The Happiest Hootenanny in Music with the 502s at a Packed United Theatre
Westerly, Rhode Island is not Providence. It is not Boston. It is not Newport. It sits closer to the Connecticut border than to any major music market, and the United Theatre, for all its charm as a nonprofit venue with movie theaters and a music school stacked under one roof, doesn't see bands come through as often as the bigger markets. Saturday night, The 502s rolled through town, and it felt like the whole town to catch the show.
Late Night Thoughts opened the evening and fit the bill perfectly. The band originally hails from Waltham, MA, which earned them a round of “Let's Go Red Sox" from the crowd, before they mentioned they now live in New York City, which earned them considerably louder Red Sox chants and a fair number of boos. They took it in good stride. Their set mixed material from their upcoming debut album, years in the making after a run of EPs and singles, with a cover of Kacey Musgraves' “Deeper Well" that fit their sound better than you’d guess. The highlight of their set came when their guitarist snapped two strings mid-song and changed them on the fly while an audience member at the barricade timed the operation. Two minutes flat. Their tour record is apparently 36 seconds, but 2 minutes for 2 strings is pretty darn impressive.
The 502s have built their reputation as “The Happiest Band on Earth," and nothing about Saturday night contradicted that. Every member was smiling from the first song to the last, all 25 of them, in a set that was a genuine hootenanny from start to finish. It is genuinely difficult to understand how a band maintains this level of energy night after night on the road, but The 502s show live this isn’t just an act, they’re genuinely having a blast. Their music is relentlessly positive. It’s earnest, feel-good stuff that the world could use more of right now, and a crowd in Westerly that doesn't often get shows like this responded by dancing and stomping through every song.
Two moments stood out above the rest. The first came when Late Night Thoughts rejoined The 502s on stage for a cover of The Killers' “Mr. Brightside," which every person in the building knew word for word. It’s a song meant to be screamed along to at a party, and was the perfect choice.
The second highlight for me came from guitarist Graci Phillips, who stepped to the mic between songs and asked the audience honestly how many of them had had a rough week. She had everyone raise their hands, directed them to put all that bad energy into a ball, and then release it in one collective scream. The room obliged and let everyone let loose even more than they already were.
“Something's Gonna Go Our Way," “Your Nonsense Makes Sense," and the encore “Just a Little While" were the biggest crowd moments of the main set, songs that travel well from wherever people first heard them into a room full of people who already know every word.
For Westerly, Saturday night was a reminder of what this venue is capable of when the right band comes through. The United Theatre was fully packed. And The 502s made sure the trip was worth it.
THE 502s SETLIST:
Feels Good to Be Me
Friday Night
Sayonara
Summer Fling
Like My Father
Waves
Nothing Sweeter Than You
I Miss the Days
Skinny Dipping and Mimosas
Something's Gonna Go Our Way
Your Nonsense Makes Sense
Magdalene
Olivia
End of the World
Mr. Brightside (The Killers cover, with Late Night Thoughts)
Gang's Back Together Again
Hey Julia
Enjoy the Ride
When I Get To Heaven
You Belong
If Good Times Were Dollars
hey, honey
Perfect Portrait of Young Love
Stories to Tell
Just a Little While (encore)
