Concerts Reviews
Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips Bring Surreal Energy to Santa Barbara Bowl
Many people drive to Santa Barbara to escape the LA heat wave. But the heat seemed to be cranked all the way up this past Friday, September 5th, as Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips joined together to play their sold-out show at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The co-headliners stopped in Santa Barbara, CA, as part of their North American leg of The Good Times Are Killing Me tour.
If you’re unfamiliar with the peaceful charm of the Santa Barbara Bowl, let me paint you a vivid picture. Established in 1936, this historic venue sits on a sunny hillside in Santa Barbara, CA. It offers views of both the city and the ocean, with a capacity of 4,500 people. Its amphitheater layout ensures the music echoes through the lush, oak-lined paths and terraces. At night, the moon’s glow often surpasses the stage lights.
Kicking off the evening for the two headliners was DEHD (pronounced ‘dead’), an emerging band from Chicago, IL. They played their popular songs, energizing the crowd for a night full of dancing and fist pumps. The band was formed in 2015 as a side project by Jason Balla of the Dream Eagles and Emily Kempf of Heavy Dreams. Initially called Dream Eagles Heavy Dreams, the name was soon shortened to Dehd.
Shortly after DEHD finished their set, Modest Mouse was ready to perform. They started with ‘King Rat’, ‘Float On’, and ‘Fly Trapped’, ensuring the fans stayed on their feet.
So what was the reason for both rock bands to co-headline with one another? Well, to celebrate their legacies as iconic indie rock bands, of course! In better terms, this tour offers fans a twofold experience of indie rock’s golden era. Before The Good Times Are Killing Me tour, there was the Unlimited Sunshine Tour back in 2002, where Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips shared the stage. Each show creates a different experience for fans as The Lips and Modest Mouse alternate who headlines each night of the tour.
While Modest Mouse is regarded as a “spiky and cerebral” take on indie rock, The Lips deliver an “outrageous and heart-on-sleeve” experience, forming a perfect yin and yang of rock and roll. Both artists effectively convey feelings of anxiety, dread, and burden, while also sharing a message of overcoming these emotions.
The Flaming Lips closed the night with a spectacular multisensory show that combined visual and vocal elements. The show featured giant pink inflatable robots, lead singer Wayne Coyne firing confetti cannons into the crowd, and large confetti balloons being circulated among fans. With so many iconic theatrical effects, you might blink and miss some of the memorable moments.
As a newcomer to The Lips, I was surprisingly unprepared for this night. Going into the show with little to no information, without knowing what to expect, made the experience even more memorable. As someone who enjoys the strange and sometimes overwhelming aspects of surrealism, I felt as if Wayne Coyne was encouraging us to stay weird and tap into our creativity. Coyne strongly believes in finding your own path while letting art inspire and motivate.
Check out our favourite photos of the night or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
THE FLAMING LIPS
MODEST MOUSE
DEHD
All Photo Credit: Taylor Blazer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: A Sold-Out Night of Performance Art With Sudan Archives
Words by Kali Moreno
Photos by Kelli Rothwell
A sold-out night at The Pearl set the tone for a show that felt half concert, half art installation. Sudan Archives brought her genre-blurring world to Vancouver following the release of The BPM in 2025, with support from Cain Culto.
Cain Culto confidently navigated an energetic, multi-media set backed by Indigenous, Latin American, and Bluegrass influences – what he calls Kentucky Latin Art-Pop. As he gradually shed layers of clothing, he added homemade props to deliver his song’s messages of empowerment and resistance in both Spanish and English. His musical skills as a vocalist and violinist, paired with his artistic expression as a visual artist, created a riveting piece of performance art.
Dressed in a skin-tight, full body suit and wearing otherworldly grey contact lenses, Sudan Archives commanded a sold-out stage for her one-woman set at The Pearl. The deeply human themes of her songs, which sit in genre around house, techno, and R&B, were shared with the rowdy audience alongside recurring mechanical sounds and choreographed robotic movements. This examination of technology and humanity reminded that her artistry and expression transcend her talents as a singer, violinist, and beat-maker. Sudan Archives performed three encore songs, jumping off the stage to dance with the screaming crowd before leaving Vancouver with the parting words: “y’all are fucking lit.”
