Editor’s Picks – Showbams

Back in SoCal after 16 months, Jack White dips into his bag of tricks for sold-out shows at Fox Theater Pomona & Hollywood Palladium

October 2, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Jack White at Hollywood Palladium

Photos courtesy of Jack White // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Jack White //
Fox Theater Pomona & Hollywood Palladium – Pomona & Los Angeles
September 25th & 28th-29th, 2026 //

When we caught Jack White play two sold-out nights at the Hollywood Palladium and one at the Santa Barbara Bowl last year (read our review of the shows here) to promote his sixth studio album No Name that came out unexpectedly in 2024, it was apparent his impending Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction as one-half of The White Stripes was more than well-deserved.

And while it’s well-known that White doesn’t perform with a setlist and can call an audible anytime he’s onstage thanks in part to his talented backing band that now consists of Patrick Keeler (drums), Dominic Davis (bass) and Bobby Emmett (keyboards), I also remember hearing some unfamiliar material during that first concert in LA. The riff White uncorked, after all, was too catchy to forget, only to find out later it was one that he and his bandmates had been tinkering with during the No Name sessions.

So when White unveiled two new singles called “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” and “Derecho Demonico” ahead of his “Saturday Night Live” performance in April, I knew what I had heard at the Palladium must have been an unreleased song. Merely days after, it was revealed as a surprise when Goldenvoice put out its 2026 schedule for Coachella that White would be performing Weekend 1 on the polo fields. But a couple of days before packing the Mojave Tent for his short, yet blistering afternoon set, White dropped more stunning news in the form of another major tour that included two additional dates at the Palladium this fall. Having witnessed his two gigs at the same venue less than a year prior, I was caught off guard by the announcement. “Could there really be a new album on the way?!” I thought to myself.

With our tickets already secured for three shows in the greater LA area beginning at the 95-year-old Fox Theater Pomona, two months would pass before we would finally have our answer. A pre-order listing on Third Man Records’ website in June was our first and only clue because by the following day, White had officially let the cat out of the bag about his seventh LP Frozen Charlotte arriving a day after his birthday and slated for the same Friday in July that his 35-date run across North America kicked off. Coincidence or not, the 13-track effort immediately stood out that day as one of my favorite albums this year.

Frozen Charlotte picks up where No Name left off sonically in many ways, but the addition of Emmett in the studio has injected a new element that has only enhanced White’s gritty, bluesy brand of rock ‘n’ roll and elevated his live show even higher than it already was. Its third single “Dollar Bill” — you know, that unreleased song we first heard at the Palladium — showcases some of White’s most invigorating slide-guitar work so far and is readymade to send any crowd into a frenzy as soon as Keeler comes in on his Ludwig snare drum. From start to finish, there’s a raw, untamed energy cutting through Frozen Charlotte that leaves you with no reason to press the skip button, and it’s clear with this latest batch of tunes that White’s lyricism and songwriting have only continued to become more inspiring, insightful and inventive, with “Raising the Grain” and “Neighbors Blues” ranking among the best in his expansive catalog, which spans nearly three decades.

Jack White at Fox Theater Pomona

What might have been most surprising, though, was the limited number of Frozen Charlotte tracks that were performed in LA with only two on the first night and three during the second (the subsequent night down south in Del Mar, it was just two again). Pomona seemed to get the most bites at the apple with a total of five songs making it onto the setlist, but the lack of any airflow in the 95-year-old Art Deco movie palace presented its own challenge for both the audience and band on a hot and sticky evening across the Southland. Stripes deep cut “I Fought Piranhas” off their 1999 self-titled debut stood out as a notable highlight at the Fox considering that White has only turned to it three other times on this tour, as well as the Nashville honky-tonk vibes emanating out of “Temporary Ground” from 2014’s Lazaretto.

But for those of us who had the LA shows coming up on our calendar too, Pomona could have almost felt like a warm-up gig for White and his sidekicks after their appearance the next day at Goldenvoice’s inaugural Ocean Way Festival on the beach in Santa Monica was abruptly canceled with two weeks to go due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie and safety concerns caused by it. That said, I have seen Mr. White plug in on more than 15 occasions — highlighted by a few two-night runs — since he launched his solo career in 2012, and the Detroit native has never let me down every time I have bought a ticket and let one of music’s last great guitar heroes send me into a blue-tinted trance. The truth of the matter is White has still been selling out the majority of his tour stops, including the ones we attended in SoCal, after doing so during 2025 and that same excitement has rolled right into this year.

For as much as Pomona served as a tone-setter, White made sure to crank the dial up to 11 when he took the stage in LA after having the weekend off. Maybe the extra 24 hours offered him the chance to rest and recharge because 30 minutes in, another guitarist had joined alongside White for a scorching rendition of The Raconteurs’ “Broken Boy Soldier” on the quartet’s Grammy-nominated first full length. Not until after they had finished trading licks did White take a moment to introduce Nick Valensi of The Strokes and then sans hesitation, ripped into the live debut of “Bless Yourself” as Valensi laid down its lead riff on his custom, burnt orange Epiphone Riviera to jumpstart the No Name garage rocker. Given the weight that White’s name carries on its own, it’s not often for him to hold sit-ins with special guests. But in a town swimming with actors, artists, creatives and musicians everywhere you look, Jack knows how to make the most of his resources. At one point we even got White’s former drummer Daru Jones, who opened the show with his DaruTronics project ahead of Minneapolis rapper Prof, replacing Keeler on the kit for “Lazaretto” that he recorded with White in Music City when he lived there and flashing his infectious smile to a roaring applause.

If what transpired on Night 1 at the Palladium was intended to convince us that Night 2 would be just as compelling and exhilarating, it might have undersold the ensuing marathon performance White gifted us unknowingly when we stepped onto the ballroom theater’s floor to find out what all the fuss with satanic doo-wop duo Twin Temple was (we thought they were pretty fun in case you were wondering). However, no one could have foreseen that White would bust out 28 songs over close to two and a half hours until 11:30 p.m. There was actually no way for us to have any sense of time with our mobile phones locked in a Yondr pouch — something we have grown accustomed to since 2018 when we headed up the coast to see White strut his stuff in support of Boarding House Reach (read our show review here). He did admit to us not long into things that “I feel like I could play three hours,” but I don’t know if anyone believed him because I certainly didn’t knowing that White’s shows usually clock in at 80-90 minutes with the encore from my experiences. I probably should have known better when he told us “We’re Going to Be Friends” and proceeded to leave the stage after only an hour or simply that White seemed to be in a celebratory mood as he took swigs from a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

The extended encore that ensued for the next 12 songs could have been considered a second set by many folks’ standards. From our perspective, it proved once again why White remains one of the most electric acts in live music today. Anyone who has lived in the City of Angels for a while likely knows that LA crowds at concerts are notorious for not always exhibiting a whole lot of enthusiasm and White has said a big reason why he doesn’t craft a setlist beforehand is because he likes to feed off an audience’s energy. And there was a lot of it inside the Palladium, so much so that White declared right there Night 2 was the best LA crowd he has ever performed for. That’s probably why he kept going after “Steady, as She Goes” and didn’t stop, breaking out three covers and bringing out actor John C. Reilly — the star in his music video for “Archbishop Harold Holmes” — for a brief cameo at the end. Either way, it was quite an honor to earn such praise from a Hall of Famer who expects audience members’ undivided attention and will regularly summon their participation. In this day and age, that might seem like a tough ask and especially when you are performing in one of the world’s biggest entertainment capitals with no shortage of stiff competition night after night. White appeared determined to give everything he had in his return to Tinseltown after only 16 months, and other than the small sample from Frozen Charlotte, it was more than we could have imagined regardless of how many times we have seen White over the years. As we have stated previously in this space, the element of surprise has always been one of his greatest calling cards as a performer, and for any devoted fan nowadays, that’s a blessing entirely in and of itself.

SEPTEMBER 25TH – FOX THEATER POMONA

Setlist:
Intro Jam
That’s How I’m Feeling
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Old Scratch Blues
Derecho Demonico
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song)
I Fought Piranhas (The White Stripes song)
Hypnotize (The White Stripes song)
Freedom at 21
I Can’t Believe What I’m Hearing
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)
Thick as Thieves
G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs
Temporary Ground
Dollar Bill

Encore:
Encore Jam
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
Underground
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

SEPTEMBER 28TH – HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Setlist:
Intro Jam
That’s How I’m Feeling
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Derecho Demonico
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song) (with Nick Valensi)
Bless Yourself (with Nick Valensi) (Live debut)
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
The Union Forever (The White Stripes song)
Archbishop Harold Holmes
The Union Forever (The White Stripes song) (Reprise)
Dollar Bill
It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)
Phonograph Blues (Robert Johnson cover)
Delta Bound (Rosetta Howard & The Harlem Hamfats cover)
Lazaretto (with Daru Jones)
The Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes song)
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song)

Encore:
Encore Jam
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
That Black Bat Licorice
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

SEPTEMBER 29TH – HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Setlist:
Intro Jam
That’s How I’m Feeling
Black Math / Suzie Q / Black Math (The White Stripes song)
Old Scratch Blues
What’s Done Is Done
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Hell Hound on My Trail (Robert Johnson cover)
Little Bird (The White Stripes song)
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)
High Ball Stepper
G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs
Derecho Demonico
There’s Nobody There
Hypnotize (The White Stripes song)
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Encore Jam
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes song)
All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (Otis Rush & His Band cover)
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song) (snippet of “I’m a Man” by The Spencer Davis Group)
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes song)
Archbishop Harold Holmes (John C. Reilly appearance at end)
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)
I Think I Smell a Rat (The White Stripes song)
Baby Blue (Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps cover)
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs song)
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

Jack White with Nick Valensi at Hollywood Palladium

Jack White with Daru Jones at Hollywood Palladium

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Coachella, Coachella 2026, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2026, Daru Jones, DaruTronics, Fox Theater Pomona, Gene Vincent, Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, Hollywood Palladium, Iggy Pop, Jack White, John C. Reilly, Nick Valensi, Ocean Way, Ocean Way 2026, Ocean Way Festival, Ocean Way Festival 2026, Otis Rush, Prof, Robert Johnson, Rosetta Howard, Rosetta Howard & The Harlem Hamfats, Spencer Davis, The Dead Weather, The Fox Theater Pomona, The Raconteurs, The Spencer Davis Group, The Stooges, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Third Man Records

Portola Music Festival 2026: Our awards & highlights from a fifth anniversary to remember at SF’s Pier 80

October 1, 2026 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Robyn

Photos by Marc Fong & Christine Kemp // Written by Molly Kish //

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 26th-27th, 2026 //

Portola took over SF’s Pier 80 once again last month for its fifth year with a new footprint and slightly different creative direction. For this installment, the Swedes dominated the lineup with Swedish House Mafia playing the first of only two announced shows in 2026, Robyn returning to the Bay Area after a seven-year hiatus, Tove Lo debuting her new album Estrus to go with its stage production and Zara Larsson wrapping up her “Midnight Sun Tour” at the two-day event.

This year’s lineup leaned heavily into pop but was balanced out by a decent amount of house favorites and legacy acts. The heavily anticipated return of Dog Blood featuring Boyz Noize and Skrillex ended Saturday with an electronic assault on the senses after Groove Armada rocked the warehouse and DJ Shadow honored the 30th anniversary of his seminal debut Endtroducing….. that ranks among Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time. Mike D & 5D tested out their new material that was spliced with Beastie Boys hits while Fatboy Slim, who was also celebrating three decades of his own debut LP titled Better Living Through Chemistry, tore up the Crane Stage on Day 1 in true legendary fashion prior and set the stage for former Spice Girl-turned-DJ Melanie C (aka Sporty Spice) to put on a nostalgic dance party subsequently.

The vibes remained high on Sunday, with energetic sets from Channel Tres and Ben UFO kicking things up a notch early on. SG Lewis delivered a rare live performance that got the crowd moving, and Daphni came out hot in the Ship Tent with easily one of the weekend’s most corpse-reviving moments. Then it was time for trance daddy Tiësto, who drew a giant audience to the Warehouse over an extended 90-minute set following a breakout pop performance from Slovak singer-songwriter/dancer Adéla. And of course we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the second appearance at Portola for equine princess horsegiirL that provided some strong female representation on the Day 2 bill.

Swedish House Mafia

Four Tet closed down the Warehouse with arguably the most anticipated set of the weekend, debuting his immersive lightning design by Ed Warren and spinning favorites along with brand-new tracks, one of which was a remix of Turnstile’s “Look Out for Me” off their Grammy-winning album Never Enough. Die-hards and festival attendees catching Kieran Hebden on the decks for their very first time got lost in his set that euphorically put a bow on the weekend and further solidified Four Tet’s legacy among Bay Area electronic music fans.

Not long after the final notes were played, rumors swirled about whether or not Portola will be back in another 12 months for its sixth edition. Even with a solid roster of artists for 2026, it can’t be overlooked that tickets took longer than in previous years to sell out. Whether there was any correlation or not, we noticed a lot more attention was directed at sponsored activations and increasing the space of the VIP sections, and while you couldn’t help but notice as well that the demographics seemed to be much more concerned with capturing content than during the fest’s first four iterations, Portola still remained true to its roots in the end.

With that in mind, we hope our favorite Bay Area music festival will continue the tradition next year. Only time will tell, though if this was goodbye after the past five years, we can definitely say that Portola went out with quite a bang.

Gelli Haha

PORTOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026 AWARDS:

Best Headliner: Robyn

Top Swede: Swedish House Mafia

Favorite Pop Girly: Zara Larsson

Loudest Singalong: Tie between “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn & “Habits” by Tove Lo

Best Production: Four Tet

Loudest Set: Dog Blood

Favorite Legacy Act: Fatboy Slim

Biggest Disappointment: Skepta’s no-show

Best Merchandise: Raccoon tail key chain

Biggest Crap Shoot: Despacio’s entry line

Best Remix: Daphni’s “Born Slippy” into “Lost”

Favorite Dish: Bodega’s mushroom lo mein

Largest Crowd: Tiësto in the Warehouse

Strongest Undercard: Nimino

Most Creative Set: Gelli Haha

Biggest Comedian: Marlon Hoffstadt

Favorite Repeat Act: Soulwax

Biggest Breakthrough Artist: Underscores

Festival Upgrade: Despacio pre-party

Improvement Needed: The noticeable decrease in the number of bars and bathrooms

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Groove Armada

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Fatboy Slim

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Beltran B2B Ben Sterling

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Ben UFO with Daphni

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Underscores

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Ninajirachi

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Zara Larsson

Portola Music Festival 2026 - Zara Larsson with Robyn

Portola Music Festival 2026 - horsegiirL

No reproduction or publication without express permission by Copyright holder

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals Tagged With: ADÉLA, Airwolf Paradise, Alisha riria, Anti Up (Chris Lake x Chris Lorenzo), Azzecca, Baby J, Bassvictim, Beastie Boys, Beltran, Beltran b2b Ben Sterling, Ben Sterling, Ben UFO, Boys Noize, Boys Noize ear, Boyz Noize, Brunello, CD Soundsystem, Channel Tres, Chloé Caillet, Chris Lake, Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo, Chris Lorenzo, Christina Aguilera, Clearcast, Daphni, Dean Turnley, Despacio, DJ Shadow, Dog Blood, Dom Dolla, erika, erika b2b sfcowboy, Fcukers, Felly Fell, Four Tet, Gelli Haha, Groove Armada, horsegiirL, James Murphy, jigitz, John Klett, JT, Jyoty, Kelela, KETTAMA, LCD Soundsystem, Marlon Hoffstadt, Mau P, Max Styler, Melanie C, MGNA Crrrta, Mike D 5D, Mind Enterprises, Moby, Mochakk, nate sib, Nimino, Ninajirachi, oskar med k, Overmono, Parcels, Peggy Gou, Pier 80, Prospa, Ranger Trucco, Ranger Trucco b2b Alisha, Robyn, Sam Alfred, sfcowboy Fatboy Slim, SG Lewis, Silva Bumpa, Six Sex, Skepta, Skrillex, Soulwax, Spice Girls, Swedish House Mafia, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Tiësto, Torren Foot, Tove Lo, Tricky, Turnstile, Underscores, Underworld, VTSS, Zara Larsson, Zulan

After co-producing the new Queens of the Stone Age album, Michael Shuman flaunts his solo project GLU for a hometown crowd in LA

September 4, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

GLU with Sofya Wang //
The Moroccan Lounge – Los Angeles
August 28th, 2026 //

You might know Michael Shuman as the high-kicking, loogie-hocking badass who has rocked the low end in Queens of the Stone Age for almost 20 years, but his music career has extended well beyond those duties for quite some time now.

