A lot has happened since Dave Hause tore up Thekla in 2019. There’s been a plague, two dirty fuckers have been kicked out of office, and the Queen has died.
It’s hard not to be affected by how crazy the world has become of late, but Hause returns to Bristol’s best boat-based venue with tracks from his latest album, Blood Harmony. A deeply personal album about raising his kids and the pressures of family life. It’s an intimate set for an intimate venue.
However, before Hause blew the roof off the place, we were treated to a rousing set by New Jersey Rockers Mercy Union.
With a voice somewhere on a scale between Muddy Waters and Solid Snake, lead singer Jared Hart can wail. There’s a bluesy quality to his vocals, tinged with a knowing sense of retrospection that matches the ‘I remember when’ style of the songwriting, fitting for contemporaries of Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, and Brian Fallon. It doesn’t take long for them to get the crowd onside.
Despite some guitar issues after which Hart quipped: “I’ll never be a guitar tech, I just see it’s all plugged in, so it must work”, the four-piece blasted through a great set with tracks from their new album White Tiger and debut, The Quarry.
With catchy as fuck licks, stacks of raw musical talent and (Alkaline)Trio-Esque harmonising, Mercy Union were an unexpected treat. Even if they can’t remember when they played Bristol last. But it’s okay, Mercy Union were just getting their sea legs. Metaphorically they rocked the boat. Even if they didn’t want the audience to do it literally.
After a brief interval, it was time for Dave Hause and The Mermaid.
Walking on to Tom Waites – God’s Away on Business, the shanty-like quality of the vocals, seemed apt for the venue.
Hause got everyone singing right away with the bluesy Carry The Lantern, then launched straight into Damascus. It’s no understatement to say that Hause has one of the best lungs in rock. The man can sing.
A natural showman Hause just can’t stand still. He’s always dancing or interacting with the crowd in some way – during Autism Vaccine Blues, he was conducting the audience like a choir, then getting everyone clapping along to the bridge.
Next was the first track from Hause’s latest album, Blood Honey. The catchy melancholic yet hopeful – Gary. Another big sing-along broke out during the chorus of ‘hurt, hurt people, I hope you don’t hurt anymore.’
They then transitioned straight into anti-war banger Sabototeaurs, which even minor technical hiccups couldn’t diminish.
Then Hause addressed the crowd, remarking: “The room feels just a little bit drunk.
“I don’t want to bring the mood down. But our cousins in America are making a big fucking mess. Women’s reproductive rights are being stripped away.
“What I’m trying to say is… Don’t let old, rich, white motherfuckers take away your rights in your country.”
Here in Blighty, we’ve just coronated another old, rich, white motherfucker. We have a government devoid of even basic human decency that thinks energy companies have more right to profit than pensioners do to not freeze to death and a media that is both stretched to breaking point and press-ganged into propping up the establishment. I think it might be too late for us.
Still, it was a fitting speech before Hause’s haunting and poignant call for women’s equality, Warpaint, which has never felt so urgent.
Next up was fan favourite We Could Be Kings, which saw the place go nuts. It’s clear Hause was having a ball because he couldn’t stand still for a second and was beaming throughout the performance.
Dave then took a back seat to let his brother Tim take the spotlight. The pair harmonised on the country-tinged Circles, and Tim took the lead for a stripped-back version of High Hopes.
Before Hanalei, a song Hause said is a metaphor for anywhere that makes you feel like you are in Hawaii, he opined that Bristol was a bit like Philly: except for the smell, the shops are always open, and it has gulls so huge that when they steal your food, you let them keep it. “Okay”, he concluded, “Maybe Bristol isn’t like Philly at all.”
Next up was, in my mind, one of the highlights of the Revival Tour back in 2011, the concert that got me into Hause in the first place, the incredible Prague, complete with accordion courtesy of The Mermaid’s pianist Kayleigh Goldsworthy.
The party atmosphere didn’t let up as Dave dived right into the pit in the middle of Dirty Fucker, before taking things down a notch for new track Sandy Sheets and back up again and then some for The Ditch.
Ending the main set with the touching Without You, Hause thanked everyone for supporting him on his musical journey for the last 11 years.
Dave and Tim then returned to the stage for a low-key encore, with Tim leading on Four Leaf Clover before bowing out with the beautiful yet pensive balladry of Fireflies.
Thus ended another incredible set by one of the world’s finest singer-songwriters. If you have just a passing interest in Americana, you need to check out Dave Hause. Alone with just an acoustic guitar or with his backing band, The Mermaid, he never disappoints.