Anna Acosta on March 23rd, 2019

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Potty Mouth, the Massachusetts-bred pop punk band who now call L.A. home, had the perfect way to christen their new album on Thursday night — a free show at the Hi Hat playing a set in between headliner Spare Parts for Broken Hearts and opener Dancing Tongues. They did not disappoint.

Potty Mouth kicked off the set strong with the groovy-as-hell anthem “Smash Hit,” and the effect on the crowd was palpable. It’s always a good sign — but definitely not guaranteed at a live show — when the music starts up and the audience actually quiets down. “This is Nikki, our new guitarist,” frontperson Abby Weems said, leaning into the mic. “She did our makeup for a shoot and we kept her.” It was a brief but charming moment of crowd connection for the group that operated as a trio since the departure of their original guitarist.

But make no mistake: this band was here to play music, not make small talk. “We put out a new record,” Weems said.

“SNAFU!” someone in the audience bellowed.

“That’s right,” Weems laughed. “Well, we’re mostly going to be playing songs from that, if that’s OK.” There were no lulls in energy for this short but sweet set — only eight songs from start to finish. Those who came to the show hoping that the live set would match the fascinating combination of high-energy punk, chilled-out surf rock vibes and undeniable fun on “SNAFU” were satiated. The trio jammed the infectious “22” and “Do It Again,” re-creating the crisp/crunchy sound of their recording without losing any heart.

“How are we doing on time? We have two songs left,” Weems said to some audible disappointment from the crowd. But then: “This one’s called ‘Dog Song’” The band launched into the tune, and the moment felt cathartic. The song finds a home on the new record, but is also one of the oldest (if not the oldest) songs in the Potty Mouth catalog. As the set wound down with “I Wanna,” the only disappointment was that they didn’t play longer.

One thing is for sure. Fans are going to have “Do It Again” stuck in their heads for days.

Potty Mouth setlist: Smash Hit, Cherry Picking, 22, Do It Again, Fencewalker, Dog Song, Liar, I Wanna

Photos by Courtney B. Coles