Along with previously co-fronting rock bands Wires on Fire and Jubilee, the LA native who grew up in the San Fernando Valley co-founded the psych-pop outfit Mini Mansions a couple years after joining QOTSA and also contributed to soundtracks for the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V and indie-drama film “Feed” in 2017.

While the role Shuman holds in Mini Mansions sees him singing and handling multiple instruments — from guitar and bass to keyboards and drums — during the recording process, the three-piece hasn’t been active since touring in support of its third album Guy Walks Into a Bar… that arrived six months prior to the pandemic taking the world by storm.

But by 2022 as lockdown restrictions were beginning to ease up, Shuman (aka Mikey Shoes) had grown restless. Queens were already planning to unleash their eighth LP In Times New Roman… the following year and hit the road for what proved to be more than two years, yet that still left him more than enough time to conceive and launch his own solo project in the interim.

Unlike the aforementioned acts Shuman has long been associated with, GLU doesn’t follow the same sonic script that QOTSA or Mini Mansions have maintained to hook listeners. In fact, there has been a consistent nod to hip-hop running through GLU’s output ever since standalone tracks “COLD SWEAT” and “NIGHT SHIFT” were first introduced, starting largely with Shuman’s vocal style that sounds more like he’s rapping than singing.

GLU’s debut EP entitled MY DEMONS merely months later gave fans more material to sink their teeth into and formed a collaborative partnership with Sarah Barthel of Phantogram that continued last year when Shuman featured her on “GONE FISHIN'” for his sophomore EP BOOGIE MAN.

Having just spent much of the summer with Queens playing stadium shows and major festivals while co-producing the desert rockers’ forthcoming full length Perfecth, Shuman somehow found time to drop his brand-new PONY BOY EP two weeks before gracing the stage for a hometown crowd at The Moroccan Lounge in between the Arts District and Little Toyko.

Shuman was only able to squeeze in seven shows along the West Coast for this run after delivering in July several UK performances amid his busy schedule with QOTSA, but the hot and sweaty room that fits no more than 250 bodies still offered a warm (no pun intended) greeting and showed plenty of love over the course of his hour-long set. Armed with solely a microphone, Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom guitar and Roland SPD-SX sampling pad, he left no stone in the GLU catalog unturned and showcased his rendition of Jennifer Paige’s “Crush” that climbed a few charts to No. 1 in the late 90’s. And although such a high-water mark is not one we would expect GLU to reach anytime soon, watching Shuman tap deeper into his creativity and challenge himself as a songwriter remains a worthy endeavor for anyone who’s willing to open their mind and ears.

Setlist:
LOVE YOU TO PIECES
PONY BOY
GONE FISHIN’
NIGHT SHIFT
COLD SWEAT
BOMBS BELOW
MOONWALKIN’
BOOGIE MAN
L.A.
CRUSH (Jennifer Paige cover)
TUNNEL VISION
MY DEMONS

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: GLU, Jennifer Paige, Jubilee, Mini Mansions, Phantogram, Queens of the Stone Age, Sofya Wang, The Moroccan Lounge, Wires on Fire

Tomahawk return to the stage for first time in 13 years & put a bow on their summer tour with two sold-out nights in LA at The Belasco

August 21, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Tomahawk with Melvins //
The Belasco – Los Angeles
August 15th, 2026 //

I will never forget the first time that I saw Tomahawk perform almost 25 years ago.

It was the summer of 2002, and my musical obsession for the past year had been Tool’s magnum opus Lateralus that had convinced me at the ripe age of 18 to trek up and down California for three shows in five days.

Up until that point, I had not heard of Tomahawk before. As a devoted fan of 90’s music, I have always found Mike Patton to be such a unique and gifted vocalist dating back to his earliest days in Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. His six-octave range puts him up there with once-in-a-generation talents like Layne Staley and Chris Cornell, while his eclectic catalog of work spanning heavy metal and hip-hop to avant-garde jazz and classical has made him one of the most prolific collaborators in the music industry.

But it was in Sacramento — or “Sactown” as it was commonly referred to in the early 2000’s when the Kings were formidable foes against the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs — where the alt-metal supergroup formed by Patton and guitarist Duane Denison of The Jesus Lizard left an indelible mark on me after their opening set that night in Northern California.

The main reason I even traveled more than 400 miles north up to ARCO Arena was because my older brother and I had secured floor tickets on a whim back when you used to purchase concert tickets at a local Wherehouse Music where (no pun intended) the “Ticketmaster computer” lived. It was one of those rare opportunities I have had to see my favorite band up close, and as I prepared myself to head across the country for the start of college the following month, I was glad in retrospect that I didn’t miss hearing “Ticks & Leeches” in the pit.

On that tour, all four members of Tomahawk — Patton, Denison, drummer John Stanier (Helmet, The Mark of Cain, Battles) and bassist Kevin Rutmanis (The Cows, Melvins) who has since been replaced by Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) after the quartet reformed in 2013 — came ironically dressed onstage in police uniforms that felt not only satirical, but also theatrical. Patton, after all, has long been a jokester and prankster. His memorable beef with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Keidis, who claimed Patton ripped off his style in the music video for FNM’s hit single “Epic” on 1989’s platinum-selling The Real Thing, is one of the best feuds in rock ‘n’ roll history to this day, with Mr. Bungle famously mocking their fellow labelmates during a 1999 Halloween show in Keidis’ home state of Michigan merely months after Warner Bros. Records pushed back the release date of California that was originally scheduled to drop — not coincidentally — on the very same day as RHCP’s Californication.

But considering that finding a suitable opener for Tool presents its own challenges and Tomahawk were still a fairly new act by this point, I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations walking into “The Old Barn” as they called it. Any allegiance I had to Patton lied strictly with FNM, but what I quickly learned in less than an hour was that his stage presence should not be underestimated no matter which of his many projects he is choosing to showcase. Patton’s portfolio doesn’t run as deep as it once did now that Peeping Tom, Lovage, Kaada/Patton, Hemophiliac and Nevermen are no longer active, but currently in addition to Mr. Bungle, FNM and Tomahawk, it still includes Fantômas, Dead Cross and his newest, yet arguably most surprising collaboration AVTT/PTTN with folk-rolk veterans The Avett Brothers.

It was in between songs midway through Tomahawk’s performance when things started to take a turn, though. Making fun of the cow bells Kings fans would loudly ring during their home games at the arena, Patton taunted the crowd with “cow town” jokes prior to revealing the Lakers jersey — and it was Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 no less — he was wearing underneath his black button-down shirt. The boos reached a deafening level immediately as I couldn’t help but laugh while remaining stunned by Patton’s audacity. This was, mind you, just a few weeks after the two teams’ controversial, seven-game playoff series in the Western Conference Finals that saw the Lakers prevail and subsequently win a third straight NBA championship to cap off the franchise’s three-peat era.

A large, tough guy with a shaved head standing in front of me began cursing at Patton in such a hostile way that he probably would have fought him right there if he had the chance. While I was lucky to have someone else on my side as I stood quietly in enemy territory, I would discover later that Patton was an avid fan of the Lakers despite growing up further north in Eureka and becoming a force in the Bay Area music scene. It should be noted this wasn’t his only troll job across that 24-date stretch, with message boards online citing other U.S. cities received a similar kind of treatment and responded with their own brand of disdain. Plus, let’s be honest — the audience not surprisingly was mostly Tool bros and not a bunch of Mr. Bungle or FNM diehards. Nevertheless, there’s an eccentricity and experimental nature to Tomahawk’s material that’s patented Mike Patton whether he’s playing the role of grand provocateur or not. Equipped with a modified industrial gas mask, portable vocal effects pedalboard and radio-dispatch microphone, his artistic techniques and sensibilities could certainly draw comparisons to some of what Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan began doing in the late 90’s and why they tabbed Tomahawk for that slot at the time.

More than three years have passed since the last time we caught Patton in the flesh, and it was great to witness him back in full form at a sold-out Hollywood Palladium for Mr. Bungle’s “Geek Show 2023” tour after having to cancel gigs a couple of years earlier amidst the pandemic due to “mental health reasons” (read our show review here). Yet, when it comes to Tomahawk, it’s not often that you see the four-piece convene onstage. It had been 13 years since the band’s last tour in support of 2013’s Oddfellows, and although Patton and company would follow with their fifth studio album Tonic Immobility in the spring of 2021, they weren’t able to tour at all behind it because of the aforementioned pandemic. Adding to their extended hiatus, a planned return at last year’s Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas never happened after poor ticket sales and high booking costs forced the event to be canceled.

Given that this year marks a quarter century since Tomahawk’s self-titled debut LP came out, it seemed only right for it to be the one they targeted for their long-awaited return. Maybe that’s why Patton turned to good friend and Fantômas bandmate Buzz Osborne to have Melvins serve as special guests for their month-long tour in July and August named “A Huge Waste of Your Time and Money.” The sludgy Pacific Northwest rockers were a major influence in the alt-metal and grunge scenes — much like Pixies were for alternative rock — with a dedicated and loyal following built over more than four decades of service, and they came out swinging on the first of two sold-out nights in LA at The Belasco to wrap up the tour. The historic downtown venue, which will turn 100 years old on November 1st, was packed by the time Melvins entered stage left as Osborne (guitars, lead vocals), Dale Crover (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Steven Shane McDonald (bass, backing vocals) and second timekeeper Coady Willis (drums, backing vocals) dove into old favorites and deep cuts over the course of an hour to go along with their cover of “Sway” by The Rolling Stones.

When it came time for Patton, Denison, Stanier and Dunn to finally reveal themselves in front of the SoCal faithful, everyone appeared ready to kick their Saturday night into high gear. Flashing back to 2001 with the first track off Tomahawk, they launched into “Flashback” to hook us and make a strong impression before turning to Tonic Immobility, Oddfellows and 2003’s Mit Gas. In fact, just one song from 2007’s Anonymous ended up on the setlist and it was “Totem” leading us into the encore break. Welcomed back by a spirited applause, Tomahawk treated us to Charlie Ryan’s “Hot Rod Lincoln” for just the fourth and final time of the tour but couldn’t leave without uncorking “God Hates a Coward” of course. I remember being captivated by Patton’s distorted delivery when I heard it for the first time in ’02, and even though I know most folks wouldn’t feel the same way as me, I’m not totally shocked it’s the group’s most popular tune on Spotify by a very wide margin (nearly eight million for those who are counting). But if listening to Tomahawk makes us any less of a coward after all these years later, we’ll happily take it while we wait for them to come back around.

TOMAHAWK

Setlist:
Flashback
White Hats/Black Hats
SHHH!
Capt. Midnight
Howlie
Predators and Scavengers
Business Casual
Doomsday Fatigue
South Paw
I.O.U.
Fatback
Eureka
Birdsong
Rape This Day
Sidewinder
Totem

Encore:
Hot Rod Lincoln (Charlie Ryan cover)
God Hates a Coward
Rise Up Dirty Waters
Point and Click

MELVINS

Setlist:
Working the Ditch
Never Say You’re Sorry
Sway (The Rolling Stones cover)
Evil New War God
Civilized Worm
It’s Shoved
A History of Bad Men
The Bit
Blood Witch
Hag Me
Honey Bucket
Night Goat (with Trevor Dunn)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: ARCO Arena, AVTT/PTTN, Battles, Charlie Ryan, Dead Cross, Faith No More, Fantômas, Helmet, Hemophiliac, Ipecac Recordings, Kaada/Patton, Lovage, Melvins, Mike Patton, Mr. Bungle, Nevermen, Peeping Tom, Pixies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sick New World, Sick New World 2025, Sick New World Festival, Sick New World Festival 2025, The Avett Brothers, The Belasco, The Cows, The Jesus Lizard, The Mark of Cain, The Rolling Stones, Tomahawk, Tool

Two years after their BeachLife Festival headlining slot was canceled, My Morning Jacket return in 2026 to deliver some sweet redemption

May 10, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket //
BeachLife Festival – Redondo Beach, CA
May 3rd, 2026 //

When the lineup for BeachLife Festival’s fifth edition was announced in early 2024, fans of My Morning Jacket could not have been more excited to see the Grammy-nominated rockers listed atop the poster as the South Bay event’s third and final headliner.

Not only did the two other headlining acts that year in Sting and Incubus differ significantly when you compare their overall sound and reach, but the Louisville quintet that’s widely regarded as one of the best live bands in the business had also never headlined a music festival in Southern California after forming more than a quarter century prior. The fact is, music festivals in California and along the West Coast haven’t been a big part of MMJ’s touring schedule (we had made it out to 20 shows in the past decade and a half but have never seen them previously at one for example). Given where the band is now and the limited amount of options in today’s scene though, most headlining slots at a festival can’t rival the two-and-a-half hour auditory rides we have become accustomed to from these road warriors.

There’s no doubt Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) were worthy of such a billing having played at the Hollywood Bowl for the first time — despite being booked as a co-headline performance with Fleet Foxes — just a few months before BeachLife revealed its roster (read our show review here), and with Dirty Heads, Devo, Seal, Local Natives, City and Colour, and Santigold, among others, gracing the stage for the fest’s first two days, it was shaping up to be a stellar weekend of live music in Redondo Beach.

By the time Sunday had arrived, the anticipation was certainly palpable. We hadn’t caught Jacket in the flesh since that night at the Bowl, and considering they only had 75 minutes to work with then, we were looking forward to having some more time for this encounter with the psychedelic-leaning, jam-adjacent five-piece. Of course the appeal of having Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, Fleet Foxes, ZZ Top, Courtney Barnett and Margo Price on the docket as well made it feel like we were in for a banner day down at the beach. That is, until we weren’t.

It can sometimes be easy to forget and hard to remember it’s Mother Nature who ultimately calls the shots as we are all temporary visitors here on Planet Earth. Nonethess, a “high-wind emergency” that forced everyone to evacuate from the premises is not something you experience very often in sunny SoCal and let alone during the month of May. The decision by organizers to cancel the remainder of BeachLife roughly an hour later left thousands of folks stunned, frustrated and disappointed, especially because the winds had completely died down at that point. An announcement after more than a week stating that refunds would be issued to ticket holders offered some consolation, but not for those from out of the area who had traveled long distances to be there. Moreover, nothing could truly replace the hours that went into compiling such a well-curated bill, leaving us and plenty of others wondering if we would ever attend again (read our festival review here).

That unfortunate day hasn’t stopped us from witnessing a number of MMJ concerts subsequently, even if it meant a visit to the Bay Area for their four-night run of no repeats at The Fillmore in San Francisco three weeks after the entire BeachLife fiasco (read our First Times coverage here). Last year’s release of is to mark the group’s 10th studio album provided more opportunities with its summer tour wrapping up in California, and we made sure to not miss all three dates — from Hollywood to Santa Barbara and Berkeley (see more photos from the shows here) — following another epic and awe-inspiring two-night stand at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre (read our show review here).

