Live music review: Old school punks The Bouncing Souls and H2O played Empire last Sunday
As an official Old Head, it’s an experiment in time for me: I got into punk in the early ’90s, and now that it’s 2025, I’m somehow in my fourth decade of this thing. The people we looked up to — and the kids I was crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with at basement shows — are now comparing cholesterol scores and scheduling their first colonoscopy. So when The Bouncing Souls and H2O rolled into town on Sunday, I got off my Rascal scooter and made my way down to enjoy the cool sounds of bands who’ve been around for thirty years, joining the rest of the AARPunks at Empire Garage. Judging by the beer lines, the moms and dads trying to cut loose were definitely getting their money’s worth while the babysitter held down the fort — or more likely, the kids were old enough to watch themselves.
Lost in a sea of Vans and Dickies, Austin’s Rock-and-Roll Grandpa community showed up strong, and to their credit, both bands absolutely crushed. H2O, fronted by Toby Morse — who’s got the monster podcast One Life One Chance — delivered a full-spectrum hardcore clinic, even though half the crowd was wearing sensible shoes (he was rocking Hokas).
They played exactly the set we wanted: “Family Tree,” “One Life One Chance,” and “Guilty by Association” all hit. Morse and his band, including his son Max on drums, proved you can be an old punk and still bring the goods, especially given that guitarist Rusty Pistachio is 61 and still giving it 100%.
That’s what aging inside a subculture does: this thing we belong to doesn’t mirror what our parents grew up on. My mom and dad loved Neil Young and The Allman Brothers — they can’t relate to packing into a tiny club in your 40s to see a punk band, the same way they can’t relate to me talking myself out of getting a whole back piece because it’s not smart for my budget.
The Bouncing Souls, old hands at the road, tore through a setlist stacked with heavy hitters, anchoring the whole thing with the emotional uppercut of “Gone” and the massive sing-along of “True Believers.” “Hopeless Romantic” and “The Something Special” reminded everyone why the late-’90s Souls catalog still owns a piece of every punk kid’s heart. When they hit “Lean on Sheena,” the whole room jumped like it was a shitty house show in ’99. Hearing all five back-to-back felt like watching decades of punk joy, heartbreak, and high-blood-pressure medication compressed into a feel good package for the geezers who want to hear the hits.
I’ve been listening to both The Bouncing Souls and H2O forever. I caught H2O on Warped Tour ’96 supporting their first record. I needed this Souls show to cleanse my personal history, because the last time they came to town, I got into a head-on collision and unfortunately linked their music to that memory. This time around, I survived just fine and now I’ve got a better story to file away.
As the show emptied out into the cool Austin night, it felt good seeing so many people with mild-to-severe arthritis limping out alongside me. If you’re reading this review and are like, “fuck yeah, I love those bands” – you should probably speak to your doctor soon about your triglycerides.
All photos by Justin Clark
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