I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2023] Spotlights

I saw Spotlights open for Deftones back in 2016.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but their live show left a lasting impression on me.  I had been trying to see them again since then, but it never worked out for one reason or another.

Finally, they were playing at Ortlieb’s, a bar I’d never been to. So it was cool to check out this venue and see  this band.

The openers started late for one reason or another and so Spotlights didn’t go on until after 10.  They were supposed to end at 11 (a dance party in the main part of the bar was scheduled for 11).  They said they were going to be quick, which I guess meant minimal banter because it didn’t see to shorten their set at all.

The one thing I had remembered from their show was how big and loud this trio sounded.  Originally, Spotlights was a duo–husband and wife Mario and Sarah Quintero–but they seemed to have taken drummer Chris Enriquez into their family and he is a beast.  Enriquez is a perfect compliment to their wall of sound.

And indeed, when Sarah plugged in her bass, the sound was so big my arm hairs vibrated. They played four songs from their new album.  One of which (“Algorithmic” I think) got a huge response from the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, Ortlieb’s holds about 75 people.  So it was a close, tiny room.  A guy next to me even put his vinyl purchases on the stage (which was about six inches high).  Of course, mid-set, Mario asked him to move them so he (Mario) could stand there and interact with the crowd.  Mario eventually came onto the floor and gave that guy a hug. 

There’s a drone component to their music, but they change things up enough during their songs that it doesn’t feel like five minutes of one note.

I also enjoyed that they had lights connected to (I’m guessing) the kick drum.  They seemed to change colors with every hit–unless there was some other kind of trigger.  This didn’t happen for every song (that would have been insane), but during enough parts to keep things looking very cool.

They were very thankful to everyone for coming and were clearly trying to get their set done in a timely way (we don’t want to get in trouble with the dance party).

They played two songs from their We Are All Atomic EP and in those songs it was really apparent how they play such loud heavy music but Mario sings in such a quiet way.  That is, until he stands back from the mic and screams the words.  I wondered if the people in the back could hear the screams through the mic or if it was just us.  Sarah joins in with occasional backing vocals, her voice high amid the low bass rumble.

They played one song from their debut “Learn to Breathe” which Mario said was their “hit single” (with over 800,000 plays on Spotify).  And then one from Love & Decay before ending with the wonderfully powerful Part IV from the Atomic EP.

The whole band was super friendly after the show and were selling their merch directly.

I’m so glad I went to the show.  And I’m glad I finally got to go to Ortlieb’s which is somehow smaller than Boot & Saddle and looks like a room from a David Lynch film.  They finished by 11:10, so the dance party was a little delayed, but it was in full swing as I left the bar.