Jacket’s appearances in and around Los Angeles have become fewer and farther between if we think about those first three shows at The Wiltern we covered way back in 2012, and with their most recent one coming last August, any expectation for a return to the City of Angels this year felt rather unlikely. But having MMJ included in BeachLife’s plans for 2026 came as a pleasant surprise when its seventh installment was officially unveiled, and although some of the circumstances weren’t quite as ideal as they were previously (more on that below), there was real hope that the show would happen this time.

As we alluded to, BeachLife didn’t exactly give Jacket buffs the kind of do-over they arguably deserved. James Taylor, instead, had earned the honor to be one of BeachLife’s main attractions, relegating MMJ to sub-headliner status for 2026 and landing talent that wasn’t anywhere as enticing as it was a couple of years ago. Neither of those drawbacks were going to prevent us from making it to Seaside Lagoon where the Lowtide Stage had been designated for Jacket’s set, however. A “swatting” threat due to “a reported hostage situation involving possible explosives” at the Redondo Pier that morning nearly did believe it or not, sparking another moment of despair and uncertainty surrounding Sunday’s festivities that caused them to be delayed for almost two hours.

But any feelings of déjà vu would shortly thereafter be erased by 2 p.m. when the gates finally opened and the music got underway. For us, the preceding trio of Poolside, Peach Pit and Sheryl Crow merely represented a chance to warm up our ears until James and company totally infiltrated them with MMJ’s scintillating songwriting, poignant lyricism and electrifying guitar solos as the sun slid gradually into the Pacific Ocean and day turned to night.

No matter how many times we have seen Jacket or how long it has been between instances, there is something cathartic and genuinely uplifting when they let loose onstage. Z standouts “Off the Record” and “Lay Low” at the outset received loud cheers from the crowd, buttering us up for one of their most extended tunes in “Phone Went West” — except this iteration gave a nod to the late George Harrison with “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” tacked on at the end. Yet, the biggest highlight of the evening might have been the jam on “Everyday Magic” that has elevated the is track to be a new live favorite of ours. After all, the element of surprise is what has always made each MMJ gig special in its own way because when we step back and look at the current landscape, there aren’t a whole lot that you can say are still going this strong in the name of rock ‘n’ roll these days. BeachLife has made it a priority to shine a light on these artists since its inception and in this case, allow Jacket the chance to deliver some sweet redemption.

Setlist:
Off the Record
Lay Low
Phone Went West / Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
Time Waited
Golden
Everyday Magic
Mahgeetah
Victory Dance
Circuital
Dancefloors

My Morning Jacket - BeachLife Festival 2026

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: BeachLife Festival, BeachLife Festival 2026, City and Colour, Devo, Dirty Heads, Fleet Foxes, George Harrison, Hollywood Bowl, Jim James, Local Natives, My Morning Jacket, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Santigold, Seal, The Beatles, The Fillmore, The Wiltern

What the world needs now is more Fcukers & their sold-out show at The Observatory only served as further proof

April 10, 2026 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Josh Manalang //

Fcukers with Sex Week //
The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
April 3rd, 2026 //

Fcukers are everywhere. The upstart electronic duo out of NYC has already made the rounds at major festivals like Coachella (twice), Glastonbury and Primavera Sound since forming in 2022, and just last month they performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to mark their first TV appearance. There’s even a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park promoting their debut album Ö.

So, it’s a little surprising how often I’m met with quizzical looks and blank stares when I ask folks, “Have you heard of Fcukers?” Ever since they released their lone EP Baggy$$ in 2024, Shanny Wise’s breathy vocals and Jackson Walker Lewis’ thumping production have been rattling around in my head rent-free.

Maybe it’s an age thing. Most of my peers aren’t spending their free time scanning venue calendars or plumbing through the depths of Spotify looking for new music. Or maybe it’s nostalgia. Y2K aesthetics have come roaring back: fashion, graphic design, even iPods and point-and-shoot digital cameras. The same impulse runs through music right now, and Fcukers are riding that bloghouse/indie-sleaze/electro-indie revival. Last year they toured with Tame Impala. This summer they’re serving as support for Harry Styles in São Paulo. They might be the biggest band you’ve never heard of.

Tell that to the throngs of fans lined up outside The Observatory in Santa Ana for a sold-out show last Friday, with only a few Millennials sprinkled into the crowd that skewed primarily Gen Z. As a first-time visitor, the venue’s layout stood out immediately: amphitheater-style tiered levels that wrapped around the room’s ground-floor pit as the balcony overlooks the space. With clear sight lines from nearly every angle, the design far exceeds some of its counterparts (I’m looking at you, The Novo).

Past the front doors, the energy inside was palpable. There were groups gathered in clusters and friends catching up with drinks in hand as the room steadily filled in. Girls in chunky platform boots snapped selfies. Guys double-fisted beers, shouting over the rising noise as more and more ticket holders filed into The Observatory. By the time the main floor reached capacity, the anticipation had settled into something focused and electric.

When the house lights dimmed, the restless crowd snapped to attention. Sex Week were an unexpected but compelling choice for the evening’s opening act. Fcukers lean into sexy, high-tempo and party-ready vibes, whereas the Brooklyn-based slowcore duo create something more restrained and contemplative than what would follow. Their song “Moneyman” felt like a hazy exchange between partners, dual vocals drifting over soft, textured guitar. Sex Week vocalist Pearl Amanda Dickson moved fluidly from one end of the stage to the other, while guitarist Richard Orofino transitioned to percussion midway through the set, adding a subtle shift in momentum. Live, their sound leaned heavier — featuring more distortion and more weight — than their recorded material suggests. Despite the tonal contrast, the audience remained engaged, meeting the performance with enthusiasm.

Leading up to Fcukers’ headlining set, everyone appeared to be locked in: buzzing, restless and ready to erupt. They started with their debut single “Mothers” and the reaction was immediate as the opening lines that outwardly confess “I need to feel your body all of the time / I need your touch just so I can go to bed / Night and day” feel less like lyrics and more like a shared sentiment.

Even though Fcukers present themselves officially as a duo, their live setup adds a DJ and drummer into the mix that transforms the show into something much more physical and immersive. And that’s what sets their gigs apart from others: the energy. It’s constant, kinetic and reciprocal, with a unique power to make their fans feel less like they’re at a traditional concert and more like they’re at a house party stretched to its absolute limit.

Wise and Lewis worked through tracks from their new album Ö, written in a rapid two-week sprint with producer Kenny Beats. Songs like “if you wanna party, come over to my house” sounded harder, faster, louder and more chaotic live in the best way possible. The bass thumped, the stage lights pulsed and the crowd loved every second of what they got to witness. Even amid the brief moments of reprieve, it was impossible not to get pulled in. At one point, Lewis handed his bass guitar to Wise, shifting the tone with a slower track. Later, he paused to address us directly and offer a few words about taking care of each other in these uncertain times, punctuated by a loud “FUCK ICE!” that earned a resounding cheer.

But those moments were fleeting considering the momentum rarely broke. Fcukers closed out the night with selections from Baggy$$, ending on crowd favorite “Bon Bon” that sent the room into one last burst before the house lights came on.

For a band that still draws blank stares when referenced in conversation, Fcukers don’t feel unknown onstage. Instead, they felt inevitable at The Observatory, as if they were a well-oiled machine already operating at full capacity and just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

Because if Fcukers are indeed the biggest band you’ve never heard of, it won’t be for much longer.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Coachella, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Fcukers, Glastonbury Festival, Harry Styles, Kenny Beats, Primavera Sound, Sex Week, Tame Impala, The Novo, The Novo DTLA, The Observatory

Silversun Pickups come out swinging with power & precision to kick off their ‘Tenterhooks Tour’ for a sold-out crowd at The Observatory

February 26, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Silversun Pickups with Pure Hex //
The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
February 19th, 2026 //

Among the many artists and bands who have found their way to Southern California, seeing homegrown acts reach new levels of success is always special in one of the most creative yet competitive industries. Because in a town with as many transplants as Los Angeles, it’s not lost on us native Angelenos when a local product’s profile extends far beyond our city’s limits to enter the national spotlight every so often.

LA’s connection to the music business and its greater impact on the global landscape needs no further explanation of course, but if we can take a short trip down memory lane, the 90’s were a seminal era for rock ‘n’ roll in the City of Angels following the days of glam and hair metal led by the likes of Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses. And even though the explosion of grunge in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest had taken MTV by storm, the rise of “alternative rock” across SoCal was just as palpable with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, Tool, Rage Against the Machine and Incubus all getting lumped under that generic descriptor due to major radio play (thank you, KROQ) despite each undoubtedly having their own unique style and sound.

The turn of the century, however, would usher in a new type of rock that wasn’t nearly as glamorous — or flamboyant quite frankly — as anything preceding it. Unlike the bright lights of the Sunset Strip, gritty and soon-to-be-gentrified neighborhoods on the Eastside such as Silver Lake, Echo Park and Glassell Park became a hotbed for indie outfits by the early 2000’s when electronic music and rave culture were expeditiously growing in popularity across the Southland, too. Nevertheless, there might not be a band to emerge from that scene as quintessential as Silversun Pickups.

Founding members Brian Aubert (lead and backing vocals, guitar, occasional keyboards) and Nikki Monninger (bass, backing and lead vocals) had met several years earlier when Aubert happened to notice Monninger across the aisle stealing alcohol out of the drink cart on a flight from LA to London. Both were traveling to Cambridge for a school exchange program at the time, striking up a friendship that culminated with them forming Silversun Pickups in the new millennium. Aubert spent most of his childhood in Topanga Canyon and the San Fernando Valley while Monninger grew up in Los Alamitos, but playing storied LA clubs like The Echo, Silverlake Lounge and the now-defunct Spaceland (later renamed The Satellite before its subsequent demise during the COVID-19 pandemic), they put down roots in Silver Lake and drew inspiration from local haunt Silversun Liquor for the band’s name after many late-night booze runs.

As much as the blogosphere was an essential tool for discovering new music by this point, support from others in the Silver Lake community that included the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith also proved to be a guiding force for Silversun by the time half of the group’s lineup had turned over in 2002. But within months of Chris Guanlao (drums, percussion, programming, occasional backing vocals) and Joe Lester (keyboards, samples, sound manipulation, occasional guitar and backing vocals) coming aboard, Smith had invited the four-piece to open one of his “comeback” shows at The Fonda Theatre.

Releasing their debut album Carnavas in 2006 with lead single “Lazy Eye” as its anchor put the Pickups squarely on the map for those seeking a new source of rock music and many devoted fans of shoegaze. Comparisons to The Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine came fast and furious as a result in addition to a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist on the heels of their sophomore full length Swoon, which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. Whatever momentum that had been built didn’t vanish suddenly on 2012’s Neck of the Woods and 2015’s Better Nature as both climbed toward the top of the charts, but neither seemed to generate the same kind of mainstream buzz their previous material had.

Maybe that’s why the ensuing Widow’s Weeds less than a year before the whole world shut down saw Silversun collaborate with legendary producer Butch Vig for the first time and continue that relationship on their two most recent studio efforts. Vig has served as Garbage’s drummer for almost 30 years now, but anytime you can land the guy who was behind the boards for Nirvana’s Nevermind, L7’s Bricks Are Heavy, Sonic Youth’s diRty and the aforementioned Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, you hire him and don’t question the decision. From what we can tell, it has not only helped the quartet expand its horizons with Monninger showcasing more of her vocal capabilities at times but also led to a more refined sound and approach when it comes to the songwriting process. Silversun have every right to feel completely sure of themselves after navigating the last two-plus decades together, and that sort of cohesion as well as chemistry remains evident when you throw on their music or watch them perform it live with conviction.

Leading up to the release of Tenterhooks was a little bit different for the Pickups in that it coincided with a real scare during the album’s production when Aubert went to the hospital for an ear infection and had to stay much longer after suffering blood loss due to stomach damage from ibuprofen. It would take him six months after receiving blood transfusions until his ear was fully healed, but thankfully Aubert avoided any permanent damage to his hearing. As he recently explained to SPIN, one of the downsides from the health issues he experienced was not being there to see the album through its final stages when there’s that “wanderlust because you’re still working on it and you still have an imagination with it.” The finishing touches on Silversun’s seventh record were instead left up to Vig and Aubert’s bandmates, who didn’t let him — or their listeners — down.

Tenterhooks is a tighter collection of songs compared to what came ahead of it with a run time short of the 40-minute mark, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some serious bangers as soon as you press the play button. The one-two punch of “New Wave” and “The Wreckage” set the tone right away, giving the follow-up to 2022’s Physical Thrills an accessibility that should appeal to listeners new and old. The 10-track LP would arrive less than a couple weeks before the Pickups hit the road to kick off their 30-date North American tour at The Observatory, and based on the sold-out crowd that greeted them in Orange County, it would be easy to believe you had been transported back to the late aughts upon entering the two-room venue’s main music hall.

Even if they aren’t mixing up their setlist on a nightly basis, Silversun have many of the ingredients that any good live act needs — starting with a charismatic frontman in Aubert to go with a rock-solid rhythm section. It had been close to 10 years since we last saw them and mind you that was inside the Mojave Tent at Coachella, so although the 1,200-person space provided a stark contrast, it also offered a more fulfilling experience as they uncorked a trio of personal favorites in “Well Thought Out Twinkles”, “Panic Switch” and “Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)” prior to their four-song encore that saw Aubert take over keyboard duties for the Tenterhooks cut titled “Running Out of Sounds” (and they certainly aren’t). But no Silversun Pickups show would be complete without a taste of “Lazy Eye” and there was no doubt in our mind it would be coming as the clock eclipsed 10 p.m. No matter how old it is, the unrivaled hit still provokes a visceral feeling that will shake you down to your bones, and at a time when those moments can seem harder to come by as we become more absorbed by technology, it’s seasoned bands like the Pickups that we can count on to remind us what it feels like to be alive.

Setlist:
New Wave
The Wreckage
Well Thought Out Twinkles
It Doesn’t Matter Why
Panic Switch
Au Revoir Reservoir
The Royal We
Witness Mark
Kissing Families
Empty Nest
Mean Spirits
Long Gone
Hot Wired
Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)
Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)

Encore:
Running Out of Sounds
Interrobang
Growing Old Is Getting Old
Lazy Eye

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Butch Vig, Coachella, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Elliott Smith, Guns N' Roses, Incubus, Jane's Addiction, KROQ, L7, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Pure Hex, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverlake Lounge, Silversun Pickups, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Spaceland, The Echo, The Fonda Theatre, The Observatory, The Satellite, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool

Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel showcase their beautiful collaboration ‘Celestun’ at Lodge Room just a few weeks after the album’s release

February 13, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel with Moose Loon //
Lodge Room – Los Angeles
February 6th, 2026 //

One of the best things about ringing in another year is the abundance of new music that ensues over the next 12 months. Although the first quarter can often be a slower time for artists and bands to put out new releases, there are still some early in the year that will often catch our attention.

For us, that started by the middle of January this year when occasional touring partners Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel released their collaborative debut album Celestun after meeting on the road in 2012 and becoming friends. Ramsey spent time in Band of Horses as a songwriter and lead guitarist before leaving to resume his solo project, while Broemel joined My Morning Jacket over two decades ago now as the band’s Swiss Army knife who plays several instruments and has maintained his own solo career for nearly as long.

