Show Lineup: Pedro the Lion
Genre(s): Indie Rock, Slowcore, Midwest Emo,
Venue: Caffe Luce
Date: Jan 30th, 2026
Description:
I just want to start and say that it would be impossible to have my next article go up and not mention how much I missed Sophia while writing this. I always asked her for feedback on my articles and she always was so eager to tell me how great they were. When I stepped out of the show my first thought was that I wished I could call her and tell her about it. I urge you if you take two things away from this:
1. Call your friends for no reason and tell them you love them
2. Listen to as much music that makes you cry as possible
“Am I becoming my Dad?” I ponder as I sit in a coffee shop waiting to see Pedro the Lion perform to a sold out crowd of middle aged men in beards with glasses and hats (That’s being unfair. There’s also a good amount of kids with their families, and young couples nuzzling into each other). I’m keenly aware of my broaching in this new territory of older millennial dad, eager to talk your ear off about Wilco, or The National, or Bon Iver. I’m aware that my idea of a good weekend is sitting on a porch of some sort and drinking a beer or smoking a joint with some music on while the sun goes down. I’m aware that I’ve already started wearing corduroys and big jackets with band t-shirts. I’m especially aware that I’m drinking a flat white at this present moment, as I wait for the band to set up. All of this adds to a general feeling of, yes, dread. But also, love and compassion for who I’m eventually going to be. The setup for this Pedro the Lion tour is unlike any I’ve really ever seen or experienced, the intentional purpose of which is to play extremely tiny, intimate venues. When you’re a relatively popular indie rock/slowcore/midwest emo outfit with a good amount of longevity, these “living-room/small coffee shop” shows sell out in minutes (I was fortunate enough to cover this through press, all my thanks and love to Undertow Productions who put this whole thing together).
I started listening to Pedro the Lion when I was 3. Actually, probably younger than that, but it’s not like I would have a recollection of that time. A lot of my early memories were formed listening to the first three Pedro the Lion records. I think I’ve had the melody from Bad Things to Such Good People playing in the back of my head for about 2 decades now. I remember listening to Control with my Dad when we would drive around Evanston, my Dad claiming that was his favorite album of all time (either that or Something to Write Home About by The Get Up Kids). Sufficient to say, this was a really special show. David Bazan, the lead singer of Pedro, has a voice that could carry across an open field and a rich texture to it that made me cry on multiple occasions throughout the night. As the 40-or-so people in attendance at Caffe Luce downtown nervously gathered closer, we realized there were no microphones, no lights, not really much of anything but the two performers, their guitars, and one solitary amp wired to both guitars. A weird mix of wanting to keep up this mask of reverence as well as crack jokes because we were simply sitting so close to the band came in waves over the course of the night. It would have probably been feasible to interview and describe the specific state of multiple attendees. I’ve never been able to do that at a show before. There was a family who came down from Phoenix to see them play, divided over the stage so the Mom and Dad sat by the bar on high top chairs and the kids on the other side of the stage in what looked like recliners. There was a family of 4 at the table in front of me who travelled from Las Vegas who seemingly knew David and had booked him to play at their house beforehand. There was a mix of couples from around young thirties to mid fifties, and a few groups of friends who took up the back half of tables or stood by the door. There were a few loners, like myself, who came just to enjoy a night of music. The crowd was probably the most respectful of any crowd I’ve seen, knowing that any discussion above a whisper would instantly give themselves away. In fact, I tried to take pictures somewhat sparingly as I didn’t want the shutter of the camera to be too loud.
The duo started by playing “Impermanent Record”, a piece from Bazan’s solo career. I quite liked it and thought it was a good set opener. They followed with the one-two punch of “Of Up and Coming Monarchs” and “Big Trucks” from 1998’s It’s Hard to Find a Friend. These are two of my favorite Pedro songs, so I’m super glad they made their way into the rotation. I especially thought the lyrics of “Of Up and Coming Monarchs” were poignant considering the protests against ICE that had taken place in Tucson earlier in the day, and still remnants of remained as people in trucks flying the Mexican flag drove through Downtown in the background of the show to cheers. You shouldn’t have to read far on my profile to be able to intuit my thoughts on the fascist creep of power gripping America at the moment, so this was a welcome ambiance. I also connected with the lyrics of “Big Trucks”, and have had the riff from that song stuck in my head essentially since leaving the show. Following was “Spend Time” from Santa Cruz, the most recent Pedro the Lion record. I overall felt that in this intimate performance, I could really connect with the lyrics of these more recent Pedro the Lion albums, and I gained new appreciation for some songs I had previously somewhat written off. “Cold Beer and Cigarettes”, another Bazan solo song, followed, and I was really impressed by the specific chord voicings David used as compared to the studio version. “The Fleecing” from 2004’s Achilles Heel was next, and this one struck me particularly hard as the lyrics delve into somebody losing touch with their religion and questioning a lot of things that they were raised thinking. The more I return to it, the more I find to like about Achilles Heel. Following was some banter about the Phoenix/Tucson rivalry, as they tuned for a number from Pedro’s 2019 album Phoenix: “Model Homes”. The intense autobiographical lyrical content of these later Pedro records really reveals itself at small shows like this. It’s an entirely different story when David is standing there in front of you, describing the loneliness and wishing for a different life he felt at points as a child, especially compared to listening to a recording. A personal favorite, “Criticism as Inspiration” from The Only Reason I Feel Secure was up next, and the arrangement here really stunned me. I was impressed by Erik Walters, the other member of Pedro, joining David for this tour, and his excellent guitar playing. His backup vocals to David’s lent a power to their voices at some really crucial moments. Another solo song, “People” followed, along with more banter about David seeing some friends perform and seeing them play maybe 4 songs over a 90-minute set because they couldn’t stop nervously telling jokes. I really enjoyed the banter in between songs. I thought it added a nice levity to the somewhat depressing subject matter of a couple of the songs and gave the audience room to breathe. David mused on a hypothetical future that used a barter system to trade chickens for the posters that they had for sale after the show. He offered posters in exchange for Tamales. Two people passed by outside carrying huge TVs in their hands, and we all laughed. The last two songs, “Making the Most of It” from Havasu and “Quietest Friend” from Phoenix, served as a great set closer; the poetic qualities of “Quietest Friend” really shone through here. Everybody got up after the set was over and stood around for a while until they came back out to sell the posters and talk to the audience. It’s impossible to stress how nice David was, talking to each person seemingly as long as they wanted to talk to him, seeming super sincere all the while. I bought a poster and asked him to sign my copy of Control. I told him I thought the cover of “Bow Down” by Geese he had been playing at shows recently, was really excellent, and said I thought he and Cameron Winter had a similar writing style in some ways, using biblical metaphors to beautifully describe real events. I told him I saw him play at Best Friends Forever 2025, and said I really liked the peace his voice brought to a festival full of shrieks and wails. I wished him luck on the rest of the tour and left. Throughout it all, David was genuinely kind and appreciative, and I left with a much bigger respect for the band than when I walked in. I want to honestly, genuinely thank Pedro the Lion for playing small, intimate shows like this at a time when it seems unfeasible, thank Caffe Lucce for hosting such an amazing evening, and thank Undertow Shows for giving me the opportunity to cover this. It was an incredible night that I won’t forget for a very long time. Get out and see a show!
Reviewer: Micah Dalton
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