jeff rosenstock live at neumos

What an unhinged two nights in Seattle! Jeff Rosenstock brought his Summer of Chaos Tour to Neumos on June 4th and 5th, delivering exactly what the tour’s name advertised: chaos. Over the span of two back-to-back nights, Jeff and company played over four hours of music, ripping through 72 songs with no repeats. Insane behaviour. This is the kind of absurd undertaking most bands wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Yet Death Rosenstock seamlessly pulled it off, delivering what is sure to be one of the most memorable events of the summer. What a perfect way to kick off Pride Month!

Both nights opened with the fantastic Star 99 from San Jose, CA. Their fast paced power-pop punk songs blended catchy hooks with raw melodic guitar riffs. Vocalists Saoirse Alesandro (vocals, guitar)  and Thomas Calvo (vocals, guitar) alternated throughout the set bringing their own flair while still maintaining the uplifting, irresistible bouncy energy that makes this band so easy to fall in love with.

Over the course of the two night spectacle the members of Death Rosenstock, Jeff Rosenstock (vocals, guitar, keys, sax), Shinobu’s Mike Huguenor (guitar, backing vocals), John DeDomenici (bass, keys), Dan Potthast (keys, guitar, sax), and Kevin Higuchi (drums) gave sweat drenching effort on their quest to play 4 hours worth music of no repeats. Well, everyone besides Dan…Dan famously doesn’t sweat.

Night one consisted of a 34 song set packed with hits like “Festival Song,” “Hey Allison!,” “Pash Rash,” and “Scram!” The energy of the crowd was unusual for the typical Seattle crowd, with fans constantly heckling the band between songs. Specifically, one fan yelled out  “Hey Jeff! You’re leaking!” in response to the amount of sweat pouring off him as he tore through nearly 2 hours worth of material. Understandably so! The set was capped off by the band covering Ging Nang Boyz’s “I Don’t Wanna Die” and Jeff crowdsurfing over fans as he simultaneously played guitar. 

Midway through each set came a special treat for longtime fans, as Jeff performed a solo acoustic song from his Bomb the Music Industry! catalog, turning the middle of each show into a momentary nostalgic breathing point amidst the chaos. Night one featured the song “Struggler,” while night two saw Jeff dust off “Future 86” from Bomb’s 2005 record Album Minus Band. 

Night two somehow outdid the standards of night one as the band tore through even more music with a 37 song setlist. Fans moshed relentlessly as the set covered songs like “The Fuzz”, “Nausea,” and “I WANNA BE WRONG.” The momentum carried over from night one and seamlessly flowed into the second, making the entire two night experience feel more one giant four hour marathon than two separate shows. 

As the night progressed, the room morphed into a two-way traffic lane for crowd surfers and stage divers. Fans flowed toward the stage atop the crowd while stage divers launched themselves to drift back towards the pit, two streams of traffic passing one another in pure chaos. The show even developed its own running joke: Seattleites love water. Fans enthusiastically cheered whenever Jeff would drink from his nalgene bottle to the point that he joked “Seattle loves to cheer when I’m slurppin’ on some H2O.” The crowd ran with the bit, chanting “Water! Water! Water!” which eventually gave way to an impromptu jam session dubbed “Water Jam.” Did Seattle witness Jeff Rosenstock write his next hit? Possibly. In any case, I highly doubt Jeff will ever be able to play Seattle again without performing this certified banger.

As night two was coming to a close, the room shifted from chaotic celebration to cathartic release during the song “Let Them Win.” The room united as hundreds of voices all shouted, “We’re not gonna let them win,” transforming the moment into a collective release for frustrations about the state of the world. During the second to last song, “You, in Weird Cities” the band cleverly wove in a reprise of the earlier mentioned “Water Jam” before closing the evening off with “We Begged 2 Explode.” 

The Summer of Chaos Tour continues through September, with numerous cities hosting similar two night stands. Most notably, the band will be undertaking one of the most chaotic tasks to date with an 8 night stint in Chicago performing to sold out crowds July 16-25th. 

After witnessing Death Rosenstock perform four hours of music, 72 songs, and improvise a smash hit about water, while somehow never missing a beat, one question remains: 

Are they even human?

Photos and review by Matt Campbell