Embarking on a six-week tour in support of the nine-track LP, the two singer-songwriters were armed with only a pair of acoustic guitars when they visited Lodge Room a couple of days after their show in the desert at the legendary Pappy & Harriet’s (read our First Times coverage here). The historic space that was previously a Masonic Temple in LA’s Highland Park neighborhood has served as an excellent spot for intimate performances in a city with no shortage of options to host live entertainment, and the 500-person room proved to be just the right setting for Ramsey and Broemel shortly after Moose Loon (aka Ryan Anderson of Bendigo Fletcher) warmed up the crowd.

While this tour has given Ramsey and Broemel the chance to showcase the beautiful work they created for Celestun that includes a cover of “Sail Away” by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, it has also allowed them to fill out the setlist with some of their own solo material. Ramsey has been particularly active over these last few years, dropping his most recent studio effort New Lost Ages in 2024 and making an appearance at The Painted Turtle camp that Young enlisted to host his Harvest Moon Gathering in October. Broemel, on the other hand, has remained plenty busy himself writing, recording and touring with MMJ in addition to sharing stages alongside the Georgia “psychedelic-twang” outfit Futurebirds, which has left less time to focus on his own solo endeavors after 2018’s Wished Out and 2019’s joint EP Brokenhearted Jubilee with drummer Eric Hopper were issued.

But for as isolating and anxiety-inducing as the COVID-19 pandemic was, it afforded both Ramsey and Broemel the time to reconnect and develop a partnership that feels natural and unique when you watch them onstage. With their guitar parts fitting together like two puzzle pieces, the duo’s folk-forward music brought a sense of calm and peace when you can’t find much of that in the outside world.

Celestun isn’t exactly something you throw on when you are about to have a big night out on the town. It offers a quieter, yet reflective tone that feels like a perfect accompaniment when you want to take a stroll through nature as the sun dips below the horizon. That probably won’t sound appealing to everyone who reads this, yet after witnessing what Ramsey and Broemel are capable of, it sure does to us.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Band of Horses, Bendigo Fletcher, Carl Broemel, Eric Hopper, Harvest Moon Gathering, Lodge Room, Moose Loon, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Pappy & Harriet's, Tyler Ramsey, Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel

On their first major headlining tour, Say She She make no secret at The Belasco why the ‘discodelic soul’ group’s music is for everyone

February 12, 2026 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Say She She with Katzù Oso //
The Belasco – Los Angeles
February 5th, 2026 //

No matter how we feel about each of our own lives right now, it’s becoming increasingly easier to feel more disheartened about the direction of this country. If you pay attention to the news or at least read headlines on your phone, you probably know what we mean.

Because let’s face it — as democracy continues to die a slow death in the U.S. at the hands of a corrupt and autocratic administration led by one of history’s worst human beings, it can be challenging to remain optimistic about the future.

There’s no time to give up hope, though. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that live music can serve as a powerful tool to bring people together in these anxious and rather uncertain times. It has in the past and we have no reason to believe that won’t continue into the future. Nevertheless, we can’t think of a better up-and-coming act currently to carry that torch than Say She She.

The “discodelic soul” group formed by classically trained singers Piya Malik, Sabrina Cunningham and Nya Brown has the sound and spirit that should appeal to a wide demographic. Just listen to their music for a couple of minutes and its funky, feel-good vibe immediately comes through with the ability to uplift you even on a bad day.

Galactic have always been one of those bands for me, and while Say She She haven’t long been linked to the jam scene like the New Orleans funk outfit has, they fit into the same category from an emotional standpoint. I don’t know anyone — and frankly I’m not sure I would want to — who could have a strong negative reaction to what they have been doing since forming somewhat unexpectedly in 2021.

One evening in Harlem was all it took Malik, Cunningham and Brown to find lightning in a bottle when they joined forces at a house party for a spontaneous rooftop singing session. Malik and Cunningham, in fact, had already been friends for a few years who began collaborating after meeting as neighbors in the same apartment building and overhearing each other practicing their craft. But it wasn’t until Brown came into the picture that Say She She were officially born.

Connecting over a shared love for Nile Rodgers’ music, the trio started writing music and subsequently landed on the name Say She She as a tribute to 70’s disco and funk pioneers Chic before working with other musicians who were pursuing a similar sonic path in bands such as Orgone, The Dap-Kings, The Shacks and Chicano Batman. Malik, Cunningham and Brown would ultimately enlist Orgone members Dan Hastie (keyboards), Sam Halterman (drums), Dale Jennings (bass) and Sergio Rios (guitar) to be their backing band and within a stretch of 12 months were receiving critical acclaim.

Say She She’s debut LP Prism might have put them on the map in the midst of a global pandemic, but 2023’s follow-up Silver is what opened the most eyes (and ears) when public radio gave album opener “Reeling” as well as “Forget Me Not” the airtime they both deserve. With venerable stations like KCRW, KEXP and WXPN heaping praise, they would go on to be named in several “Best of” lists — including our own (see our picks here) — by year’s end and grace some of the biggest stages in the world from Glastonbury Festival to the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

The release of Say She She’s third full length Cut & Rewind back in October, meanwhile, has produced another career milestone for the Brooklyn product in the form of its first major headlining tour. Spanning 24 cities across North America with a pitstop in LA at The Belasco, we made sure to attend at least one of the five California dates. Because what remains undeniable about Say She She is the sheer joy that emanates from not only the music they make, but also the entire unit during live performances. It’s easy to tell all seven members are genuinely enjoying themselves up there, and that kind of infectious energy onstage ends up quickly extending to the crowd.

This wasn’t my first time seeing Say She She in the flesh, however. On a whim last summer I actually caught their free show at the Skirball Cultural Center that seemed to draw both young to old under the stars. Whatever age they were was inconsequential because everyone appeared to be getting down to everything the septet served up over the course of its 90-minute set.

Considering that the Orgone crew has called LA home since the 90’s, it’s certainly a little extra special to see Say She She perform in the City of Angels. In addition to nailing a number of tunes off Cut & Rewind that seamlessly coincided with their older material, they know how to work in a fun cover or two for good measure whether it’s opening with James Gang’s “Collage” or keeping Talking Heads’ “Slippery People” permanently on the setlist (you won’t hear us complain if they do).

Many of the divisions we face today are greater than they ever have been, yet in spite of that, Say She She are shining a bright light in quite a dark world as a microcosm of our current society. If closing the night with “Do All Things With Love” was any indication of where Malik, Cunningham and Brown stand with their message to anyone willing to listen, there’s no doubt they have the right charisma and recipe to bridge even our largest social gaps. Maybe it’s because they give us something to hope for when it can feel like there’s not, and that’s something a lot of folks could use at the moment.

Setlist:
Collage (James Gang cover)
Forget Me Not
Disco Life
Prism
Take It All
Under the Sun
Reeling
Cut & Rewind
Miracles
Chapters
Questions
Shop Boy
Slippery People (Talking Heads cover)
Messages From the Stars (The RAH Band cover)
Astral Plane
She Who Dares

Encore:
C’est si bon
Do All Things With Love

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Belasco Theater, Chic, Chicano Batman, Galactic, Glastonbury Festival, Hollywood Bowl, James Gang, Katzù Oso, Orgone, Say She She, Skirball Cultural Center, Talking Heads, The Belasco, The Dap-Kings, The RAH Band, The Shacks

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2025

December 30, 2025 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Well, here we are again with another year in the books. Music, for one, certainly had its ups and downs throughout 2025. There was Kendrick Lamar’s iconic Super Bowl halftime show, the long-awaited return of Britpop legends Oasis and of course the death of Ozzy Osbourne two weeks after performing for the final time that sent shockwaves across the world. Along with those moments, we witnessed quite a few of our own. Whether it was taking in the closest thing to a Rage Against the Machine show you can see these days, The Prodigy tearing down the house for their first North American headline date since 2017, an evening with Primus that was chock full of surprises, My Morning Jacket’s epic return to Red Rocks, one of the summer’s best co-headline tours with The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse both sharing the stage and Lord Huron’s ascent to newly minted arena act, there was plenty to celebrate and remember over the last 12 months.

But with another year down and 2026 right around the corner, it’s time for us to reveal our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog started more than a decade ago (see our 2024 picks here). As we always say, we will be the first to confess we didn’t attend every show or spin every album that was issued in 2025, but reflecting on the year that was remains just as fun and challenging as when we first started doing this yearly exercise.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2025.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2025:

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Nine Inch Nails at Kia Forum – Los Angeles, CA – September 18th-19th
When these Hall of Famers announced their “Peel It Back Tour” almost a year ago, we had a pretty good feeling that new music would be on the way. What we didn’t know is that it would for the new “Tron” movie that arrived in the fall. And while permanent members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross showcased only the soundtrack’s lone single on this run, it was the production featuring a two-stage setup and reimagining of older songs — particularly on the “B Stage” with Boys Noize as Nine Inch Noize — in addition to the unexpected return of former touring drummer Josh Freese that had me thinking about these final two shows of the tour for weeks. That’s what live music can do when an unforgettable performance sticks with you, which was even more remarkable considering Reznor entered his seventh decade just earlier this year.

2. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 15th-16th
3. Queens of the Stone Age at Arlington Theatre – Santa Barbara, CA – November 8th
4. Jack White at Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – May 12th-13th
5. Primus at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – August 6th

Honorable Mention: The Prodigy at The Warfield – San Francisco, CA – April 13th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Geese – Getting Killed
Let me just say first and foremost that this was not my favorite year for albums. That said, there were several that stuck out and the fourth full length from these NYC indie rockers stood squarely at the top. From the sonic chaos that greets us during “Trinidad” and the groovy, Sly Stoned-flavored “100 Horses” (which is apropos given his death in June) to lead single “Taxes” that’s one of its best and the frenetic finale “Long Island City Here I Come”, the variety of sounds being explored on Getting Killed is almost unparalleled. Geese shouldn’t be considered new kids on the block at this point, but there’s a legitimate reason why they were one of the year’s hottest bands and I am still kicking myself for missing their sold-out show at The Fonda Theatre in late October (resale tickets were going for as much as $800 and that was while the Dodgers were in the World Series no less). Well, fingers crossed for my first one in 2026.

2. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
3. The Mars Volta – Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio
4. Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1
5. Ty Segall – Possession

Honorable Mention: Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Nine Inch Nails – “As Alive as You Need Me to Be”
I have no problem admitting that I am a sucker for any new NIN music. As one of my favorite bands all time, the industrial rockers had not released a proper album in more than a decade and we’re not sure if the “Tron: Ares” soundtrack technically counts in our book either. But we love it when Reznor leans into the electronic side of the project, and “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” with additional production from Boys Noize scratches that itch for us. While numbers don’t always tell the full story, the fact that it was our top played song on Spotify does mean something when you look back on all of the music we got to consume in 2025. Better yet, Trent and Atticus still making music of this caliber speaks volumes to their craft and talent as true professionals.

2. Clipse – “Chains & Whips” feat. Kendrick Lamar
3. My Morning Jacket – “Beginning from the Ending”
4. DARKSIDE – “One Last Nothing”
5. Lord Huron – “Bag of Bones”

Favorite Soundtrack of 2025: Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Home Front at Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA – November 21st
Having caught Home Front last year in SF at Bottom of the Hill I know going into this concert that Home Front was going to absolutely crush it, but man oh man did they completely outdo themselves. Opening act False Flowers warmed up the crowd in spectacular fashion, and The Government did an excellent job as main support. The overly packed room was VERY ready to receive what Home Front was about to give them, and the band destroyed the place inside and out. Sonically crisp and very tight, the band has built a reputation of being a superb live act and it fully lived up to that at this show, playing much of the material from their new album Watch It Die along with material from their previous efforts and a Cock Sparrer cover to end the set.

2. Pile at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – September 10th
3. Pixies with Blonde Redhead, Spoon at Greek Theatre Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – August 28th
4. Deep Sea Diver with Byland at The Independent – San Francisco, CA – April 8th
5. Dance Hall Crashers at Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA – June 7th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Deftones – private music
For a band that has produced as much quality output as Deftones has over the years, it’s nice to see them outdo themselves like they did on this album. I wouldn’t qualify it as a “return to form” since it has much of the sonic familiarity throughout the rest of their catalog, but the songs themselves are just really strong and stick to your bones more than most of their other recent material. They sound like a unit that came into recording this with confidence and intention. The material also feels like it would translate well live, and based on how footage of their concerts this year looked, I stand correct. This is the album that I kept coming back to over and over again in 2025, which didn’t surprise me given my love for these guys.

2. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
3. Home Front – Watch It Die
4. Deep Sea Diver – Billboard Heart
5. Viagra Boys – Viagr Aboys

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Viagra Boys – “Man Made of Meat”
This is such a perfect way to open Viagra Boys’ new album. Right off the bat you get that level of sass and weirdness that we have come accustomed to from the Swedish post-punk band. From the perfectly timed belch in the opening verse to the breakdown where frontman Sebastian Murphy brings up the idea of subscribing “to your mom’s Only Fans,” the song is a buffet of ridiculousness. The chorus is catchy as all get out, and the song as a whole is that perfect mix of accessible and clever. What a fun way for them to get things started.

2. Deftones – “Locked Club”
3. Preoccupations – “Ill at Ease”
4. Home Front – “Light Sleeper”
5. Momma – “New Friend”

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Kendrick Lamar and SZA at SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, CA – May 24th
It’s hard to imagine anything other than a killer Kendrick show after the run he’s had this past year, but the Grand National Tour went above and beyond and around again. It was one set with songs from both artists’ catalogs being seamlessly interwoven before they came back onstage to perform a few of their hits together. Kendrick was riding his deserved high, while SZA was angelic (literally suspended above the crowd wearing wings) and somehow made it feel like we were watching two Beyoncés. The power and craft on that stage was something so special to witness.

2. Little Simz at Fox Theatre Oakland – Oakland, CA – November 17th
3. Clipse at The Novo – Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd
4. Bright Eyes at The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA – February 7th
5. Doechii at Gallagher Square (Petco Park) – San Diego, CA – November 5th

Honorable Mention: NxWorries at Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – October 19th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
After a false start with Def Jam that resulted in a seven-figure buyout, Clipse finally found a home at Roc Nation for their newest album in 15 years over the summer — and now it’s hard to imagine it happening any other way. The brothers Thornton reunited to educate the kids on what a proper album rollout used to entail, the whole time sharing their experiences and emotions surrounding their parents’ deaths to a degree most men would never dream of doing. The beats and bars hit so hard all the way through they even make some of Pharrell’s cringeworthy moments sound catchy. There’s no question Mom and Dad are proud of them after laying down this masterpiece.

2. Little Simz – Lotus
3. Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
4. Landlady – Make Up / Lost Time
5. Panda Bear – Sinister Grift

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Little Simz – “Thief”
Opening her sixth studio album with an intro track that’s as intense as it is eloquent, the London rapper continues to prove she’s not the one to fuck with. Marking the first of a few songs on Lotus that artfully skewers her former musical counterpart Inflo of Sault, “Thief” leaves Simz’s broken heart totally bare against a compelling musical backdrop. It’s never fun to watch close friends have a falling out, but we would be damned if Little Simz didn’t make it sound so good.

2. Clipse – “The Birds Don’t Sing”
3. AJ Tracey feat. Jorja Smith – “Crush”
4. Casey Dienel (fka White Hinterland) – “Your Girl’s Upstairs”
5. Doechii – “Nosebleeds”

Michael Silver // Orange County

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Jack White at The Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA – January 25th
The millennial guitar GOAT went on a generational run in 2025. A master of gorilla marketing and last-minute ticket announcements, White commenced his “No Name” tour with an intimate OC performance. The Internet gods were kind to me as I scored front-row access to see the Detroit native blitzed through a 21-song set spanning White Stripes cult favorites (“The Hardest Button to Button”) to The Raconteurs’ gems (“Broken Boy Soldier”) all while mixing in new joints (“Old Scratch Blues” followed by “That’s How I’m Feeling”). Between playing music halls and theaters as well as NFL stadiums with Eminem in front of a national TV audience on Thanksgiving, the virtuoso and ambassador for all things vinyl was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The White Stripes this year and has carved out his own lane in rock history.

2. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist at The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA – October 27th
3. The Eagles at Sphere – Las Vegas, NV – October 10th
4. Wu-Tang Clan at Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA – June 22nd
5. The Used at House of Blues Anaheim – Anaheim, CA – October 11th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo 2
Following up on 2020’s Grammy-nominated collaboration, the Indiana rapper and California producer created a soulful, translucent vibe of hip-hop bravado. The opening guitar licks on “1995” showcase a new era of creativity by The Alchemist, while Gibbs provides a hypnotic and downright maniacal flow. “Mar-a-Lago” and “Lemon Pepper Steppers” define these sophisticated raps, with the emcee in total control painting a visual storyboard.

2. Deftones – private music
3. Turnstile – Never Enough
4. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
5. Joey Bada$$ – Lonely at the Top

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Turnstile – “Birds”
Has there ever been a more fitting rock anthem to take over the airwaves? Soaring in at 2:27 long, the Baltimore collective blasted into our collective conscience. With high-profile fans like Billie Eilish, Elton John and Hayley Williams singing their praise, it wasn’t long before mainstream radio added them into their rotations. To wrap up a wild press campaign, lead singer Brendan Yates performed the first-ever stage dive at NPR’s Tiny Desk series with “Birds” as his soundtrack.

2. Deftones – “Milk of the Madonna”
3. Diplo – “Flashlight” feat. Project Pat & Juicy J
4. GELO – “Tweaker”
5. Sublime – “Ensenada”

Favorite Soundtrack of 2025: Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares

Filed Under: Best of, Best of 2025, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: AJ Tracey, Arlington Theatre, Backxwash, Blonde Redhead, Boys Noize, Bright Eyes, Byland, Casey Dienel, Clipse, Cock Sparrer, Crypto.com Arena, Dance Hall Crashers, Darkside, Deep Sea Diver, Deftones, Diplo, Doechii, Eminem, False Flowers, Fox Theater Oakland, Freddie Gibbs, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist, Gallagher Square, Gallagher Square at Petco Park, GEESE, GELO, Great American Music Hall, Greek Theatre, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Grove of Anaheim, Hollywood Palladium, Home Front, House of Blues Anaheim, Inflo, Jack White, Joey Bada$$, Jorja Smith, Juicy J, Kendrick Lamar, Kia Forum, Lady Gaga, Landlady, Little Simz, Lord Huron, Modest Mouse, Momma, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Nine Inch Noize, NxWorries, Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne, Panda Bear, Petco Park, Pile, Pixies, Preoccupations, Primus, Project Pat, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Rickshaw Stop, Sault, Sly Stone, SoFi Stadium, Sphere, Spoon, Sublime, SZA, The Alchemist, The Arlington, The Arlington Theatre, The Eagles, The Flaming Lips, The Fonda Theatre, The Government, The Independent, The Mars Volta, The Novo, The Novo DTLA, The Observatory, The Prodigy, The Used, The Warfield, The White Stripes, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Thee Parkside, Tom Morello, Turnstile, Ty Segall, Viagra Boys, Wu Tang Clan

The Mars Volta reaffirm at Pasadena Civic Auditorium that they aren’t resting on their laurels these days & we love them just as much for it

December 3, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

The Mars Volta with Kianí Medina, FELIZ Y DADA //
Pasadena Civic Auditorium – Pasadena, CA
November 26th, 2025 //

I will never forget where I was the first time I heard The Mars Volta.

The calendar read June 2003 and I had just completed my freshman year of college thousands of miles away from home. And as my hobbies transitioned from skateboarding to drumming in high school, I had become obsessed with everything that sounded like progressive rock during my formative years. Rush, Pink Floyd and Tool were prog-rock bands I studied closely with great admiration and still do now, with each inspiring me to fall deeper in love with my instrument thanks largely to their authenticity, creativity and virtuosity as musicians.

It was there in the parking lot of our local outdoor mall that my childhood friend from elementary school put on De-Loused in the Comatorium in his car, and within minutes I found myself transfixed. The music was angsty and raw, and even though I have never been a big fan of punk rock, the tone of lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s voice and vivid, yet surreal imagery that his English and Spanish lyrics painted in a Salvador Dalí sort of way — channeling the agony of losing a bandmate and friend as we would later learn — amid a chaotic frenzy of guitars, keyboards, drums and Latin percussion enticed us right away.

At this point I was not familiar with At the Drive-In or Sparta, so when people find out that TMV are one of my favorite bands all time and quickly suggest that I should listen to the latter, it’s hard to not chuckle inside my head at the suggestion. From our perspective, the difference between them has always been rather stark considering Volta were unlike anything else I had come across in my life. That was, after all, what ultimately compelled me to go out and purchase my own copy of De-Loused the next day.

To state that Bixler-Zavala has a knack for telling stories would be underselling his unique talent to paint pictures and entire scenes through his words, but what made Volta so intriguing throughout those early years and to this day is the unpredictability of it all. Beyond merely Omar Rodríguez-López’s genius and prolificity as a songwriter and guitarist, much of that started to manifest at their concerts with extended renditions of “Drunkship of Lanterns” as well as “Cicatriz ESP” most notably that stretched past the 20-minute mark and fostered a kind of experimentation I had not been exposed to before.

That is, until I drove nearly six hours on a weeknight to catch my first TMV show, which felt like one long jam. And in some ways it really was as I lost myself in the music, with a “Drunkship” opener lasting more than a half hour and marking my official introduction to their live experience. Standing in that hot, sweaty and crowded room, I could see how powerful live music can be. Not just from Bixler-Zavala’s prolonged screams, Rodríguez-López’s ethereal riffs and former drummer Jon Theodore’s thunderous chops that gave off serious vibes of Led Zeppelin, but the chemistry, musicianship and spontaneity of a legendary band all coming together onstage in front of me.

The concept album has long been a format prog-rock bands have taken a liking to, and TMV have not been shy about using it to their benefit beginning with their first two full lengths. While they didn’t totally stick to that script by the time Amputechture arrived in 2006, Rodríguez-López (guitar, direction, backing vocals synthesizers, keyboards) and Bixler-Zavala (lead vocals) have maintained following that strategy since secretly reuniting in 2019 and straying away from the usual prog-rock conventions we had become accustomed to. In fact, the result on 2022’s self-titled was like nothing we had previously heard from the group, with the intention of making a pop-influenced album — to the duo’s standards at least — defying any prior tendencies it had employed when writing and recording. Plus, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear Bixler-Zavala define pop music in an emotional interview with Zane Lowe as “anything that takes the air out of a room and makes you feel like you’re in the trailer of your own movie.” Because for as cinematic as Volta sound, it’s not uncommon for images to form in my own head upon listening to their music. “It always goes back to cinema with this band,” he adds. “I want my music to sound the way movies look.”

For that reason alone, no one should be shocked to learn that TMV’s ninth and latest studio effort Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio, which translates to Filthy Lucre; The Eyes of the Void in English, checks the box as another concept album. Its rollout, however, was unlike anything the outfit had done in the past. Officially dropping in April after being leaked online two months earlier, it wasn’t until Volta debuted the unannounced album in its entirety while opening for Deftones on their 2025 North American headlining tour that we knew for certain there would be new music from them. After a tumultuous breakup that left Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López no longer on speaking terms and an ensuing five-year hiatus, our expectations have been tempered and our hearts filled with the utmost gratitude for anything they are willing to offer us — and the transitions on Lucro Sucio make it easy to get immersed in the magic all happening at once as if an auditory spell has been cast on you.

Yet, what makes TMV so special and had me shedding tears during Lowe’s interview a few years ago with Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala is the brotherhood that they share dating back to their days in El Paso, Texas, before ATDI broke ground as pioneers of the post-hardcore movement. The friendship and partnership they have built was well-documented in the 2023 film titled “Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird” featuring Rodríguez-López’s home-video footage and addressing how Bixler-Zavala almost broke that bond after two decades with his self-help venture into Scientology, eventually leading to allegations actor and now-convicted rapist Danny Masterson had sexually assaulted his wife. It was then and there that Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala went their separate ways to work on their own projects, as Rodríguez-López teamed up with Le Butcherettes lead singer/guitarist Teri Gender Bender to form Bosnian Rainbows and Bixler-Zavala focused on launching his solo career. But after 12 months the two were talking to each other again and subsequently working together in a new supergroup they called Antemasque, leaving open the prospect for a Volta reunion down the road.

With a lot of pain in their lives has come not only an immense amount of healing for TMV, but also a renewed sense of autonomy to explore creatively and honestly without any pressure from the outside. The material on Lucro Sucio and 25-date tour surrounding it has demonstrated such quite clearly given that the septet consisting of Rodríguez-López, Bixler-Zavala, Eva Gardner (bass, double bass), Marcel Rodríguez-López (percussion, synthesizers, keyboards), Leo Genovese (keyboards, piano, saxophone), Linda-Philomène Tsoungui (drums) and Gender Bender (backing vocals) as a touring member did not showcase anything except the 18-track LP. Of course, that’s not to say these performances lacked the improvisation that we crave whenever this band takes the stage.

At the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Thanksgiving Eve, that aforementioned feeling of being totally consumed by the music — this time with more jazz and electronic flourishes — returned as Volta veered off the beaten path on several occasions. I was well aware that we wouldn’t be hearing the older tunes, but knowing the run time on Lucro Sucio is less than one hour, it seemed very likely these songs would not be strictly played note for note (that was what we were hoping for at least). And despite letting the album grow on me over a number of listens this year, it couldn’t prepare those of us in the building for the myriad of twists and turns the Grammy winners would uncork over the course of 90 minutes.

When we truly give artists the space to create, it can open the doors to new ideas and allow humans the opportunity to unlock another dimension of curiosity. There’s no question Bixler-Zavala recognizes how instrumental Rodriguez-Lopez has been for his artistic and personal growth as a lifelong friend: “I can’t stress how valuable my friendship is with Omar because he can write something that I can go, ‘That’s exactly the vehicle I need right now to express what it is I see happening around me,'” he explains near the end of Nicolas Jack Davies’ two-hour documentary. The soft-spoken Rodríguez-López, meanwhile, had a simple, yet poignant explanation for their sonic connection: “The music has always healed us.”

It has always been the glue that has kept them together through so many ups and downs filled with both love and loss, making them an inseparable force and one of the finest singer-songwriter combinations in rock ‘n’ roll history. No, we didn’t get to witness an epic “Cassandra Gemini” off 2005’s Frances the Mute that remains at the top of TMV’s catalog, but the journey they took us on this evening nevertheless was spiritual and transcendent.

We understand that Volta aren’t and won’t be for everyone. For us, they will be remembered as one of the most inspiring acts to ever do it and the fact that they are releasing any music in 2025 is a blessing after everything they have endured over their careers. Whether it’s a small miracle or simply kismet, we think Bixler-Zavala might have put it best in “Omar and Cedric” when he said, “I’m glad that God put us in the same place at the same time.” When you hear that and reflect on how easily none of it could have happened, you realize how lucky we are to have had them at all.

Setlist:
Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio
Fin
Reina tormenta
Enlazan las tinieblas
Mictlán
The Iron Rose
Cue the Sun
Alba del orate
Voice in My Knives
Poseedora de mi sombra
Celaje
Vociferó
Mito de los trece cielos
Un disparo al vacío
Detrás de la puerta dorada
Maullidos
Morgana
Cue the Sun (Reprise)
Lucro sucio

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Antemasque, At the Drive-In, Bosnian Rainbows, Deftones, FELIZ Y DADA, Kianí Medina, Le Butcherettes, Led Zeppelin, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Rush, Sparta, The Mars Volta, Tool

STS9 take over The Bellwether in LA for two nights to celebrate 20 years of ‘Artifact’ & the release of their new album ‘Human Dream’

November 28, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

STS9 with Thought Process (Night 1), Random Rab (Night 2) //
The Bellwether – Los Angeles
November 21st-22nd, 2025 //

What do you get when you combine the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, electronic music, funk, jazz, drum and bass, psychedelia and hip-hop all into one band?

Well, that’s the kind of music Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) have been creating for almost 30 years now.

The Georgia-bred, Northern California-based quintet made up of Hunter Brown (guitars, keyboards), David Phipps (keyboards, synthesizers, programming), Zach Velmer (drums, electronic percussion, programming), Jeffree Lerner (percussion, keyboards, programming) and Alana Rocklin (bass) has garnered a loyal following in the jam scene over that span thanks to its live performances, regularly evoking more than just one adjective to accurately describe them.

Words such as “electrifying”, “dynamic,” “groovy” and “immersive” immediately come to my mind when I reflect on my previous experiences seeing STS9 that included a couple of two-night runs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the early 2010’s with some impressive support — from hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg to more electronic-focused acts like Thievery Corporation, Ghostland Observatory and Big Gigantic. There were a number of subsequent visits to The Wiltern too, which had become a favorite venue in LA for the outfit to book when it came through my hometown.

But considering it had been a while since the last time I saw STS9 onstage and plenty has changed for the five-piece, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to reacquaint myself after a long layoff with two shows at The Bellwether and the first falling on the same day that its new LP Human Dream would be released.

There was actually even more of a reason to celebrate STS9’s return to the City of Angels in more than six years — before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, completely upending the entertainment and music industries — with 2025 marking the 20th anniversary of their seminal album Artifact, which reached as high as No. 12 on the Billboard chart for Top Electronic Albums.

Opening only more than two years ago as one of LA’s newest music venues, The Bellwether has quickly become a welcome addition in one of the world’s biggest entertainment capitals that has no shortage of options when it comes to hosting and presenting live music. We have witnessed several concerts across a variety of genres — from heavy metal and alternative rock to New Orleans funk and now livetronica — inside the multi-level, 1,600-capacity room (read our venue review here) that Prince purchased back in the 90’s to serve as his purple-shaded Grand Slam palace and can say assertively Michael Swier and Gregg Perloff have already turned the 45,000-square-foot property into one of the city’s best for its size.

Along those lines, what made this latest LA stand a little extra special in addition to the aforementioned was the grand opening of The Bellwether’s brand-new space Camille’s on Saturday for those who were looking to keep the party going past midnight with more dancing after STS9 had played their final notes for the weekend and left us awestruck by their perpetual laser light show.

Tribe fans in attendance, which included some who traveled from out of town, certainly seemed pleased with what unfolded as the group mixed and matched offerings primarily from Artifact and Human Dream, with the former bookending Friday’s gig that also boasted the live debut of the latter LP’s “Reminisce” by the first set’s midway point. Saturday’s setlist, meanwhile, followed a similar pattern as STS9 alternated between tracks from both albums prior to unleashing live standout “Muir Soul” and an apropos cover of the “Beverly Hills Cop” theme song that had the crowd hooting and hollering as soon as its iconic synth melody kicked in.

STS9’s touring schedule over the past 12 months hasn’t been nearly as rigorous as it used to be, yet with three more dates lined up at Chicago’s Ramova Theatre to ring in the new year and many more slated for 2026, the future remains bright for one of the hardest-working instrumental bands out there.

