First Times: Discovering what makes The Ventura Theater ‘majestic’ with DIIV closing their California tour in the wake of the Eaton Fire

DIIV with Kraus //
The Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
February 24th, 2025 //

With the way the music industry has changed over the past two decades, it’s no secret that live music venues all around the world remain the lifeblood for most artists and musicians to survive in the ever-challenging streaming era.

Unfortunately the long-lasting economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put many of these sacred spaces at risk, which is another reason, among others, why it’s essential to support live music when touring costs have spiked and so much of life is spent behind a screen now.

But for as many concerts as I attend due in large part to the “work” that ends up being published here on this website, it’s not very often I get to take in one at a music venue I have never been to before. Visiting different rooms — whether it’s a small club or large arena — has always been part of the fun that comes with going to shows and became even more of a personal interest when I took up writing about music.

More specifically, I have always been fascinated by historic theaters and growing up in an entertainment capital like Los Angeles certainly exposed me to a number of them — from Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA to the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. — as well as the plethora of other options spread out across the Southland.

More than 65 miles north of LA though, The Ventura Theater is one that has been on my radar for quite a while. As the only luxury theater built in Ventura County to fit the style of the great movie palaces from the 1920s, you won’t find architecture like this anymore at a modern music venue. Designed back when architects such as Lewis Arthur Smith were influenced by the Spanish Colonial Revival movement while they developed these establishments for a burgeoning motion-picture business, its triple-arched balcony that’s recessed and divided by double Corinthian columns provides a strong indication the building was constructed a long time ago.

How long ago you ask? Well, don’t let the rather unassuming façade below the marquee fool you. At first glance you might not think the 1,200-person theater could be celebrating its centennial birthday in 2028, but once you walk past the main foyer, you can immediately understand why it proclaims to be “the best venue between LA and San Francisco” even if the Santa Barbara Bowl would rightfully have something to say about that.

What makes The Majestic Ventura Theater, as its more commonly referred to, so special is what stands out right away: the Spanish Mission style art, gilt-laden walls, intricate lighting fixtures and of course the handmade sunburst chandelier that burns bright during intermissions and accentuates the auditorium’s lavish opulence. Meanwhile, the funky, wide-reaching murals of rainbows, flowers, music and sunshine as you head upstairs to the balcony section transport you to the 60’s when the counterculture started to gain momentum. As one of the defining structures in Ventura’s downtown district, it’s no surprise nearly 50 years have passed since the elegant theater was declared a landmark by the city before later being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Regardless of the fact that Ventura remains better known for its beaches and craft beer than any sort of live music scene at this point, there’s no question the Majestic has maintained a rich and vibrant history dedicated to showcasing all genres. And after almost 100 years, it continues to book shows throughout the calendar year featuring a wide variety of talent that don’t venture for the smaller Ventura Music Hall we checked out less than two months after officially opening its doors in 2022 to watch Royal Blood do their thing (read our show review here).

For us, it took an act that we just covered in June at one of LA’s most renowned theaters to convince us the moment had come for our initial trip to the Majestic. Seven months earlier DIIV made us feel hopeful at The Wiltern that there’s a future for indie rock (read our show review here), and something about The Ventura Theater’s tiered layout reminded us of the Art Deco beauty in Koreatown despite being finished three years prior. But sadly Zachary Cole Smith (lead vocals, guitar) and his sideways — one of which being the always animated, yet currently sedentary Andrew Bailey (guitar) due to a recent injury along with Colin Caulfield (bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Ben Newman (drums) — have had more on their minds recently than solely music after the Eaton Fire destroyed Smith’s house in Altadena and a bunch of the band’s gear.

Somehow tragedy and trauma haven’t stopped the quartet from hitting the road this year in support of 2024’s Frog in Boiling Water however, with the Majestic serving as the fourth and final date of a brief California tour that began in Pomona where another shoegaze outfit captivated us last year thanks to their own brand of distorted guitars and dreamy vocals (read our First Times coverage here).

DIIV may lazily get lumped in with slowdive when you search online for popular shoegaze bands, but their performances have a distinct vibe and tone. On the surface, the crowd leans younger given that they have yet to reach the 15-year mark since Smith created the project as a solo endeavor, and on a deeper level, there’s a consistent stream of sociopolitical commentary that their UK counterparts have strayed away from. Because if you don’t come away with any sense of dystopian despair after seeing DIIV take the stage, then you weren’t paying close enough attention that night.

This also wasn’t the first time we have caught supporting act Kraus after witnessing their opening set at The Wiltern for Explosions in the Sky (read our show review here) and the trio led by Will Kraus (vocals, guitar) did their best to engage those of us who showed up by 8 p.m. with their noisy take on shoegaze. Had it not been a Monday, there might have been more than a few hundred people in attendance when the evening’s main act arrived onstage. In the grand scheme of things, none of that mattered for us. We were there to discover what exactly makes The Ventura Theater “majestic,” and by all accounts, we can say after this latest experience at one of Southern California’s most treasured and storied music venues that mission was accomplished.

Setlist:
In Amber
Like Before You Were Born
Brown Paper Bag
Under the Sun
Sometime
Soul-net
Frog in Boiling Water
Take Your Time
Taker
Everyone Out
Reflected
Somber the Drums
Between Tides
Blankenship
Acheron
Raining on Your Pillow