Apr 12

Apr 12 Show Review, Photos: The Summer Set Kick Off Headlining Tour San Francisco

The Summer Set
w/ Grayscale, Taylor Acorn, Crooked Teeth
Great American Music Hall
April 6th, 2023

Review and Photos by Jaime Schultz

In 2017, The Summer Set announced to fans that they would be going on the dreaded “indefinite hiatus” – a nicer way of saying “Hey, we’re breaking up.” Now, six years later, the band has reunited (minus rhythm guitarist Josh Montgomery), has released a new album (Blossom, Pt. 1) and is back on the road for the first time since touring in support of their fourth album, 2016’s Stories For Monday. The pop-rock act kicked off their highly anticipated reunion tour at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall, marking an exciting return to form for the Arizona-based four-piece.

The show was kicked off by a local act called Crooked Teeth. If this name seems familiar, it’s because they’ve been working diligently to make a name for themselves, opening up at other Northern California shows (like the Boys Like Girls performance at August Hall last October). Crooked Teeth were in a nice form, pulling out songs akin to early 2000s pop-punk, in the vein of Blink-182 and Good Charlotte. Their set was followed by a performance from up-and-coming solo act Taylor Acorn, a high-energy act that whipped the audience into a frenzy. The pop-punk songstress powered through her opening set at full speed, moving at a remarkably fast pace.

Main support from this show came from Grayscale, one the scene’s best new acts, bringing the energy level up to a 10 with a high-velocity set decorated with songs from throughout their illustrious catalog thus far, including 2021’s well-received Umbra. Whether they’re opening a show or headlining on their own, Grayscale has always managed to stand out amongst the crowd.

The moment arrived and The Summer Set returned to the stage, launching into Blossom’s “Street Lightning”, before bringing it back to the start of their career with a deep cut from their 2009 debut Love Like This (The Boys You Do [Get Back At You])”. Without losing steam, they pulled out a number of songs from their critically-acclaimed pop-rock opus Legendary (“Jukebox [Life Goes On]”, “Boomerang”, “Fuck U Over”) along with tracks from their much-overlooked Stories For Monday album (“Change Your Mind”, “All My Friends”, “Jean Jacket”). They even included a song from their sophomore effort, Everything’s Fine, into the mix, along with a pop-punk rendition of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.”

Vocalist Brian Dales spoke to the audience during the performance, noting how he began listening to the band’s music again during the pandemic when the wheels started to turn and the idea of playing together again was getting closer to becoming reality. The theme of the night was levity: this was a fun show all around, and the band was there solely to have a good time and celebrate the music that brought so many people together over the last decade. This energy reverberated throughout Great American Music Hall, even directly into the crowd as the band joined the audience for a performance of “Back Together” during their encore set.

The Summer Set closed the night with three of their most anthemic numbers: “Figure Me Out” (from Stories For Monday), “Chelsea” (Love Like This), and “Lightning in a Bottle” (Legendary). The night ended, and one thing was crystal clear: The Summer Set is back and better than ever.

The tour continues on Friday, April 14th in Orlando, FL. To get tickets, click here.

The Summer Set Set List
The Color of Everything (intro)
Street Lightning
The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)
Jukebox (Life Goes On)
Boomerang
The Night Is Young/This Is How We Live
Fuck U Over
Change Your Mind
Under The Infleunce(r)
Teenagers
All My Friends
Jean Jacket
Maybe Tonight
You Belong with Me (Taylor Swift cover)
Rescue
Girls Freak Me Out
Legendary
Someone Like You
Missin’ You

Encore:
Back Together
Figure Me Out
Chelsea
Lightning in a Bottle