NOVEMBER 21ST

Setlist:
Set 1
Musical Story, Yes (>)
Strange Games (>)
Somesing
Portal to the Starry Path (>)
Reminisce (live debut) (>)
Real & Imagined
Like I Do (>)
Vibyl
Presence of Light

Set 2
Forest Hu (>)
Never, Never
ReEmergence
Lift You Up (>)
Balancing (>)
It’s Alright (>)
Life’s a Symphony in Unity
It’s Alright
Year Infinity

Encore:
Music, Us

NOVEMBER 22ND

Setlist:
Set 1
Menacer (>)
Peoples (>)
GLASS-Z13 (>)
Peoples
Peachtree
Muir Soul
Dusk
Better Day (second half housey remix)

Set 2
By the Morning Sun
Walk the Sky
Native End (>)
Tokyo
Beverly Hills Cop (Axel F cover)
Big Basin
Shaky Ground
GLOgli

Encore:
Today

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Axel F, Big Gigantic, Ghostland Observatory, Ramova Theatre, Random Rab, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Snoop Dogg, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9), STS9, The Bellwether, Thievery Corporation, Thought Process

Grammy winners Portugal. The Man deliver their love letter to Alaska at The Wiltern with Electric Guest, Hanni El Khatib as special guests

November 24, 2025 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Melissa Herwitt //

Portugal. The Man with Ya Tseen //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
November 16th, 2025 //

Launching a 20-date North American tour to coincide with the release of their 10th studio album Shish this fall, Grammy-winning indie rockers Portugal. The Man made sure their message of embracing your local community and the artists who shape it was heard loud and clear when they came through LA to headline The Wiltern for the first time in 12 years.

Divided into acts, the group’s performance featured most of Shish during Act I prior to beginning Act II with fan favorites from 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud, 2013’s Evil Friends and 2017’s Woodstock. The show’s final stretch saw PTM return after a brief break to play the closing tracks off Shish for Act III and end the evening on a high with the LP’s gritty finale “Father Gun” that had Swiss Army knife Hanni El Khatib on guitar and vocalist David Marion joining them.

The “Denali” tour, which PTM have used to perform Shish in full, is frontman John Gourley’s love letter to his home state of Alaska. Inside the historic Art Deco theater, Gourley’s vocals harmonized beautifully with his wife Zoe Manville’s while visuals inspired by Alaska’s wilderness and rebellious spirit as well as Gourley’s own illustrations flashed on the large screen behind the band. The production also spotlighted other Indigenous musicians as part of the “Pass The Mic” initiative from opener Ya Tseen to hip-hop act Xiuhtezcatl, who dropped bars at the end of “Live in the Moment / Once Was One” to close Act II.

Asa Taccone of Electric Guest

Other highlights included a surprise guest (no pun intended) appearance by Asa Taccone of Electric Guest, first for PTM’s hit single “Feel It Still” that he co-produced with Gourley and then to deliver his own in the form of Electric Guest’s “This Head I Hold”. A new tune titled “Dive into the Ocean” got its moment too, providing singer-songwriter Zeeba with a chance past the midway point to show off his Brazilian-American pipes alongside Gourley and Manville.

There were subtle video tributes honoring those who are no longer with us, including the late PTM hype man Chris Black during “So Young” (despite no material from 2023’s Chris Black Changed My Life being explored) and actor/comedian Norm Macdonald, whose face served as the artwork for timekeeper Kane Ritchotte’s bass drum. But a poignant rendition of “Tanana”, which offers a sobering take on the “murder in the news” from 2014 that left two Alaska State Troopers killed, we heard in Act III underscored the real reason for the song’s chart-rising success.

Although the “Denali” tour marked PTM’s first without the original Lords of Portland crew we had come to love as longtime fans, a mostly female cast of sidekicks and Marion’s often humorous, yet animated presence brought a dose of fresh energy to the stage. It’s clear their collective activism has led them to create and sustain important causes like the Frances Changed My Life fund for not only their daughter who has been diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disease, but also others across the community, proving that even as the husband-and-wife project with only two permanent members now continues to grow and evolve, its heart and core intentions remain firmly intact more than two decades after forming.

Setlist:
Act 1
Denali
Pittman Ralliers (with David Marion)
Angoon
Knik
Shish
Mush
Tyonek
Kokhanockers

Act 2
Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)
Senseless
Number One
Noise Pollution
So Young
Purple Yellow Red and Blue
Glide (NEIKED cover)
Dive into the Ocean (with Zeeba) (new song)
Creep in a T-Shirt
Modern Jesus
Feel It Still (with Asa Taccone)
This Head I Hold (Electric Guest cover) (with Asa Taccone)
Live in the Moment / Once Was One (with Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh)

Act 3
Created
Tanana
Father Gun (with David Marion & Hanni El Khatib)

Portugal. The Man with Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Asa Taccone, Chris Black, David Marion, Electric Guest, Frances Changed My Life, Hanni El Khatib, Norm Macdonald, Pass The Mic, Portugal. The Man, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh, Ya Tseen, Zeeba

Lord Huron make their hometown fans at Kia Forum see how they’ve gone from burgeoning indie-rock band to newly minted arena act

November 7, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Lord Huron with Feist //
Kia Forum – Inglewood, CA
November 2nd, 2025 //

One of the most redeeming qualities about following music and having the opportunity to address it in this space is watching the trajectory of any act that comes into our purview and strikes a chord with us. We see that kind of progression often manifest when an artist or band books larger rooms and bigger spaces for their latest tour, starting out in clubs of 500 or less and eventually graduating to ballrooms, theaters and amphitheaters that can hold as many as 10,000 fans.

But playing arenas requires a different level of “reach” aka popularity in layman’s terms, and if there’s an indie-rock outfit that I didn’t anticipate headlining arenas in an era when pop stars, rappers and DJs can fill seats at a much higher clip, Lord Huron would have to be on that list.

After all, the group’s continued growth is quite remarkable when you consider it was only 15 years ago that Ben Schneider (guitar, vocals, harmonica) founded Lord Huron as a solo project after relocating to Los Angeles from New York. A native of Michigan who drew inspiration from his visits to Lake Huron, he had been writing music even before studying visual arts while attending college in Ann Arbor as well as in France and then pursuing a career as an artist.

It was in LA, however, where Schneider’s dream as a musician would be realized after recording some material on his own that resulted in a couple of EPs and subsequent calls for him to perform live. That’s when he asked his childhood friends back home to join him on a wild ride that has only picked up more momentum since those early beginnings in 2010.

Schneider has surrounded himself with some different sidekicks since then, but Lord Huron’s cinematic sound and evocative imagery have always exuded modern country-western vibes. While their debut LP Lonesome Dreams laid the groundwork, it was the group’s 2015 follow-up Strange Trails that ushered in mainstream appeal and commercial success after the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” shined a light on “The Night We Met” during its first and second seasons.

Any artist or band that has an album go certified platinum early on in its career — especially in this day and age — could easily rest on its laurels, and in spite of Strange Trails eclipsing that prestigious mark here stateside, there has been no letdown for Lord Huron. Their ensuing full length Vide Noir that they dropped three years later would reach as high as No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart with such standouts as “Ancient Names (Part I)”, “Wait by the River”, “When the Night Is Over” and the title track bolstering the 12-song effort, ultimately cementing their status as one of the most exciting folk-based outfits in the past decade.

The indie-folk genre has felt increasingly crowded ever since the Garden State soundtrack came out in 2004 with Sub Pop and Saddle Creek, among other record labels, investing resources into upstarts like Iron & Wine and Fleet Foxes before Bon Iver, Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers would take things to another level. Those aren’t the only sonic-adjacent acts that come to mind when we consider how many others — including Father John Misty, Band of Horses, Local Natives, Grizzly Bear, The Paper Kites, Of Monsters and Men, Volcano Choir, and Blitzen Trapper to name quite a few — could also be lumped in with Lord Huron on the same bill now if push came to shove.

That’s actually something to celebrate given the uncertainty around the future of music and technology, but it is why we were surprised and at the same time equally impressed to see Schneider and company headlining the Kia Forum with a capacity of 17,500 to culminate a 44-date tour over the last five months that stretched from the U.S. to Europe and the UK before wrapping up along the West Coast.

I can’t and won’t claim to be a die-hard Lord Huron fan, but it was only a little more than four years ago when I caught them at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in what proved to be one of the first concerts I witnessed coming out of an 18-month lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic days after covering My Morning Jacket at the Santa Barbara Bowl (read our show review here). And it’s one that I can foresee myself always remembering — mainly because of the skeleton cowboy Schneider portrays as a visual metaphor for a psychonaut who’s exploring the space between life and death — as it was honestly too memorable to forget given the spooky environs that paired with the onstage production. The album that they were touring in support of was the first they had issued any singles for believe it or not, and 2021’s Long Lost proved again with “Mine Forever”, “Not Dead Yet” and “I Lied” (with Allison Ponthier) leading the way that they are not a one-trick pony.

As thoughts from the Hollywood Forever replayed in my head as I arrived in Inglewood on the first Sunday after turning the clocks back, walking into an arena-sized venue for a Lord Huron show felt slightly strange. Having spent two nights at The Forum in September for the final dates of Nine Inch Nails’ “Peel It Back Tour” with Boys Noize when every seat in the house was spoken for, this wasn’t quite the same turnout. Nevertheless, it was rather evident Lord Huron have upgraded their western-style stage production — complete with a pay phone Schneider pretended to operate at the outset — since the release of The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 in July to mark the four-piece’s fifth studio album and arguably its most complete one yet.

In fact, watching more than half of the songs on The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 come to life in front of a hometown crowd only gave us a deeper appreciation for Schneider’s songwriting capabilities and the evolution of Lord Huron’s sound with each album cycle. There was the upbeat, almost frenetic “Who Laughs Last?”, which features spoken word verses throughout by actress and director Kristen Stewart on the record, to kick things off plus two other Cosmic Selector highlights in the form of “Looking Back” and “Bag of Bones” that followed. The setlist assembled for this year’s tour incorporated every one of Lord Huron’s albums, and Strange Trails certainly got its due with four consecutive songs — “La Belle Fleur Sauvage”, “Frozen Pines”, “Meet Me in the Woods” and their biggest hit “The Night We Met” that was accompanied by a female and male actor who role played as a couple in love before parting ways — going into the encore break.

Schneider and his cohorts Mark Barry (drums, percussion, vocals), Miguel Briseño (bass, keyboards, percussion, theremin) and Tom Renaud (guitar, vocals) seemingly didn’t stop there, though. With three touring members Brandon Walters (guitar, vocals), Misty Boyce (keyboards, vocals) and Waylon Rector (guitar, vocals) mixing into the equation, “The World Ender” opened the encore like there was a stallion galloping through the desert at full speed to make it five straight from their sophomore smash. Whether it’s country and folk or rock and pop, there’s a little bit of something for everyone coming through Lord Huron’s music. Regardless of where you come down on it, you can’t argue — at least seriously — that the result is not eclectic. Of course, that’s what makes them a major draw at this point and one we can tell is progressively hitting its stride.

LORD HURON

Setlist:
Who Laughs Last
Looking Back
Bag of Bones
Ends of the Earth
The Ghost on the Shore
Wait by the River
Secret of Life
Used to Know
Ancient Names, Pt. I
Long Lost
Twenty Long Years
Watch Me Go
I Lied
La Belle Fleur Sauvage
Frozen Pines
Meet Me in the Woods
The Night We Met

Encore:
The World Ender
Nothing I Need
Not Dead Yet
Life Is Strange

FEIST

Setlist:
I Feel It All
My Moon My Man
A Commotion
How Come You Never Go There
Hiding Out in the Open
Borrow Trouble
Let It Die
1234

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Allison Ponthier, Band of Horses, Blitzen Trapper, Boys Noize, Feist, Grizzly Bear, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Kia Forum, Kristen Stewart, Local Natives, Lord Huron, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Of Monsters and Men, Santa Barbara Bowl, The Paper Kites, Volcano Choir

Band of Horses, Iron & Wine come together in LA to create a unique evening of indie rock & folk at The Wiltern on their co-headline tour

October 1, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Band of Horses

By Josh Herwitt //

Band of Horses & Iron & Wine //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
September 24th, 2025 //

Ben Bridwell and Sam Beam have been friends for more than three decades.

Growing up not far from each other in South Carolina, music is what brought them together before they went their separate ways. But even 3,000 miles couldn’t keep them apart for too long.

It was Bridwell, in fact, who introduced Beam to Sub Pop Records after moving cross-country to the Seattle area in the late 90’s and subsequently forming Band of Horses. A few years later, Beam was dropping his debut LP The Creek Drank the Cradle under the moniker Iron & Wine on the same label that became instrumental to the grunge movement by signing Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney.

Bridwell remains the only constant member in Band of Horses, which now operates as a four-piece due to the absence of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Monroe (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) since the group went on tour earlier this year to play a handful of gigs in Texas and Arkansas that included a stop during South by Southwest at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q.

In spite of BoH’s numerous lineup changes, Bridwell (lead vocals, guitar, pedal steel, keyboards) has carried on with Creighton Barrett (drums, percussion), Matt Gentling (bass, backing vocals) and Brett Nash (guitar, backing vocals) at his side while continuing to collaborate with Beam following the 2015 release of their initial covers album Sing into My Mouth.

Iron & Wine

Now the two singer-songwriters are back with some more recordings of their favorite tunes, this time in the form of an EP titled Making Good Time that arrived less than a couple of weeks prior to the LA date on their co-headline tour spanning 12 U.S. cities mostly on the West Coast over a matter of two weeks.

We have witnessed quite a few concerts at The Wiltern (see our more of our coverage here), but none with chairs set up on the floor. Only the VIP pit area in front of the stage would serve as standing room for this show, with Iron & Wine opening the evening and showcasing offerings from 2024’s Light Verse amid other material across his catalog while being accompanied by a full band. Joining Beam onstage for the final six songs of the set was Bridwell, as they ran through their own renditions of Spiritualized’s “The Straight and the Narrow”, Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”, Ronnie Lane’s “Done This One Before” and Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping “luther” featuring SZA that gave us a good chuckle toward the end.

Although the sixth and latest BoH full length Things Are Great came out in 2022, Bridwell took us back to “The First Song” that kicks off their first studio effort Everything All the Time . Cease to Begin singles “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Is There a Ghost” came early amidst a barrage of other hits such as “The Great Salt Lake”, “Casual Party”, “Laredo” and “Crutch”, yet it was the latter that was preceded by a 50’s rockabilly version of “St. Augustine” we didn’t hear when we caught them at LA’s Greek Theatre with The Revivalists two years ago (see more photos from the show here).

Other highlights coming out of BoH’s performance saw Bridwell and company also dedicating a section of their setlist to several collaborations and covers — from Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” and J.J. Cale’s epic “Thirteen Days” to Iron & Wine’s and Calexico’s “Dead Man’s Will” off their joint EP In the Reins — with Beam and uncorking the first “How to Live” in 10-plus years shortly thereafter. And of course, we’d be remiss to not mention the final one-two punch of “Ode to LRC” and “The Funeral” that brought many in the crowd to their feet down the homestretch.

Considering the smiles both flashed at certain points, it was apparent Bridwell and Beam were enjoying themselves and cherishing the moment. After all, it’s not often you get to see two established indie acts of this caliber occupying the same space on the same night. Either way, watching them share the stage presented a special opportunity for any live music fan and reminder of how fortunate we are to still be in this position.

