Have Mercy Bid Farewell To Massachusetts

It was an emotional night at Cambridge’s The Sinclair this past Wednesday as Baltimore natives Have Mercy bid goodbye to Massachusetts on the first stop of their Farewell Tour.

Announced a week before the holidays, Have Mercy’s frontman Brian Swindle took to Twitter to share the news of their final tour with a heartbreaking message.

“This is it. I’m almost in tears writing this but it’s time,” Swindle wrote. “It’s time to say goodbye. It’s been almost 10 years.”

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And now, a little under two months later, the tour has officially kicked off- spending the first night in Cambridge.

Opening things up for the night were New York pop-punk band Young Culture, who took the stage after guitarist Gabe Pietrafesa took the time to high five everyone in the front row and thank them for coming.

Kicking the set off with their song “Party Girl,” Young Culture got the near hundred audience members dancing along to their groovy guitar riffs and bass lines.

The trio- which consists of singer Alex Magnan, guitarists Pietrafesa and Troy Burchett- were joined on stage by touring bassist Aaron Garcia and drummer Simon Grant.

Winning the award for most energetic band of the night- Young Culture kept themselves hype throughout their set- clearly having fun and enjoying their time performing as much as their fans were enjoying watching.

While most of their set consisted of songs off of their 2019 EP “(This is) Heaven,” including “Deluxe” and “Breathe It In,” the band also surprised fans with a brand new song- which was released earlier today.

“2020 is going to be a really big year for us,” Magnan told the crowd. “We’re putting out a brand new album and we’re releasing our first song off of that album this Friday.”

“You’ll be the first to hear it so please don’t make fun of us if we fuck it up. It’s called ‘Holiday In Vegas.’ Let’s go!”

And while the 525 cap room was nearly half empty at the beginning of the the New Yorkers’ set, by the end there was barely any room to dance as fans filled the dance floor, rushing their way to the front in an effort to crowd surf and stage dive- which several fans succeeded at doing during their final song, “Drift.”

“Thank you for coming out early to see us,” Magnan announced. “We are Young Culture!”

Following Young Culture were Selfish Things, a trio from Ontario, Canada.

“Hey everyone we’re a band called Selfish Things. This is the first time we’ve played a show like this and we’re really fucking nervous,” frontman Alex Biro said as they took the stage.

Opening up with a re-imagined version of their song “Torn,” which they released just last Friday, the rock band showed the crowd their softer side- with more ambient and orchestral tracking as opposed to their usual heavier rock sound.

“We’re normally a loud annoying rock band,” Biro joked. “But our drummer is sick and we had to fill in for him our our last tour, but it didn’t feel right to play without him, so here are some re-imagined versions of our songs. I hope you like them.”

Joining Biro on stage were guitarists Mike Ticar and Cam Snooks- who took a step away from his usual electric guitar to play a mix of bass and acoustic guitar.

And while “Torn” is the only official ‘re-imagined’ release- the band also played re-imagined versions of several songs off of their album “Logos,” including “Crutch,” “Flood,” and “Synaptic” – before which Biro gave the crowd an emotional speech about accepting that we are all only human and learning to live with and grow from mistakes.

“I’m not religious but I believe in “he who casts the first stone.” We all do fucked up shit. We all fuck up. This song is about looking in the mirror, acknowledging that and figuring out how to get better. It’s called ‘Synaptic.'”

And while the band was lacking a drummer, Ticar’s use of electric guitar, mixed with Snooks’ bass/acoustic mix and Biro’s keyboard work, drum tracking, and orchestral synthesizer more than made up for any ‘missing’ elements.

The band’s seven song set also included acoustic song “Youth,” and throw back tracks “Without You” and “Five Years,” both of which were released on the band’s 2018 EP “Vertical Love.”

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After finishing their set with a re-imagined version of their normally heavy rock track “Flood,” the band took a moment to acknowledge the crowd and thank them for watching.

“We’ve been Selfish Things, thank you.”

Following Selfish Things and serving as the direct support for the night was Fredo Disco- a four piece pop-rock band from Chicago.

Made up of frontman Fredo Fosco, drummer Colin Riordan, bassist Aidan Cada and guitarist Max King, Fredo Disco were the youngest band on the bill, with Fosco having just turned 19 at the end of last year.

And while for most young bands a large tour comes with visible insecurity on stage, Fredo Disco exuded nothing but confidence as they played through their set.

Opening with their songs “Saturn SUV,” “Burnt and Worn Out,” and “Jimbo,” the band got the crowd dancing and moshing almost immediately- with tons of fans crowd-surfing their way onto the stage to stage dive.

“This is the first tour I’ve ever played an electric guitar on, so that’s cool,” Fosco shared with the crowd between songs. “This song is normally an acoustic song, but we’ve turned it into a full band number, so let’s go. It’s called Shower Song!”

Fredo Disco also dedicated five minutes of their set to the band Car Seat Headrest, with a cover of their song “Destroyed By Hippie Powers,” before returning to their own songs “Never Tell U,” “Dad Jeans,” and “Harmonie Korine.”

With half of the room forming the largest mosh pit of the night, the band ended their set on their track “Ghost of Mariano’s” before thanking the crowd and exiting the stage.

Then, it was time for the night’s finale: Have Mercy.

Taking the stage to a groovy rock intro, Have Mercy greeted Massachusetts for the final time.

“It’s so good to see you all again. I never thought we’d be saying goodbye but I’m fucking ready to go home and lay in bed for a while,” lead singer Swindle announced to the crowd while being welcomed with cheers and applause.

Starting their emotional 17-song set with their songs “Coexist” and “Heartbeat,” the band instantly got the audience swaying side to side as several crowd members had tears fill their eyes.

“Our booking agent was planning out our next year and said ‘Do you still want to tour?’ and I said ‘I don’t know’ because they weren’t all here, you weren’t all here at our shows, and so this feels fucking amazing,” Swindle told the crowd. “Thank you for showing up. This is going to be the biggest show of tour.”

Joining Swindle on stage were former member and bassist Nick Woolford, drummer Joe Enright, and guitarist Guy Battaglia, all of whom were visibly enjoying their time on stage.

“A lot of people think that because Nick left the band we hate each other,” Swindle joked. “But that’s not true, we get beers all the time.”

“It’s true, we hate each other,” Woolford laughed.

Throughout the set Swindle also took moments to reminisce about previous shows throughout the band’s career.

“The first show we ever played out of state was in Massachusetts. It was at a place called T.T. the Bear’s, a real shit venue,” he laughed as many fan’s cheered in agreement. (T.T. the Bear’s has since become The Middle East).

The band’s set included tracks from throughout their career, including older tracks “Reaper,” “When I Sleep,” and “Pete Rose and Babe Ruth,” alongside newer tracks like 2019’s “Clair”

And while the band attempted to keep their composure throughout their time on stage, Swindle began to get emotional while playing “These Streets.”

“I said I wouldn’t cry until the end, but fuck it,” he said as his voice cracked.

The band then ended their final Massachusetts show on an encore of crowd favorites, “Cigarettes and Old Perfume,” and “Let’s Talk About Your Hair.” Both of which had the crowd scream singing along as tears streamed down their faces.

This may have been the end of Have Mercy’s time in the Bay State, but they went out in a blaze of glory, surrounded by fans who were visibly grateful for their music and their time.

You can see all four setlists below as well as photo galleries of each artist, and be sure to catch all four bands on the Farewell Tour coming to a city near you before the end of March.

Young Culture

Party Girl

Breathe It In

Deluxe

Holiday In Vegas (Live Debut)

21 Days

Pure Gold

Drift