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Upcoming Tour Dates:
02-18 San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom
02-19 San Diego, CA – Music Box
02-20 Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
More info on Sudan Archives’ website.
SUDAN ARCHIVES
CAIN CULTO
All Photo Credit: Kelli Rothwell
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: The Captain of the Castro: Why Sam Smith’s Residency Is San Francisco’s New Sanctuary
Words by Starr Lee
SAN FRANCISCO- After an intimate residency in Brooklyn earlier this year, Sam Smith has brought the concept west, settling into San Francisco’s newly reopened Castro Theatre for a five-week run that feels deliberate and personal.
The neon marquee glows against the fog like it has something to say. Inside the 1,400-capacity movie palace, restored after a $41 million renovation, the main level fills quickly. No floor seating. Just a standing crowd packed beneath the balcony, bodies shoulder to shoulder, faces tilted toward the stage. Above them, fans lean over the railing, drinks in hand, waiting.
Smith walks out without fanfare.
They open with “Lay Me Down,” nearly motionless beneath a single spotlight. Dressed in a structured captain’s hat and a sweeping lace coat fastened with an oversized flower pendant, they look like a romantic voyager arriving somewhere that already feels familiar. The first note is soft, almost cautious. Then it opens.
In a room this size, nothing escapes. The Castros’ acoustics catch the grain in Smith’s tenor, the slight ache at the edge of sustained notes, the inhale before a chorus swells. The crowd is silent, standing still, listening.
When “I’m Not the Only One” begins, the temperature shifts. Smith lowers their voice for the first verse, almost speaking the lines before lifting into the chorus. On “You and me, we made a vow,” their voice tightens just slightly, intentional and controlled. By the second refrain, the crowd is singing quietly along. Not screaming. Not overpowering. Just enough to be felt. Smith steps back from the mic for a beat and lets the lyric hover before reclaiming it with a steady rise. The moment feels shared rather than performed.
After the second song, Smith looks out across the standing crowd below the balcony.
“This city means a lot to me,” they say. “My first show here, I was 20 years old.”
They tell a story about being left alone in San Francisco while a partner explored the city without them. About wandering through neighbourhoods by themselves. About unexpectedly falling in love with the place. “It feels very full circle to be here for five weeks,” they admit, scanning the room.
Then they squint toward the front.
“Wait. Were you here last night?”
A fan screams.
“Oh my God. You’re doing the residency properly. I love that.”
Laughter spreads across the floor and up to the balcony. That’s the difference when an artist stays in one place. The room starts to recognise itself.
Midway through the set, the lace coat slips away, revealing a custom Vivienne Westwood look: a black poet’s shirt with dramatic sleeves, tailored cheeky shorts, towering heeled boots striking sharply against the stage. The shift feels freeing. Smith moves differently now. Looser. More playful.
They introduce a new track, “My Guy,” sharing that for the first time in their career, they are writing from a place where the love is reciprocated. Followed by a cover of Erasure’s “A Little Respect”, “It’s a Wednesday,” they laugh, “but I need you to shake your titties.”
The balcony answers first.
A sleek blend of “Ain’t Nobody” and “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” turns the theatre intoa late-night dance floor. But soon they bring the energy back down to another cover
Later, bathed in deep blue light, Smith steps toward the piano for “Angel From Montgomery.”
“It took me eight years to finally listen to Elton and sing this,” they admit.
The arrangement is stripped back to piano and voice. No embellishment. The lower register carries weight. The higher notes remain clear and measured. When the final line fades, the room holds still for a second longer than expected before applause breaks through.
Sam Smith’s residency at the Castro Theatre runs through Feb.10th-March 14th, 2026. Tickets are available via the theatre’s official website. With just 1,400 standing spots per night and word spreading quickly, availability is limited.
Five weeks in one theatre does something rare. It turns a concert into a chapter. And this one is still being written.