BAND OF HORSES

Setlist:
The First Song
NW Apt.
No One’s Gonna Love You
The Great Salt Lake
Is There a Ghost
Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
Casual Party
For Annabelle
Laredo
St. Augustine (1950s rockabilly version)
Crutch
Our Swords
Clay Pigeons (Blaze Foley cover) (with Iron & Wine)
Slow Cruel Hands of Time (with Iron & Wine)
Dead Man’s Will (Iron & Wine and Calexico cover) (with Iron & Wine)
Thirteen Days (J.J. Cale cover) (with Iron & Wine)
The General Specific (with Iron & Wine)
How to Live (first time since 2015)
Ode to LRC
The Funeral

IRON & WINE

Setlist:
On Your Wings
Yellow Jacket
Valentine
House by the Sea
All in Good Time
Communion Cups and Someone’s Coat
Tears That Don’t Matter
Call It Dreaming
Passing Afternoon
Singers and the Endless Song
Sweet Talk
The Straight and the Narrow (Spiritualized cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Detlef Schrempf (Band of Horses cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Done This One Before (Ronnie Lane cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Upward Over the Mountain (with Ben Bridwell)
luther (Kendrick Lamar cover) (with Ben Bridwell)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Band of Horses, Ben Bridwell, Blaze Foley, Calexico, Iron & Wine, J.J. Cale, Kendrick Lamar, Mudhoney., Nirvana, Ronnie Lane, Soundgarden, South by Southwest, Spiritualized, Stubb's, Stubb's Bar-B-Q, Sub Pop, Sub Pop Records, SZA, Talking Heads, The Revivalists, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre

Portola Music Festival 2025: Our awards & highlights for Year 4

September 29, 2025 by Molly Kish 1 Comment

LCD Soundsystem

Photos by Christine Kemp // Written by Molly Kish //

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 20th-21st, 2025 //

The Bay Area celebrated Portola’s fourth edition this September by packing SF’s Pier 80 with its most diverse lineup so far. Attendees got the opportunity to catch legendary electronic artists, festival debuts, the iconic return of several dance-punk outfits and a show-stopping performance by one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.

The weather was impeccable, but that wasn’t enough to keep crowds from forming lines all weekend long to gain entry to the Bay Area debut of Despacio. James Murphy shared unofficial joint headliner duty with his high-fidelity audio immersion system that served as an honorary fifth stage. Folks waited sometimes hours to enter the dimly lit sound enclosure, lined with seven stacks of McIntosh-powered speakers, synchronized yet very sparse lighting, 50,000 watts of amplifiers and a giant disco ball. Lead audio engineer John Klett calls it an “emotional transmission machine,” and over the course of the two-day fest, many made a point to go find themselves in there.

Portola 2025 marked some monumental comebacks, including the first Bay Area show for The Rapture in more than 10 years, The Prodigy’s highly anticipated appearance after having to reschedule one of their two Coachella sideshows at The Warfield in April (read our show review here) and Moby’s return for the first time since the Ghostship Fire Benefit in 2020 to perform his seminal album Play with a live band and vocalist. Last but certainly not least was pop icon Christina Aguilera, who turned the festival into a girly-pop fever dream for 45 minutes and blazed through one of the weekend’s most epic sets.

Despacio

There were clear improvements to the layout for both the Warehouse and Pier Stage with larger and more accurately located VIP sections, and though the grounds felt less activated, they seemed to be more manageable. The selection of food vendors was also greatly improved, with less waiting time at the bars and larger selections of cocktails as well as specialty drinks than ever before.

For this latest installment, Portola went all in on tried-and-true favorites that included bringing back Dom Dolla, Caribou, Chemical Brothers and 2manydjs after their previous appearances. Goldenvoice paired down the over-the-top production from prior years and turned the focus toward the music, too.

With noticeably smaller crowds and lighter fairground fluff, attending Portola this year felt different. But for a festival that draws fans who are more concerned about seeing quality performances than posting influencer-friendly content, it remained true to form in 2025 and was a much-needed party for the Bay Area’s club core.

Christina Aguilera

PORTOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025 AWARDS:

Headliner of the Weekend: The Prodigy

Favorite Stage: Warehouse

Breakthrough Performance: Anti Up (Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo)

Best Dance Party: Moby

Largest Crowd: Dom Dolla

Festival Daddy: Mau P

Portola Queen: Christina Aguilera

Best Legacy Act: Underworld

Hardest Set: Brutalismus 3000

Best Live Performance: LCD Soundsystem

Biggest Comeback: The Rapture

Most Cunty: Rico Nasty

Best Stage Production: Chemical Brothers (DJ set)

Favorite Festival Addition: Despacio

Best Afterparty: Peggy Gou B2B Mau P at 888 Garage

Biggest Improvement: Relocation of VIP section

Most Swoonworthy: Maribou State

Favorite Merch: Raccoon backpack

Silliest Trend: Food label stickers

Largest Obstacle: Lack of cellular service

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Marie Davidson

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Arc De Soleil

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Jazzy B2B KILIMANJARO

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Confidence Man

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Magdalena Bay

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Dabeull Live Band

Portola Music Festival 2025 - San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie

Portola Music Festival 2025 - The Chemical Brothers (DJ set)

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Kreayshawn

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Swimming Paul

Portola Music Festival 2025 - The Blessed Madonna B2B Tiga

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Maribou State

Portola Music Festival 2025 - 2manydjs B2B Erol Alkan

Portola Music Festival 2025 - The Rapture

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Blood Orange

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Boy Harsher

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Underworld

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Brutalismus 3000

Portola Music Festival 2025 - The Prodigy

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: 1tbsp 2manydjs, 2ManyDJs, 2ManyDJs B2B Erol Alkan, 888 Garage, Anti Up (Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo), Anti-Up, Arc De Soleil, Arca, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Bad Juuju, Blawan, Blood Orange, Bob Moses, Bolis Pupul, Boy Harsher, Brutalismus 3000, Caribou, Chris Lake, Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo, Chris Lorenzo, Chris Stussy, Christina Aguilera, Coachella, Coachella 2025, Coachella 2025 sideshows, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2025, Coachella sideshows, Confidence Man, Dabeull, Despacio, Disclosure, DJ Gigola, Dom Dolla, Duke Dumont, Dylan Brady, Erol Alkan, Fisher, Four Tet, Gesaffelstein, Goldenvoice, HAAi, Hamdi, Haute & Freddy, Horse Meat Disco, James Murphy, Jamie xx, Jazzy, Jazzy B2B KILIMANJARO, Justice, Kelly Lee Owens, KETTAMA, KI/KI, KILIMANJARO, Kreayshawn, Kumo 99, LCD Soundsystem, Loukeman, M.I.A., Magdalena Bay, Malugi, Maribou State, Marie Davidson, Mau P, Moby, nate sib, NEIL FRANCES, NEIL FRANCES (Presents Club NF), Nick León, Noga Erez, Oppidan, Peggy Gou, Pier 80, Portola, Portola 2025, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2025, Prospa, Prospa B2B Kettama, Ravyn Lenae, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Rico Nasty, Salute, SHEE, Ski Aggu, SKIIS, Swimming Paul, The Blessed Madonna, The Blessed Madonna B2B Tiga, The Chemical Brothers, The Dare, The Hellp, The Prodigy, The Rapture, Tiga, Underworld, Villager, X CLUB., Yousuke Yukimatsu, Zack Fox

Grieving the loss of their former bandmate, Baroness remember the past at a sold-out Lodge Room on the ‘Red & Blue Tour’

September 26, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Baroness with Weedeater //
Lodge Room – Los Angeles
September 20th, 2025 //

There’s no doubt the past few months have been a tough time for heavy metal after Black Sabbath’s farewell show and Ozzy Osbourne’s subsequent passing over the summer shined a spotlight on the community and brought it closer together.

The impact that both had on music at large will never be forgotten and thus why Osbourne’s death sent shockwaves around the world when it occurred just more than two weeks after he entertained a capacity crowd in his hometown of Birmingham, England.

But unfortunately Ozzy hasn’t been the only loss to hit metalheads and rock fans hard in 2025. Weeks later, Iron Maiden’s original lead singer Paul Mario Day succumbed to his battle with cancer while ex-Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds was subsequently killed in a motorcycle accident months after parting ways with the Atlanta outfit (and days earlier making some disparaging comments online).

Among these recent tragedies has also been Allen Blickle, who played drums for alt-prog-sludge act Baroness when it formed back in 2003. Another cancer victim, he drummed on the group’s first three LPs and even contributed keyboards to 2012’s Yellow & Green before suffering a fractured vertebrae when the band’s tour bus crashed later that year and calling it quits shortly thereafter.

So despite the tragic news coinciding with the second leg of the “Red & Blue Tour” that Baroness had announced at the start of this year to celebrate their first two studio albums, it felt quite fitting to watch founding member John Baizley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion) and his comrades Sebastian Thomson (drums), Nick Jost (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) and shredding partner Gina Gleason (lead guitar, backing vocals) perform music Blickle had a role in creating when the Grammy-nominated quartet rolled through his adopted home of LA for a sold-out gig at Lodge Room.

An opening set by doom-metal trio Weedeater would see frontman Dave “Dixie” Collins getting pretty loose as he held down lead vocals and bass duties in his own unique way, making us wonder at one point how many libations he had consumed prior to taking the stage. Considering it has been 10-plus years since their last full length Goliathan came out, the thought of when we might hear new material from Collins, Dave “Shep” Shepherd (guitar, backing vocals) and Ramzi Ateyeh (drums) undoubtedly crossed my mind too as they touched on all five chapters of their current catalog in 45 minutes.

This evening on summer’s penultimate day, however, would belong to Baroness of course. Inside the Highland Park venue, the anticipation had been building and finally reached a breaking point by 9:15 p.m. when Baizley and company walked onstage to a loud barrage of cheers. From there, Baroness proceeded to do what exactly what they said they would and that meant pounding 2007’s Red Album along with 2009’s Blue Record straight into our earholes.

As a live music fan, I have witnessed my fair share of album tribute shows and though I can’t say I am completely against them, there is something about not knowing which songs we will hear that makes a concert feel special. The element of surprise can never be understated when it comes to experiencing live music and something I don’t take for granted when I see artists switch up their setlists every night.

We have seen Baroness do some of that during their previous visits to the City of Angels — including stops at The Echo (see more photos from the show here) in 2022 and The Bellwether in 2023 not long after it opened (read our venue review here) — yet understand the purpose of this tour wasn’t designed for that. The shock and grief was still too fresh after all, and given the circumstances, you couldn’t help but view the tour as a bigger opportunity for us to remember Baroness’ past in more ways than one (or two). And after hearing Baizley speak candidly about his late friend in between songs, it was impressive to see him rock out as feverishly as he did under the red and blue lighting that continuously flooded the room’s diminutive stage.

Baroness are now two years removed from dropping their sixth album Stone and have developed a loyal following in a matter of two decades. Nevertheless, the chemistry they exhibit onstage is ultimately what makes their performances exhilarating and why their music is best experienced live. Heavy metal might not be as popular as it once was in the 80’s and 90’s, but it has certainly evolved in that span. Because with innovative bands like Baroness still going strong, we can be rest assured there’s no end in sight for one of the most important subgenres in rock ‘n’ roll history.

BARONESS

Setlist:
Set 1 (Red Album)
Rays on Pinion
The Birthing
Isak
Wailing Wintry Wind
Cockroach En Fleur
Wanderlust
Aleph
Teeth of a Cogwheel
O’Appalachia
Grad

Set 2 (Blue Record)
Bullhead’s Psalm
The Sweetest Curse
Jake Leg
Steel That Sleeps the Eye
Swollen and Halo
Ogeechee Hymnal
A Horse Called Golgotha
O’er Hell and Hide
War, Wisdom and Rhyme
Blackpowder Orchard
The Gnashing
Bullhead’s Lament

WEEDEATER

Setlist:
Bull
Hammerhandle
Mancoon
Turkey Warlock
God Luck and Good Speed
Wizard Fight
For Evan’s Sake
$20 Peanut
Dirt Merchant
Jason… The Dragon
Monkey Junction
Time Served
Gimme Back My Bullets (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Weed Monkey

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Baroness, Black Sabbath, Brent Hinds, Iron Maiden, Lodge Room, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mastodon, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Mario Day, Weedeater

The Flaming Lips & Modest Mouse team up for one of the summer’s best co-headline tours as we witnessed at the Santa Barbara Bowl

September 12, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

The Flaming Lips

By Josh Herwitt //

The Flaming Lips & Modest Mouse with Dehd //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
September 5th, 2025 //

A couple of weeks ago, we made the case that summer continues to be live music’s biggest and most important season after Louisville five-piece My Morning Jacket closed out their summer tour with three dates in California (see more photos from the shows here).

While the industry has always thrived when the days are long and weather is warm, one of the draws about seeing live music in the summer is the co-headline tour. Back in 2023 there was not only MMJ and Fleet Foxes sharing the iconic Hollywood Bowl’s stage (read our show review here), but also The Revivalists and Band of Horses that subsequently proved to be a fun mix to catch on a night out under the stars (see more photos from the show here).

Last summer didn’t offer much as far as co-headline tours go, and while having Phantogram open for Kings of Leon (see our photos from the show here) marked one of the best double bills from 2024, this year has brought together some new pairings and one standing out right away was psych-rock veterans The Flaming Lips joining forces with indie-rock pioneers Modest Mouse for “The Good Times Are Killing Me” tour across 18 U.S. cities.

Considering the longevity of both bands, each has spent countless hours on the road. Modest Mouse, after all, are no strangers to the co-headline tour, and while no pun was intended there, we do say that after watching them share the stage with Brand New back in 2016 on the heels of releasing their sixth studio album Strangers to Ourselves (read our show review here). Isaac Brock, who has served as the project’s lead vocalist, principal songwriter, guitarist and only constant member since forming out of the Pacific Northwest in the early 90’s, has kept things afloat even with founding members Eric Judy (bass, acoustic and rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and of course the late Jeremiah Green (drums, percussion) no longer in the picture.

It has already been more than four years since Modest Mouse put out new music, but they also remain one of a select few indie acts to craft a unique setlist for each show — something you can expect from a jam band — and it’s what has compelled us to be “in the room” whenever they come to town. There are plenty of bigger fans of jam bands than yours truly, yet there’s something about not following the same script every night that makes a Modest Mouse concert feel special.

Modest Mouse

Surprisingly, no material on 2021’s The Golden Casket was touched when Brock and his sidekicks came to the Santa Barbara Bowl for their first visit in almost two decades. Instead, they leaned into older tunes from 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica, 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West and even 1999’s Night on the Sun EP that was only made available in Japan. Highlights throughout their 75-minute set included several deep cuts starting with “Fly Trapped in a Jar” and “Paper Thin Walls” before “Perfect Disguise” and “Styrofoam Boots” came later as well as the new, unreleased “Dogbed/Sheetrock” that provided a change of pace sonically without Brock’s usual shout-bark vocals. What we found a bit ironic was not hearing the song the tour was named after, though we realized with a little bit of online research that it wasn’t played at any point during the tour and only twice so far in 2025.

The Flaming Lips, meanwhile, are still one of a kind and going strong for 40-plus years. This wasn’t our introduction, having seen them as early as 2003 when they were touring in support of what has become their landmark 2002 LP Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and the feeling of being totally overstimulated by Teletubbies and other costumed dancers onstage at the age of 18 has been burned into my memory forever. Since then, we have caught the Lips in a variety of other settings — from festivals to their own headline gigs — but maybe none better than when they took a sold-out audience in Los Angeles for a ride at The Theatre at Ace Hotel (now known as the United Theater on Broadway), the historic movie palace that was built in 1927 and only seats 1,600 (read our show review here).

