On October 6, the "Muri Naysh" piled into the House of Blues Anaheim for what would be an evening of incredible performances featuring Bilmuri, John Harvie, and Driveways. The Summer Slammer Tour is nearing its end, with the sold-out stop in Anaheim being one of only a handful of shows left on this run.
Driveways, the pop-punk band out of Boston who joined Bilmuri on their American Motor Tour over the summer of 2024, has returned as special guests on their Summer Slammer tour. Although they are typically direct support on the lineup, these rockers, who double as school teachers, took the opening spot this evening before booking it to the airport for a red-eye flight back to Boston, as they were expected to teach their classes in the morning. The band spent the morning hitting as many Disneyland rides as they could before they took the House of Blues stage, opening their set with “Resurrect.” The band had a good fan base within the crowd singing along to their songs, which was not surprising given their talent. There’s no doubt they won over the audience on their previous run with Bilmuri, and this evening was no different; those who were not familiar with their music before the show left with new music for their playlists. The setlist featured a good mix of tracks from their entire discography, but did lean a little heavier on songs from their 2020 debut record, "October Forever", the title track of which closed out their set. Driveways has a handful of shows left with Bilmuri before headlining their 3rd Annual Halloween show in Boston on October 18th with support from Winona Fighter. They’re also set to appear on the Slam Dunk Festival lineup in the UK in 2026.
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Up next, alt-rock singer John Harvie absolutely blew the socks off everyone in the crowd with an explosive performance nobody saw coming. It’s not often that you find an opener who can command the stage and hold the attention of the audience like the main act, and he did just that. Musically, Harvie’s style can be described as similar to Bilmuri, which really made him a perfect fit for the bill. From the opening note, the audience was hooked, head banging in sync, moshing, and crowdsurfing. Someone could be heard yelling “I don’t know you, but you’re killing it!” between tracks, and everyone cheered. Harvie played his newest release, “Paint the Walls,” which he described as "a song about killing yourself- please don’t do that,” before leading the crowd in chants of “hell yeah!” when asked if you like living. Harvie’s band, which included Bilmuri’s Reese Maslen on guitar, matched his energy perfectly. The set closed with “Bleach on the Rocks,” which required crowd participation in the form of screaming a couple of words taught to them by Harvie. He expressed that he knew they were there for Bilmuri, so he wasn’t going to ask for 100%, but asked them for 90% so they could save the rest for the main act. Fans delivered by singing along, throwing up their hands and fully immersing themselves in the moment. There is no doubt that Harvie left that stage with a whole slew of new fans. As he attempted to make his way through the sold out crowd to his merch table, he was stopped by fans all along the way, congratulating him on a killer set. John Harvie is on tour with Bilmuri through October 16th and is set to appear on Nashville’s Ceremony Festival lineup on November 8th. Give him a listen and check him out next time he comes through your city!
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Bilmuri came out swinging with “EMPTYHANDED,” which had the crowd shouting in unison, “START! YOUR! ENGINES!,” and the energy never let up from there. Mosh pits opened, crowd surfers began pouring over the barricade, and the crowd collectively head-banged and screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs as they continued on with “ALL GAS” and “ABSOLUTELYCRANKINMYMF’INHOG.” Frontman Johnny Franck’s vocals were on point as he bounced around the stage, connecting with fans on both sides by pointing them out, smiling, and making eye contact. Gabi Rose was particularly impressive, showcasing her powerhouse vocals as she took on solos and harmonized with Franck, jumping and dancing around the stage (in heels!), all while absolutely wailing on the saxophone. Reese Maslen thrashed his hair around while he shredded the guitar, and drummer Xavier Ware demonstrated his talents behind one of the most insane drum setups I’ve seen on a stage. Franck encouraged the audience to summon riffs from Maslen by chanting “Reese! Reese! Reese!,” resulting in multiple face melting guitar solos throughout the set.
As he introduced “LIVIN’ LAUGHIN’ LOVIN’”, Franck reminisced about being a 26 year old man, sitting in his mother’s basement watching screaming tutorials on Youtube, and proclaimed, “We made it!,” a statement which was met with deafening cheers from fans. For an added element of fun, a giant bubble machine filled the venue with bubbles, crowd-surfers popping them as they passed overhead. The bubbles would make a reappearance during “More Than Hate,” with Franck noting he had to bring them back for the hardest song because it was too much power for one band to have. In a more serious moment during the set, as he was introducing “STRAIGHT THROUGH YOU,” Franck reflected on his mindset in 2016, the year Bilmuri was born. He shared that he did not see a point to life and had a plan to end his, but before following through, he started to write down what he was feeling, which turned into songs. He gave a heartfelt thank you to the fans for saving his life, stating how happy he was to be there with everyone, that if he had known that this is what his life would be like now, he never would have had those thoughts back then. Franck announced that he had bad news for the crowd, going on to state that they had only one song left, a statement met with boos from the audience who clearly were not ready for the set to end. The set ended with “BETTER HELL (Thicc boi),” the band exited the stage, the lights came up, and venue music began to play. The crowd chanted “one more song!” to summon the band back to the stage, but it didn’t appear as though they would return. However, they had us all fooled, and did return for one last song, a performance of “CORN-FED YETIS,” which showcased Maslen’s screaming talents. The crowd was buzzing as they left the venue after what was truly an incredible performance. The only thing that could have improved the night would have been a longer setlist. The band performed a total of 15 songs, and I’m sure many would have been thrilled to see at least a handful more.
The Summer Slammer Tour continues through October 16th, ending with a hometown show in Columbus, OH, at KEMBA Live! Bilmuri will join Bad Omens for a UK and EU tour beginning in November, and will appear on the Nova Rock Festival lineup in Austria in June of 2026. Bilmuri puts on a must-see performance. Be sure to check them out next time they pull through your city!
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