Hot Mulligan truly are pop punks hottest act right now. With the announcement of their current headline tour it instantly sold out the 1,200 cap House Of Blues in Chicago. Upton that news, a second night was added and instantly sold out only for night one to move to the 5,000 cap Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, a massive leap in venues. Thankfully fans packed the venue to the fullest and gave Hot Mulligan their largest headline show to date and one that will go down in their memories forever.
Kicking off the evening were two seperate ends of the emo spectrum with Bogues and Ben Quad. Bogues, a one man outfit with only an acoustic guitar, brought his form of emo acoustic out as the venue filled in. Following him were Oklahomas Ben Quads with a spin on emo alternative. Both got the crowd going as they filled into the venue during both acts set, a feat that is impressive on its own.
By the time Spanish Love Songs hit though the venue was getting full as fans packed in to sing their hearts out along with the band. The LA group blends pop punk, emo, and alternative into their own spin that has garnered the band a rabid fan base. Chicago on night one though did get a special surprise in the form of Free Throw. On only night dates of this tour the band came out to a rabid cheers and blasted through a 30 minute set that featured a guest apperance by Hot Mulligans Nathan Sanville. Clearly a big hit this was almost like a taste for fans as Free Throw is on Hot Mulligans 2024 tour. As if the night wasn’t stacked enough it was time for the one and only Heart Attack Man. With their more hardcore infused pop punk the band kicked off their set with the one two combo of their smash hits “Leap Year” and “Pitch Black”. As the crowd surfed over the barricade, moshed, and sang along its shown just how dominate of a band HAM has become over the last few years.
Closing out the night were Hot Mulligan who have made their own sound stand out in the sometimes overly crowded pop punk genre. Blasting through a 20 song set heavily focused on their latest record “Why Would I Watch” they turned the iconic Aragon into one giant sing along for their set. With raised energy given this is the bands largest headlining show ever after the venue changing this was clearly a night the band won’t forget. It shows something too that even sadly with the set lacking some older staples in favor of the newer songs, that the newer songs were just as popular, if not more popular, than older material.
If this is any indication of their rising success Hot Mulligan are going to be the next major breakout band with mainstream success and I can’t wait to see what happens next for them.
Photo Gallery : Spanish Love Songs – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (12.15.2023)
Photo Gallery : Free Throw – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (12.15.2023)
Photo Gallery : Heart Attack Man – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (12.15.2023)
Photo Gallery : Ben Quad – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (12.15.2023)
Photo Gallery : Bogues – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (12.15.2023)
