[ATTENDED: April 4, 2025] Mars Volta
I liked Mars Volta when they came out, lost track of them over the years and then assumed they’d broken up for good. But in 2022 I scored tickets to see them 
at The Met in Philly. The show was great and I was really amazed at how good Omar Rodríguez-López’s guitar was and I was even more impressed by Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s voice which can still hit the incredible high notes.
So I was pretty excited that they were opening for Deftones on this arena tour.
But when they came out on stage I realized the flaw.
Mars Volta plays intricate, complicated songs with many parts and wild shifts. Which totally got lost in this giant arena. Plus, they were playing their brand new (not yet released) album in its entirety.
It’s fun to hear new songs for the first time live. But it is tough to hear an entire new album for the first time in a giant arena with thousands of people around you who are only waiting for the headliner.
Their sound was cavernous in this giant place. Cedric’s voice was clear and ringing out. Some of the slower songs (Morgana) worked well in the setting because the echo didn’t crowd everything together.
Overall, it was a terrible way to experience them. Especially since we were pretty far back and couldn’t really see anything anyway.
On the bright side, my son said he liked them and would see them again in a smaller place. And soon after this show they announced a tour and are coming to Philly in November. I hope he’s still interested when the show comes around.
Oh and we missed fleshwater in their entirety. They’re a relatively new band (started in 2017 with a couple of albums out). They play a heavy shoegaze style with cool vocals from Marisa Shirar. I listened to them before the show but I think we knew that logistically we’d never arrive on time to see them.
But I like their stuff and hope they open up for someone else (maybe that Mars Volta show) in the near future
| 2025 Wells Fargo Center [Deftones] | 2022 The Met | |
| Fin £ | Vicarious Atonement ∇ | |
| Reina tormenta £ | Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) ≅ | |
| Enlazan las tinieblas £ | Eriatarka ≅ | |
| Mictlán £ | Graveyard Love √ | |
| The Iron Rose £ | L’Via L’Viaquez ⊕ | |
| Cue the Sun £ | Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound ⊄ | |
| Alba del orate £ | Cygnus….Vismund Cygnus ⊕ | |
| Voice in My Knives £ | Blacklight Shine √ | |
| Poseedora de mi sombra £ | Drunkship of Lanterns ≅ | |
| Celaje £ | The Widow ⊕ | |
| Vociferó £ | Cicatriz ESP ≅ | |
| Mito de los trece cielos £ | Televators ≅ | |
| Un disparo al vacío £ | Son et lumiere ≅ | |
| Detrás de la puerta dorada £ | Inertiatic ESP ≅ | |
| Maullidos £ | ||
| Morgana £ | ||
| Cue the Sun (Reprise) £ | ||
| Lucro sucio £ | ||
£ Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio (2025)
≅ De‐Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
⊕ Frances the Mute (2005)
∇ Amputechture (2006)
⊄ Noctourniquet (2012)
√ The Mars Volta (2022)
I Just Read About That... 
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