Joy and love are the messages that the Mowgli’s want to spread to the world, and on their final tour stop in Tucson, they seem to have done just that. Four bands performed at Club Congress, each with their own unique twist.

The night opened with Deceptively Innocent, a Tucson-based band, performing original and new songs such as Future Karma, which is the title track of their upcoming EP. As a young band, Deceptively Innocent has had their fair share of attention from performing every Second Saturday, a Tucson tradition on the second Saturday of every month in the downtown area, appearing on local talk shows, and opening for bands such as the Misfits. The three-piece band, consisting of Brent Burdett, Toby Chivers, and Daniel Blanchard, brings variety their performances by taking turns playing guitar, bass, and drums on different songs.

The second band to perform was The Rocketboys, an Austin Texas based indie band that seems to blend energetic and soaring vocals with melodic guitar riffs in a way that they have a sort of bittersweet sound to them that is hard to find anywhere else. Their powerful stage presence at Club Congress shows that they are no strangers at performing. Singer, Brandon Kinder, during one point in the show, jumped into the crowd and danced with the audience while continuing to perform. The band consists of Justin Wiseman on the keyboards, Brandon Kinder on vocals, Josh Rodgers on drums, Josh Campbell on bass. Lang Freeman joined them for the show on guitar. The stand out song of their performance was Walk Away as you could tell how much of themselves they put into their music in this song.

Finish Ticket was the third band and the one before the Mowgli’s. This energetic indie rock band has a unique sound to them, with a strong vocalist and guitar driven melodies. Finish Ticket started in 2008 when they were in high school, however, when they reached college, only three of the original members stayed in the band while the other pursued their education. Members include Brendan Hoye on vocals and keys, Alex DiDonato on guitar and vocals, Michael Hoye on bass, Gabe Stein on drums, and Nick Stein on the keyboard. Performing original songs, as well as a cover of the Killers, Finish Ticket’s energetic performance and interactiveness with the crowd made their first time in Arizona a memorable experience.

Once the Mowgli’s came on stage, the energy in the room immediately lifted as the band began to play. This was their second time performing in Tucson, once before with Walk the Moon. The band interacted with the crowd throughout their set, whether it was commenting on a girl’s shirt or exchanging “I love you” with various members of the audience. The current members of the band are Dave Appelbaum on keyboards and vocals, Colin Dieden on vocals, guitar and percussion, Katie Earl on vocals and percussion, Josh Hogan on guitar and vocals, Matthew Di Panni on bass guitar and vocals, Spencer Trent  on percussion, guitar, melodica, and vocals, and Andy Warren on drums, percussion, and vocals. The band’s belief is that in order to have their “true voice” as a band, they need to have everyone, including the audience, to sing with them. Near the end of their set, the band asked the audience for any requests and performed  When they reached their final song, their hit, San Francisco, the Rocketboys and Finish Ticket joined the Mowgli’s on the stage and performed with them.

As their Club Congress show was their final one on their tour, the Mowgli’s return to California to begin recording their new album.