CONCERT DIARY
Across the Oceans Tour
TIME: 2026-05-06
PLACE: Atlanta Symphony Hall
First time at the Art Center, thankfully still on a MARTA line (God bless public transportation). Had a clear stage view but i was all the way in the balcony so that didnt help much. Opener was decent enough country singer-songwriter fare. Only interested in the two surprise Ichiko duets (when is she gonna do country?).
I'm really at a loss of words to describe the show. Beautiful, exquisite, gorgeous, lovely, magnificent, picturesque, pulchritudinous, splendid, splendiferous, stunning, beauteous, glorious, sightly, snazzy, dainty, heavenly, radiant, resplendent, and other synonyms from start to end. Nothing else i can say about it, so perfect.
PINK 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
TIME: 2025-10-30
PLACE: The Masquerade
How ironic, last time I was at The Masquerade, it was hot as fuck outside, and this time it was freezing. Anyway, Agriculture was pretty alright, but it felt very... generic? I'm not the biggest metalhead, but all of the elements; the vocals, the guitars, the drums felt very similar to any other metal act. I liked it whenever they went into slow breakdown mode, and I'll compliment the drummer for playing while dressed like an accountant. Also, I was waiting in the merch line the entire time (over an hour!), so that hampered my mood. Managed to catch one of those "type of people" recording the opener on a Nintendo DS, plus there were like three dudes in full wizard attire wandering around. Would've been a better fit for a Sunn O))) show, but fuck it, dudes rock. I thought I would miss the beginning waiting in the merch line, but I guess they were having soundcheck issues, so they were still going by the time I finally got my merch (a shirt, a poster, a anniversary edition Pink vinyl, and a plushie Amplifier Worship froag in Pink of course). I found a spot to camp on the upstairs balcony, which for the first time in any previous concert i had an a full view of the entire stage and band for the entire show.
My poor $40 musician earplugs, man, they were pulling quadruple shifts. Yeah, It was LOOOOOUUUUUUDDDDD. If GYBE was the limit on how loud you can get while still having acoustic instruments, Boris is the ceiling of a fully electric band. Even with the earplugs, my head was ringing by the time I got back home. Mostly tracks from Pink (obviously), with a few from Akuma no Uta and one from Dronevil. It kicked ass, I really can't say much else. They ended with Feedbacker as an encore and Hoooollllly Shit, I actually ascended.
Peel It Back Tour
TIME: 2025-09-09
PLACE: GAS SOUTH ARENA
The last time I was at Gas South was for my high school graduation, so that felt very surreal. I tried to catch one of the mythical secret posters at the outside merch stand but failed, and I wasn't gonna wait in another line to find out. Still managed to get me a hat and a shirt. Opener was very thumpy techno, not my kind of music, honestly.
The transition was very seamless, Boyz Noise stopped, and the curtain covering the B-stage immediately dropped to reveal Trent at the piano. I was camped out to the right of the b-stage so i had a great view. A couple of assholes were yelling during the quiet moments, but otherwise it was stunning as he went through an acoustic medley of Right Where It Belongs, Ruiner, and Piggy.
To the main stage with the rest of the band. It's really wild that Trent is in his fucking 60s and can still bring the energy. Rest of the band was killing it too, obviously, but especially Josh Freese bro was demolishing those drums on the Wish intro. Mostly The Downward Spiral material + Copy of A & Gave Up, which is great because I love TDS. Back to the B-stage, Trent did a mini set with Boys Noize, and it was way better than the opening. Closer sounded amazing and all of the other tracks with Boys Noize remixing were great.
Back to the main stage again with Mr. Self Destruct and wow! Once again, I need to shout out Josh Freese; the drumming on The Perfect Drug was insane live. I was surprised we got I'm Afraid of Americans but with the current environment it sure as hell hits. Head Like a Hole also amazing (I've run out of descriptive adjectives, but I hope you understand the entire show was fucking amazing) and yes, they ended with Hurt, which may be a cliche choice, but god did it still hit.
Liberation Summer of '25
TIME: 2025-06-21
PLACE: The Masquerade
It was hot as fuck when i got to the venue. Apparently, the A.C broke which is real bad news for a packed crowd in the middle of the Georgian summer. But the Masquarde was providing free water (even if it was a bit room temp) and they had massive oscillating standing fans dotted around to try and cool us down so I'll give them props. That didn't really help that much, unfortunately. I camped out in a spot on the second-floor balcony, and I watched a dude straight up pass out from the heat and be carried out by security and paramedics. I never heard of the opener, which was a local act named Krystal V but it was some pretty good ambient electronica. Gave me OPN vibes with the arpeggios and the Memory Vague style visuals in the background.
I'm not the biggest fan of GYBE's post-hiatus stuff, but it definitely works a lot better live. They ran through all of No Title, plus Slow Riot for the encore. Like I said, not the biggest fan of their post-hiatus stuff, but live with the whole band up front and the projections (I ❤ Karl Lemieux), it felt very intense and spiritual. I was going to try and stick around to see if i could get a piece of burnt film from Karl, but it was getting late anyway and I just wanted to get back home at that point. Still a fantastic night.
LCD Soundsystem Tour 2025
TIME: 2025-05-04
PLACE: Coca-Cola Roxy
Getting to the Roxy was hell. It's in Truist Park, which is notable not on any MARTA line, so I had to deal with the hellish traffic and finding any kind of parking since the show was taking place at the same time as a Dodgers v Braves game. Noticed someone in a Public Castration Is a Good Idea shirt, not the most out of place for this kind of crowd, but it's not where I would expect to encounter it. Gustaf was really fun live, great choice for an opener. Right amount of energy to set the mood.
James Murphy sure knows how to play the hits. I don't have any complaints about the setlist being typical (save for new body rhumba and x-ray eyes, the latter of which sounded way better live) since this is my first time hearing these songs performed, but I imagine if you've seen LCD Soundsystem before, it's not gonna surprise you too much. Still, the show was incredible. Oh Baby was great as an opener, and all of the more dancy cuts (Tribulations, Tonite, Daft Punk Is Playing at My House) were really fun live. Of course, they ended with the twofer of "New York I Love You" and "All My Friends". I may not be middle-aged hipster millennial scum, but It still made me feel something in my withering heart.
Grand National Tour
TIME: 2025-04-29
PLACE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Mustard did a pretty good job at DJing. A lot of crowd-pleasing choices, lot of southern hip hop, fittingly. I picked up some shirts, a hat, and a GNX tour vinyl at the merch booth.
If I had to describe this show in one word, it's overindulgent. I mean it was like 3 hours and over 50 tracks long. But if you're doing stadium shows as a victory lap, you gotta make it fit. And it succeeded in that. The stage, the sets, the video interlude, the visuals, it was a very grand experience. Kendrick was great on stage, and everyone was going wild the whole show (My white ass included). I will admit I took the SZA sets as an opportunity to rest my legs a little, but she was still a great performer, even if I wasn't familiar with her tracks. Was it worth the hundreds of dollars I spent? Maybe not. But for that price, I can't say it didn't meet my expectations.
