vocalist/bassist Brendan Kelly will stir up the crowd, whether through a drunken rumble or a Heath Ledger joke. There was a pretty poignant moment, however, when Kelly told the crowd how “Trusty Chords” from HWM’s Caution pushed the band through a tough time. I believe everyone in attendance could attest to this feeling at some point in their lives.

Before I knew it, HWM were on stage and people were going bonkers. The band’s set relied heavily on tracks from A Flight and a Crash and Caution, with scattered selections from the rest of their large discography. Did they play every song I wanted to hear? No, but honestly, who cares!? A few standouts included Pete from the Bouncing Souls coming out to play “Giver” with the band, the classic “Moonpie for Misfits,” and the set-closing anthem “It’s Hard To Know.” I loved how it sounded like one hundred horses had made their way onto the floor as the crowd stomped and hollered with all their might before the encore.

The band looked like they never took a break from each other. Except for a mid-set fight between a stage diver and a bouncer that halted “Choked and Separated,” everything was super-tight. I’m not a betting man, but I’d willing to wager that this will not be the last time I scream along at one of their shows.

Hot Water Music’s set list – Sayreville, NJ – 01/15/08

“A Flight and a Crash”
“Wayfarer”
“Paper Thin”
“Trusty Chords”
“Jack Of All Trades”
“Rooftops”
“Kill The Night”
“Instrumental”
“Free Radio Gainesville” (Not 100% on this one)
“All Heads Down”
“I Was On A Mountain”
“Moonpie For Misfits”
“Our Own Way”
“Swinger”
“The Sense”
“Choked And Separated”
“Better Sense”
“220 Years”
“Remedy”
“Manual”
“Turnstile”