Concerts I Saw in 2026 (Ongoing)

I wasn't expecting to go to enough shows this year to warrant its own blog post but here we are lmao. Concerts kinda just keep happening to me. A lot of these won't be as in depth as my entries last year because a lot of them are written with several months of hindsight and I didn't get a lot of photos. But that's fine, it doesn't need to be perfect.

NateWantsToBattle
Openers were Genwunner and Camsteady, who were both EXCELLENT. I wasn't familiar with either of them before that night, and I left as fans of both of them. Most of their songs were about Pokémon (big shock coming from a guy named Genwunner lmao) which was honestly really cool? Their energy was infectious and they played really well off of each other. Personal favorites from their combined set were Big Man Blastoise and Man Made God. I also got to talk with both of them after the show, and they were both really nice! Genwunner complimented my Pokeball bracelet that I made for the night and I ended up just giving it to him lol. It was really fun to see it in some of his photos from shows afterwards, so I'm really glad that he liked it. NateWantsToBattle was so good. This was my third time seeing him live and he's always a delight to see. His encore song was Escape From the City and I did become a completely different person for the duration of that song lmao.

Dark Force Fest
For those of you who aren't familiar, Dark Force Fest is an annual three day industrial music festival that features a ton of excellent musicians in the scene from all over the place. I could only afford to go on Saturday, which was the day that featured two artists I have been dying to see live since I started listening to them: Priest, and Rabbit Junk. 

I'm really normal about Rabbit Junk. 

I was a little surprised at how much like a convention this was set up as. There were a bunch of artist booths set up throughout the hotel, and different panels and activities you could go to between performances. My group kept bouncing between panels and the stages for most of the day, and we got to listen to a bunch of new groups I hadn't had the chance to explore yet. I was particularly excited about Matte Blvck, I really enjoyed their style. 

Groups we caught: Crossbreed, Matte Blvck, Priest, Rabbit Junk, Andy LaPlegua

We ended up going to a couple different panels. We caught the end of Andy LaPlegua's Q&A panel, which was interesting. I honestly really like his interest in seeking out lesser known industrial artists to listen to and share considering how massive he is in the space, and it was nice to hear him giving advice to newer musicians. We also listened to Rabbit Junk's music and mental health panel, which was I think the most college course style panel I've ever gone to at an event like this? Like we had discussion groups and stuff, it was really fun. We also went to Priest's songwriting panel. It was cool to hear about Linton Rubino's songwriting process, though I'm not sure I got as much out of the panel as other people in the room. I'm not super into songwriting.

 Rabbit Junk and Priest's shows were back to back so after the panels ended we just camped out in the main ballroom. I know it's a habit of mine to describe live music as a religious experience but like. Hearing Rabbit Junk live was a religious experience. The crowd was fairly small so we were right up against the front of the stage. It was like life-changing. I think I cried a little at some point during their set? I don't know for sure. It was good. Go see Rabbit Junk they're good. 

Priest was a lot bigger though. We ended up pretty far away from the stage for their set. It was fine honestly. God their music is so good, and their costumes leave such an impression in person. Personal favorites from their set were History in Black and The Cross. They also played a song from their upcoming album that hasn't been released yet so I'm really really excited for that to drop in October. 

It was really funny, we kept just like bumping into Rabbit Junk at various points during the day? Like we ran into them in the hallways and at merch booths a couple of times, and then after their show we ran into JP Anderson in the food truck line. It was fun to get the chance to chat a little bit. Overall a very exhausting and unforgettable day. I did end up fucking up my neck pretty badly in the aftermath lmao. Totally worth it. I'm definitely going again next year, hopefully for all three days.

Evanescence
Openers were Nova Twins and Spirit Box. Nova Twins had a really fun electronic element to their music that I quite enjoyed, while Spirit Box was a little more akin to Evanescence in sound. Both excellent artists, both I would definitely go see again if given the opportunity. I've been a fan of Evanescence for like half of my life at this point so getting to see them in concert was incredible. We had lawn seats that were super far away but still had a pretty good view of the stage. There were a ton of bangers from the set, but I think my favorite one was Imaginary.

Somebody's Daughter
Openers were Atrophy Wife and T0SKA. All three were relatively local queer/trans punk bands. I think I would have enjoyed this show a lot more if I hadn't been concussed at the time.

Will Wood & The Tapeworms
I love going to concerts and try to see as many of my favorite artists as possible, so getting to see one of my favorite musicians at one of my favorite venues was awesome. 

Opening act was Human Zoo, who I ended up enjoying so much I went and got a CD and shirt from them the moment their performance ended. The lead singer has an incredible vocal range, and their songs were really good and pretty relevant to the current cultural/economic situation. Here's a link to their Instagram, I highly recommend checking them out!

Will Wood was incredible. I first saw him live in 2022, so getting to see him again with the rest of the Tapeworms was already really exciting. The set was broken down into like two parts: songs from his other albums, and then SELF-iSH in its entirety. I didn't know anything about the setlist going in, but getting to hear them play the entirety of SELF-iSH front to back was kind of a religious experience. I lost my mind during Cotard's Solution, I'm gonna be honest. This was a show I wasn't really expecting a mosh pit to form during, but by god there was and by god were people riled up. I got knocked around a lot during the album and I wasn't even on the edge of the main pit. The encore was Front Street, which was also a treat to hear. It was an absolutely stellar performance, and I'm so incredibly glad I got to see it.

The shirts from the concert were awesome. Half of my wardrobe comes from concerts lmao.

My one gripe with the show (which I usually don't have!) was the audience. I feel like nobody really knows how to be normal when Will Wood is onstage? There was a lot of audience heckling and people trying to get his attention to give him gifts and like talk to him during the show, persisting even after being shut down. At multiple points it was extremely obvious that he was uncomfortable with the amount of responses people were trying to get from him. I've been to a lot of concerts and seen a lot of intense fannish behavior, but his audience really takes the cake here. The parasocial relationships were on full display here.

People did this during his 2022 show too!!! At one point he just stopped in the middle of blackboxwarrior - OKULTRA and waited for the audience to stop yelling at him and told them that they were gonna be really embarrassed about their behavior in five year's time and guess what!!! He was right! I wasn't even one of the people talking and I'm still embarrassed!

Like I get it. His music is really good and extraordinarily popular with a bunch of people that really deeply resonate with it, and that's fine, but it's not an excuse to harass him onstage.

Upcoming Shows:

Hollywood Undead - Finally getting to go see them again, ten years after the first time. I'm so freaking excited.

Mood: Chilling
Listening to: Ochansensu-Su - Tricot
Reading: Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America - Margot Adler
Watching: Nothing currently
Playing: Morrowind
Eating: Sugar Cookie
Drinking: Caramel apple energy drink (At least I think it's caramel apple)