Date: Friday, March 18th, 2016 @ 8pm AND Saturday, March 19th, 2016 @ 8pm
Line Up: Common Kings, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, Ethan Tucker
Venue: Jazzbones. Tacoma, Washington
LIVE: Common Kings, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, and Ethan Tucker (Hits and Mrs Tour) – 3.18.16 & 3.19.16
Common Kings’ nationwide Hits and Mrs Tour with Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds came to a close recently after almost twenty shows across fourteen states and the District of Columbia in less than thirty days. The tour started in Texas and then spanned coast to coast before the fellas returned to the West Coast to wrap up Friday, March 18th and Saturday, March 19th with back-to-back shows in Tacoma, Washington. Thanks to Moi, Chaps, and the rest of the Bad Seeds, The Pier was treated to attendance for both of the closeout shows at Jazzbones nightclub.
Friday and Saturday nights’ shows appealed to wide variety of musical interests besides the reggae community. As a whole, the crowd enjoyed covers and mashups from the bands performing a wide-range of genres throughout each night. There was a little something for everyone with covers of rap, R&B, pop, rock, punk, jazz, and blues. Cover songs included songs from Bob Marley, Sublime, Stevie Wonder, The Clash, Dr. Dre, Zootons, and more. To help with the cross-genre performances, both shows featured a surprise opener from down the highway in Olympia, WA with Ethan Tucker. The Pier spotted him out in the crowd pre-show on Friday night and took a few minutes to discuss his last-minute visit to Tacoma, WA over a quick drink.
“They just called me up about three hours ago and asked if I could make the trip up real quick to open the shows. So I grabbed up my stuff real quick and made the drive but forgot my picks.”
– Ethan Tucker
Luckily, The Pier had plenty of guitar picks to share! Ethan grabbed a few and took the stage shortly later. As a solo singer-songwriter, Ethan performed without a written set-list. Both nights, though, had songs from his latest album Misunderstood including the title track and “Cool Kids.” Fans showed plenty of excitement when he started playing the very recognizable chords to “Bad Fish” by Sublime.
After Ethan Tucker warmed up the crowd, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds took the stage to get the crowd rockin’. The six-piece band put on an energetic set both nights, much to the pleasure of the fans in attendance. With this being the first tour that Bad Seeds has played since taking a break to explore their previous side-project LIFE, fans may have been a little hesitant on what to expect along with their excitement to finally see the band again. But just as they told The Pier in their exclusive interview (read the full interview HERE!), the boys from Hermosa Beach have come back strong like they never left.
“We’re pumped, we’re excited, we’re re-inspired and we’re coming for it!”
– Sean “Chaps” Chapman, guitar and vocals
Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds set-list for this show looks like a fan playlist that did not disappoint. Most all fan favorites were played including “Love Street” to start things off, “Reflect,” “Only For You,” “Nice and Slow,” “Vices,” and “Warrior Poet” to close the sets. The fellas threw in some of our favorite covers as well like Valerie by the Zootons, Rock The Casbah by The Clash, and Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder. And fans were treated to Bad Seeds’ two new singles “Throwback” and “War Letter.”
After two great opening sets, the crowd was ready for a quick break to cool off before Common Kings took the stage to turn up the heat even more. The Kings have played in the Seattle, Tacoma, WA area multiple times in the past with the last show selling out the Showbox SODO. This time, the setting was the smaller Tacoma venue, Jazzbones, providing fans with a much more intimate performance, albeit much hotter. Common Kings brought their fun energy and attitude to the Pacific North West to give fans an unforgettable show for two nights in a row.
The set list for both nights spanned the bands various singles and LPs including “Wade In Your Water”, “The Light,” “IDGAF,” and “24/7.” As the title implies, this tour is in support and promotion of the Kings “Hits And Mrs. EP,” and thus had most of their new songs including “Alcoholic,” “Since I Woke Up,” “Before You Go,” and “Ain’t No Stopping”. More singles and fan favorites “Sickness” and “No Other Love” closed out the set, the night, and the tour. But the real treat of the night was the cover of Bob Marley’s “3 Little Birds” when Common Kings invited all their brothers on stage for a brodeo mashup performance featuring all the guys from all three bands.
The smaller setting of Jazzbones offers the accommodations of a larger venue while allowing a closer experience with the artists. An ample dance floor, reserved tables, balcony seating, and a VIP section give fans plenty of viewing choices. The laid back crew and security got to the venue to open the doors early (2 hours before showtime) and worked hard to get the crowd in the door quickly so there was little or no line despite selling out both nights. Both nights sold out weeks in advance and added security was posted at the various doors and exits to prevent the multiple sneak-in attempts by some unfortunate fans without tickets. But those that planned ahead and were in attendance experienced happy and friendly employees and security guards, as The Pier overheard during bag check.
“I need to check your bag for weapons, alcohol, and drugs…Oh wait, this is Washington! Drugs are OK now. I just need to check for weapons and alcohol.”
– Jazzbones Security
The bands will now part ways with the completion of the Hits and Mrs Tour as Common Kings returns home for a break while Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds make a few show stops down the coast before returning home.
Common Kings Set-List:
Intro
The Light
Fall in Love
DJ HYPE section:
Everyday People
Alcoholic
Sexy Beat:
Your Turn
24/7
Ain’t No Stoppin
Fly/Miguel
IDGAF
Drum Solo/Bass Solo to Next Episode
Three Little Birds
Since I Woke Up
Before You Go
Wade In Your Water
HANA HOU:
Sickness
No Other Love
Outro
Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds Set-List:
Intro
Love Street
Throwback / Bad Seed
Love Bits…Stay!
Reflect
War Letter
Valerie
Only For You
Photo
Nobody
Nice and Slow
Slow Down
Rock The Casbah / Master Blaster
Vices
Warrior Poet (w/ Dubstep)
Related Links:
Common Kings Website
Common Kings Facebook
Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds Website
Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds Facebook
Ethan Tucker Website
Ethan Tucker Facebook
Article, Photos, and Video By: Eric Schoep
Watch: Common Kings – “Alcoholic”
Watch: Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds – “Love Street”
Watch: Ethan Tucker – “Bad Fish” (Sublime Cover)
