Zane Roessell on March 16th, 2019

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Fifteen years after the release of their inaugural “Homewrecker” EP, Wires On Fire returned to a packed Echo this Thursday night. Wasting no time, the band, in its founding lineup of Evan Weiss (vocal/guitar), Michael Shuman (vocals/bass), Jeff Lynn (guitar) and Dash Hutton (drums) launched into an explosive performance of “Homewrecker” in its entirety. Unabashedly abrasive, searing guitars bombastically turned all the way up, the band dug deep and howled their former teenage angst into the night. Pausing only briefly enough to give the audience a chance to mop their faces off the floor, Darren Weiss (PAPA and brother to Evan Weiss) took up the sticks, resuming their blistering set by cracking into their 2006 self-titled LP. Ratcheting up the madness further still, Keith Morris joined the band in a panic-inducing performance of Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown.” For such a wild night, there was a palpable intimacy sustained by an Echo brimming with family and friends, new and old.

Supporting act and local wildmen No Parents brought their signature tongue-in-cheek raucousness in white-hot bursts. Along with playing favorites “Looking For Lizards,” “Hey Grandma” and “Die, Hippie, Die” lead singer Zoe Reign joked that the band hoped that their career would end on a “high note” and “Vegas-out.”

Mister Goodnite opened with signature charm and performed from a well-appointed living room set on the Echo’s stage. Halfway through opening song “You’re Too Cool,” frontman Tyler Parkford bumped into the set’s record player, skipping the vinyl his backing tracks were emanating from and letting out a bemused “oh shit” in their absence. After a hearty laugh, the crowd was his.

Photos by Zane Roessell