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Live at Kia Forum
March 13th, 2025 Review by Kevin Gomez
When I first started listening to Deftones in high school, if you had told me that two and a half decades later, they would not only be massively popular, but unthinkably bigger than they have ever been in their career, I wouldn’t have believed it. There were even times along the way when their popularity seemed to peak and wane, and others when it seemed the band itself would implode due to various factors. And yet, that’s exactly where we are in 2025 with Sacramento’s finest selling out two nights at the Kia Forum in Inglewood.
With artists continuing to find trouble selling tickets in today’s economy, followed by the inevitable decision to cancel entire tours due to poor ticket sales, I heard murmurs of concern initially that Deftones might be biting off more than they could chew playing a nationwide tour of arenas.
On the contrary, not only did shows begin selling out, but just a few days after tickets went on sale, the band announced they were adding a second night to their Los Angeles stop due to popular demand. I caught up with their first show Wednesday night at the Forum.
The first band up was Fleshwater out of Boston. A grunge band that opened with the 60-second “Standalone” was just long and heavy enough to capture everyone’s attention and wanting more. “Kiss the Ladder” showcased Marisa Shirar’s gentle, almost calm voice against the heavy, trippy guitars from Anthony DiDio and herself. They played an untitled new song they have been working on and followed that up with a cover of Björk’s “Enjoy.”
With “Linda Claire” you can see the influence that Deftones’ Stef Carpenter has had on DiDio and guitarist Jon Lhaubouet; almost reminiscent of the song, “Rx Queen.” DiDio took over lead vocals on “What Was Really Said” before Shirar kicked in for the chorus. Their heavy style of music leans more toward the heavy reverb of alternative, bringing to mind early Weezer or Alice in Chains, as opposed to metal. They finished with the powerful “Foreign,” culminating in a resounding cheering from the crowd who had quickly warmed up to them.
Although it was less than a week since the tour launched and just a few shows played, there has already been a lot of discussion and mixed reviews on The Mars Volta’s performances thus far.
The reason for all the buzz is that the avant-garde act have decided to use their entire set by debuting their new untitled album of unreleased songs that have never been played before. It’s a ballsy move that not many would be brave enough to pull off, but The Mars Volta have never been one to shy away from unpopular or even never-explored territory. It’s a risky bet that I feel paid off.
PHOTO BY TINY TOYLAND
It almost makes sense to hear these songs in their entirety in this order, as there was an operatic quality to the album. From Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s falsetto vocals, backed by equally shrieking and powerful vocals from Teri Gender Bender (of Le Butcherettes). There are even trippy, hypnotic moments giving way to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” complimented by saxophones, and intense guitar and synthesizers from brothers Omar Rodríguez-López and Marcel Rodríguez-López.
There are actual true moments of beauty that can transition just as quickly to moments of chaos that make you feel like you’re watching a really messed up play. Their set wasn’t so much a performance as it was an overall experience, and honestly with all the genre-bending takes these songs go into, it fit in perfectly with the Deftones crowd who are used to varying, progressive styles of music in the same night. That may be why their set was so well-received.
PHOTO BY TINY TOYLAND
A loud cacophony of cheers went up as the lights dimmed for the evening’s headliners, the lights dropping in dramatic form as four of the band’s current members took the stage.
Stef Carpenter began the familiar guitar intro for “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” as lead singer Chino Moreno walked out, climbed onto the riser at the front of the stage and ran across the stage as the rest of the song exploded into existence.
Before the crowd could even catch their breath, the band launched into “My Own Summer (Shove It),” leading to one of the most violent pits of the night.
PHOTO BY TINY TOYLAND
Moreno appears trimmer and in better shape than he has in over a decade, and with it has come an improvement in his voice and vocal range.
He looks and sounds better than he has in a very long time, and with a high-energy performer such as himself, you can see and hear the improvement as he runs around, jumps, and screams without sacrifice these days. The entire floor of the Forum began jumping in unison with Moreno to the opening beat of “Swerve City.”
Moreno strapped on a guitar for the sonically gorgeous “Sextape,” a breathy hypnotic piece of art. “Rocket Skates” perfectly embodied Abe Cunningham’s deep, thumping beats, while “Feiticeira” showed off his ability for fast, technical drumming that remains the backbone of Deftones’ sound.
PHOTO BY TINY TOYLAND
An ominous blood-red light bathed the stage as Carpenter began plucking the intro to “You’ve Seen the Butcher.”
“Bloody Cape” ignited no less than three mosh pits going at the same time in the vast sea of the floor that would remain for the rest of the show. They closed their regular set with “Change (In the House of Flies)” and “Genesis.”
PHOTO BY CLEMENTE RUIZ
As the boys returned to the stage a backdrop of twinkling lights lit up the arena as Carpenter began the guitar intro for “Minerva” and Cunningham’s drums erupted louder than ever and the rest of the band kicked in.
PHOTO BY CLEMENTE RUIZ
They followed up with their very first single, “Bored,” and ended with the popular, brutal sing-along, “7 Words.”
The Forum might have been run by the Lakers’ Showtime in the ‘80s, but Wednesday and Thursday belonged to Deftones.
TO FOLLOW
SID 250310 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