As much as its music sounds different from Modest Mouse’s, there is enough crossover appeal with the Oklahoma City outfit led by founding member and frontman Wayne Coyne for a co-headline tour like this to work. In fact, this wasn’t the first time the two groups have played the same night at the Bowl after the “Unlimited Sunshine Tour” that also featured Kinky, Cake and De La Soul stopped through in 2002. And when we saw Modest Mouse celebrate the quarter-century mark for The Lonesome Crowded West just a few years ago at The Wiltern, they covered “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain” on the Lips’ 1990 studio effort In a Priest Driven Ambulance during the encore, so to assume that there is no familiarity between them would be foolhearted. That said, any enthusiast of 90’s rock could get behind what occurred over the next several hours and despite the venue’s tight curfew making for an early start time of 6 p.m., you could not ask for a more picturesque scene on a warm and beautiful Friday evening as Chicago three-piece Dehd kicked things off well over a year after their fifth full length Poetry dropped on Fat Possum Records to favorable reviews.

With all of the antics and shenanigans that transpire during a Flaming Lips performance, there’s no way someone could be bored by the constant barrage of confetti cannons, inflatable stage props, oversized costumes and trippy visuals projected on the large screen behind them. If so, we probably don’t want to hang out with them. There’s so much happening up there it’s easy to get lost in the chaos, but it’s really the music and not the production that has convinced us to come back for more. A cover of “The Golden Path” by The Chemical Brothers that the Lips contributed vocals on, for instance, got its own permanent spot midway through, and Coyne’s homage to Ozzy in the form of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” was the most recent tribute to the legendary Prince of Darkness we have witnessed after Primus at LA’s Greek Theatre (read our show review here) and MMJ at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (read our show review here) delivered their own to loud applauses.

Coyne and his cohorts have been honoring the 20th anniversary of Yoshimi for the past three years and their setlist for this tour, unlike Modest Mouse’s, did not deviate at all from one city to the next. Usual live staples “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)”, “She Don’t Use Jelly” and crowd favorite “Do You Realize??” brought things to a fever pitch prior to the final homestretch that saw them end with The Soft Bulletin single “Race for the Prize”, which we remember was the opener for that initial encounter at the Hollywood Palladium. A lot has changed for the Lips in that span, whether it has been welcoming in new cast members or collaborating with household names such as Miley Cyrus, Thievery Corporation, Erykah Badu, Kesha, Nick Cave, Neon Indian and more. Coyne, for one, doesn’t appear to be slowing down at 64 years old, with his charisma channeling a love and zest for life he hasn’t lost, and we sure hope somehow he never does.

THE FLAMING LIPS

Setlist:
Sleeping on the Roof
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2
Turn It On
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
Five Stop Mother Superior Rain
The Golden Path (The Chemical Brothers cover)
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)
She Don’t Use Jelly
Do You Realize??

Encore:
War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
Race for the Prize

MODEST MOUSE

Setlist:
King Rat
Float On
Fly Trapped in a Jar
Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
Dogbed/Sheetrock
Paper Thin Walls
Ocean Breathes Salty
Perfect Disguise
Night on the Sun
Dance Hall
Dashboard
Little Motel
Third Side of the Moon
Styrofoam Boots
Spitting Venom

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Band of Horses, Black Sabbath, Brand New, CAKE, De La Soul, Dehd, Erykah Badu, Fat Possum, Fat Possum Records, Fleet Foxes, Greek Theatre, Hollywood Palladium, Kesha, Kia Forum, Kings of Leon, Kinky, Miley Cyrus, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Neon Indian, Nick Cave, Ozzy Osbourne, Phantogram, Primus, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Bowl, The Flaming Lips, The Revivalists, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, The Wiltern, Thievery Corporation, United Theater on Broadway

My Morning Jacket close out their 2025 summer tour in a big way at Hollywood Palladium, Santa Barbara Bowl & Greek Theatre Berkeley

August 29, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

My Morning Jacket - Greek Theatre Berkeley 2025 - Jim James

My Morning Jacket at Greek Theatre Berkeley

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket with Melt //
Hollywood Palladium, Santa Barbara Bowl & Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, Santa Barbara & Berkeley
August 19th-20th & 22nd, 2025 //

Is there a better season for live music than summer?

Even if it’s not your favorite season personally, it’s certainly live music’s. With the days long and weather warm, that’s when the industry truly thrives as summer tours and festivals take center stage all across of the world.

And while it doesn’t matter to us what time of the year it is when My Morning Jacket go on tour, it’s hard to beat seeing the Grammy-nominated quintet perform during the summertime. For fans of Jacket, that can often mean a chance to see them at some of the country’s best outdoor venues, and regardless of who’s onstage, there’s always something special about taking in a concert under the stars to go with an unlimited supply of fresh air.

Coming off two stellar performances at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre (read our show review here) the previous weekend in support of their 10th full length is, MMJ headed west to California for the final three dates of their summer tour with NYC indie-soul outfit Melt.

My Morning Jacket - Santa Barbara Bowl 2025 - band

My Morning Jacket at Santa Barbara Bowl

It had been almost exactly two years since Jacket had played in LA during what was a magical evening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (read our show review here) after their headlining set at BeachLife Festival in 2024 was abruptly canceled due to high winds (read our festival review here), and with the band designating its already scheduled date at the Hollywood Palladium as one of five shows to honor the 20th anniversary of their fourth LP Z and playing its only indoor one of the summer, it felt like Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Swiss Army knife Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) were intent on making up for lost time without a strict curfew to follow. We were treated to two sets and an encore as a result, with MMJ extending past the 2.5-hour mark thanks to stirring renditions of “Beginning from the Ending”, “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2”, “Where to Begin” and “Spring (Among the Living)”, the latter of which featuring a beautiful hat tip to the late Ozzy Osbourne in the form of a “Mama I’m Coming Home” tag.

Though we wouldn’t hear Z from start to finish the following night, the album still got some play at the picturesque Santa Barbara Bowl as Jacket opened with “Anytime” and brought back the intro jam on “Off the Record” that we fell in love with when we first heard their MMJ Live Vol. 1: Live 2015 release drop in 2022. “Phone Went West” would lead straight into “Only Memories Remain” and serve as an instant highlight, along with is standout “River Road” stretching past eight minutes to jumpstart a four-song encore that also boasted “The Way That He Sings” from 2001’s At Dawn.

Summer tour came to a close more than 300 miles north for my first visit to the Greek Theatre Berkeley, and the Friday night finale proved to be well worth the trek up to the 8,500-person amphitheater. Older tunes such as “X-Mas Curtain”, “Honest Man” and “I Think I’m Going to Hell” that we didn’t happen to hear in either LA or Santa Barbara made it into the setlist, as well as the trippy “Still Thinkin” off 2020’s The Waterfall II and the live debut of John Lennon’s “Love” around the midway point. But easily one of the biggest surprises came on the other side of the encore break as the group uncorked Evil Urges cut “Librarian” for just the second time this year and eventually treated us to some “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin” before it was all said and done — because a MMJ show in the Bay Area wouldn’t be complete without a little Sly & the Family Stone of course.

James and his sidekicks will return to the road for the third leg of “My Morning Jacket ‘is’ On Tour” this fall, and although we don’t have plans (or the funds quite honestly) to follow one of our favorite live acts around the country for a few weeks, it wouldn’t take much to convince us otherwise. That’s how good it feels to bathe in MMJ’s music whenever they turn on the lights, plug in and melt minds, compelling us to travel considerable lengths to witness each of their three California shows in a span of four days. In the meantime, here’s hoping we don’t have to wait as long before we get to experience it again.

AUGUST 19TH – HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Setlist:
Set 1 (Z)
Wordless Chorus
It Beats 4 U
Gideon
What a Wonderful Man
Off the Record
Into the Woods
Anytime
Lay Low
Knot Comes Loose
Dondante

Set 2
Beginning From the Ending
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Die for It
Holdin on to Black Metal (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Mahgeetah
Time Waited
Everyday Magic
Circuital
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

Encore:
Where to Begin
Spring (Among the Living) (with “Mama I’m Coming Home” and “Dear Prudence” tags)
Dancefloors

Editors’ Note: “Z” 20th anniversary show.

AUGUST 20TH – SANTA BARBARA BOWL

Setlist:
Anytime
I Can Hear Your Love
Circuital
Lemme Know
Mahgeetah
Golden (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Run It
Half a Lifetime
Evil Urges
Here in Spirit (Jim James song) (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Phone Went West (>)
Only Memories Remain
Wordless Chorus
Off the Record (included intro jam)
Squid Ink
Smokin’ From Shootin’
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

Encore:
River Road
I’m Amazed
The Way That He Sings
One Big Holiday

AUGUST 22ND – GREEK THEATRE BERKELEY

Setlist:
Out in the Open
X-Mas Curtain
Lay Low
Honest Man
Time Waited
Still Thinkin
Everyday Magic
Least Expected
Gideon
Love (John Lennon cover) (live debut by MMJ)
Steam Engine
Cobra
Here in Spirit (Jim James song) (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Holdin on to Black Metal (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
I Think I’m Going to Hell
Victory Dance
Die for It
Wordless Chorus

Encore:
Librarian
Spring (Among the Living) (with “Dear Prudence” tag)
Phone Went West (>”Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly & the Family Stone)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: BeachLife Festival, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Hollywood Palladium, Jim James, John Lennon, Melt, My Morning Jacket, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Bowl, Sly & The Family Stone, The Beatles

My Morning Jacket continue to reinvent themselves while celebrating 20 years of ‘Z’ during two more dazzling performances at Red Rocks

August 22, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 4 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket with Melt //
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
August 15th-16th, 2025 //

When it comes to experiencing My Morning Jacket in the flesh, there is no place I would rather see the Kentucky-bred band take the stage than at Red Rocks.

Colorado’s world-famous, open-air amphitheater has become one of the quintessential music venues — along with The Fillmore in San Francisco and Palace Theatre in Louisville — to catch a MMJ show and a rite of passage for many fans thanks, in part, to frontman Jim James dubbing it “the birth canal of the universe” in 2019.

That’s why I have made the trip out from Los Angeles each of the last three times that James (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) have come through Denver to headline two nights “on the rocks.”

What still amazes me after attending quite a few concerts at Red Rocks for almost two decades is that the experience doesn’t seem to grow old or tired, and that rings even more true every time I have seen Jacket perform there (read our First Times coverage from 2023 here). A lot of bands have become too popular to book the 9,525-person venue, opting for larger, more lucrative arenas and stadiums instead, but the psychedelic, jam-adjacent five-piece — for whatever reason we have yet to understand — has not garnered audiences nearly as large despite working with an outside producer for the first time ever on its 10th LP is that came out in March.

That honor, no less, would go to three-time Grammy winner Brendan O’Brien, whose decorated career includes studio time with AC/DC, Pearl Jam, The Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Rage Against the Machine, the Killers and Bruce Springsteen. The result is a tight, 10-track effort that doesn’t rank among MMJ’s best but fits in quite seamlessly with the rest of their catalog. While some of the album finds them exploring new sonic avenues on lead single “Time Waited” and “I Can Hear Your Love” that sounds as if it could have been written by Buddy Holly or Roy Orbison, the back half is — or we should say is — what stands out with “Beginning from the Ending”, “Squid Ink”, “Die for It” and “River Road” all having the potential to be long-standing earworms.

But this year also marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s seminal full length Z, which saw it move away from the heavy reverb that dominated their earlier material to incorporate other genres such as reggae and dub, with Friday’s performance at Red Rocks marking the first of five dates that Jacket is allocating to celebrate the 2005 release on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

MMJ have a penchant for extending and stretching certain songs live, and though James and company didn’t veer off the beaten path for most of Z, they did unleash the longest “Dondante” since their 2019 version between “Creation Rock” and “Ship Rock,” with this one clocking in at a whopping 23 minutes. The unconventional second set that followed delivered its fair share of highlights — from Melt vocalist Veronica Stewart-Frommer assisting on “Here in Spirit” from James’ solo work to a shortened rendition of “Cobra” that was subsequently reprised during “Squid Ink” and flowed right into “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” — but maybe none bigger than their live debut of Steely Dan’s hit single “Do It Again” considering no one could have seen it coming or had such on their Red Rocks bingo card.

The recent passing of Ozzy Osbourne, conversely, had been on my mind for the last several weeks with tributes pouring in all over the world, and I knew from social media that some of the members in Jacket were Black Sabbath fans. I had sent a direct message to Blankenship on Instagram after Night 1 with a request for some Sabbath to remember the late Prince of Darkness, and as I put on my Vol. 4 T-shirt on Saturday when I arrived for Night 2, something was telling me that my wish might actually come true. A woman in the parking lot made a comment in a sort of “rock on” tone as she passed by my car not long after I arrived, making me feel for a second like I had chosen the wrong gig to broadcast my affinity for heavy metal’s pioneers.

I wasn’t going to be fazed that easily, though. My Vol. 4 T-shirt had become an omen of good luck after watching Primus the week before cover “N.I.B.” with Ty Segall on the mic during their star-studded stop at LA’s Greek Theatre (read our show review here), and my love for Ozzy ran too deep for me to change shirts (yes, I had an extra). His death, albeit less surprising given his age, moved me much in the same way that Chris Cornell’s did when it happened in 2017. The farewell concert in Birmingham just weeks prior had serendipitously proved to not only be a fitting send-off for Sabbath, but also a larger-than-life figure. And what better place to show some appreciation for an absolute rock god than at Red Rocks?

Sure enough, MMJ would have plenty of more surprises up their collective sleeves for Saturday as they touched on all 10 of their albums to create a career-spanning setlist in a matter of two and a half hours. Crowd favorites “Phone Went West” and “Steam Engine” came early, with the former getting a quick tag of Bruce Hornsby’s “Mandolin Rain” down the homestretch. Yet, the biggest moment came in the encore after dedicating “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” to Diana Ross. That’s when Jacket officially put a bow on the weekend with the haunting, eponymous opener to 1970’s Black Sabbath for the first time in close to 15 years, leaving room for Broemel to briefly offer his own Tony Iommi impression. By that point, I was completely satiated and satisfied. The ensuing “One Big Holiday” was an extra cherry on top, and as I took one last look at the natural beauty that has built one of music’s most sacred spaces, I thought to myself how sweet this life can be with both MMJ and Red Rocks in it.

MY MORNING JACKET – AUGUST 15TH

Setlist:
Set 1 (Z)
Wordless Chorus
It Beats 4 U
Gideon
What a Wonderful Man
Off the Record
Into the Woods
Anytime
Lay Low
Knot Comes Loose
Dondante (longest version since 8-2-2019)

Set 2
How Could I Know
Here in Spirit (Jim James song) (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Half a Lifetime
Everyday Magic
Cobra
Squid Ink (> “Cobra” reprise >)
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Where to Begin
Do It Again (Steely Dan cover) (live debut by MMJ)
Dancefloors

Editors’ Note: “Z” 20th anniversary show.

MELT – AUGUST 15TH

Setlist:
Veronica’s Apology / The Idiot
Shy
The Door
Waves
Stay for the High
Sour Candy
Plant the Garden

MY MORNING JACKET – AUGUST 16TH

Setlist:
The Dark
It’s About Twilight Now
The Way That He Sings
X-Mas Curtain
Phone Went West (with “Mandolin Rain” tag) (>)
Steam Engine
I’m Amazed
Aluminum Park
Smokin’ From Shootin’ (>)
Victory Dance (>)
Circuital
Holdin on to Black Metal (with Veronica Stewart-Frommer)
Spring (Among the Living) (with “Dear Prudence” tag)
Still Thinkin
Feel You
Least Expected
Love Love Love
Out in the Open
Lemme Know
Die for It

Encore:
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) (Jim James song) (dedicated to Diana Ross) (>)
Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath cover) (first time since 2010)
One Big Holiday