[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] The Mars Volta
My son and I saw The Mars Volta open for Deftones in an arena and the sound was terrible. They played an unreleased album so it was really hard to know what was going on in a cavernous place where all subtlety was lost.
So when they announced a headlining tour I grabbed tickets for my son and I. And what a treat to get there early and be right up front for the show.
Visually there wasn’t a lot going on–the band is largely dressed in black and white and there was only a black curtain behind them. The lights tended toward the dark and the blue so you couldn’t see super clearly. But this was really all about the music.
This show was for them to play their new album, Lucro sucio straight through, just like they did opening for the Deftones. That set was 40 minutes (like the album) but this show was about twice as long with lots of trippy jamming sections.
The set opens quietly with Fin wherein Cedric Bixler-Zavala sings to a synth opening–his voice soaring to great heights–as it did all night, his voice is incredible.
And then the rocking began. Cedric and Teri ‘Gender Bender’ Suárez stood up front singing (sometimes to each other). In the back was Omar Rodríguez-López doing his own thing and making his guitar sound fantastic. He was with Marcel Rodríguez-López who plays keys and percussion and together the two of them clearly generate a lot of the sounds.
Back with them was founding bassist Eva Gardner who plays a mean low end and keeps the chaos in check.
I really liked how much Cedric danced during the instrumental sections. A full-bodied dance with feet sliding on the floor and a kind of duet with the mic stand. He danced during most of the instrumental sections, like during the saxophone solo during Enlazan Las Tinieblas–keyboardist Leo Genovese also plays a mean saxophone.
And then came the first opportunity for drummer Linda-Philomène Tsoungui to blow my mind–it would not be the last. She was amazing, playing a a full on drum solo (but while washes of sounds were behind her so it was more of a percussion-heavy instrumental) and her skills with rhythm, speed and volume were terrific.
The absurd catchiness of The Iron Rose (you’re the one that I want) was followed by Cue the Sun, during which Linda-Philomène and Omar were jamming some crazy sounds. It was almost like the two of them were locked in–each working the same template of Omar’s solo.
Then came the biggest unintentional surprise of the night. The grooviness of Voice in My Knives was interrupted by a power failure(!) All of the lights went out and at first I wasn’t sure if it was part of the show. Their set and lighting is dramatic and ever-changing and the blackout happened at a perfect spot–right as they finished a vocal line. I thought it was a very dramatic effect.
But then the emergency lights went up and the band was escorted off the stage. There was no announcement, but we could see the crew getting to work and a few minutes later the lights turned on and they came back on stage.
I don’t think Cedric is known for being jokey, but he came back and made this weird quip that there’s a guy on the San Antonio Spurs who just slam dunked the ball so hard it reverberated to the East Coast. He seemed very intense about this assertion, with a kind of posturing threat to the Sixers (which of course led the crowd to do an EAGLES chant?). But they picked up perfectly and began the jamming instrumental section.
It’s fascinating how many different vibes come through the story of the album. The quiet jam of Poseedora De Mi Sombra had Cedric singing a wordless melody over some quiet washes of sound. All the while, Linda-Philomène doing amazing things with her right hand while keeping a steady beat with the left. We were right in front of her kit (which was on the side of the stage) and it was incredible to see her doing so much damage to that kit.
The shift from Poseedora De Mi Sombra to Celaje was super tight as the new tempo took over the stage. And then Un Disparo Al Vacio slowed things down again with some very 70s sounding keys and Cedric and Teri singing. I loved when the song shifted to them singing loudly in Spanish and then even more abruptly shifted to a screaming guitar solo. This song was stretched out pretty long (about 15 minutes (it’s 3 on record), with a lengthy quiet middle part that allowed Cedric to let his voice soar over the quiet guitar and complex percussion.
Once again Linda-Philomène and Omar seemed in perfect sync while he was plenty a solo–until she couldn’t be held back.
The way the set/album plays with fast and slow songs–the pacing was excellent
The highlight of the show was probably Morgana–near the end of the set it has a gorgeous “oooh” part and the simple chorus “I can’t get you out of my mind.”
Cedric and Teri harmonized perfectly throughout the show. And the rest of the band was truly on fire. Linda-Philomène had one last explosion of drums before the final song. The end of the show was full on blast from everyone, including a return of the saxophone and lots of percussion. And then everyone stopped except the voices. And what an a capella ending it was–the power of this voices on a black stage with spotlights.
They said their good nights and Cedric even apologized about the power failure.
The fact that my son really enjoyed the show and didn’t really know the music beforehand at all made me really happy and was a testament to what a good show it was.
| Nov 2025 Fillmore Philadelphia | 2025 Wells Fargo Center [Deftones] | 2022 Met Philly | |
| Fin £ | Fin £ | Vicarious Atonement ∇ | |
| Reina tormenta £ | Reina tormenta £ | Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) ≅ | |
| Enlazan las tinieblas £ | Enlazan las tinieblas £ | Eriatarka ≅ | |
| Mictlán £ | Mictlán £ | Graveyard Love √ | |
| The Iron Rose £ | The Iron Rose £ | L’Via L’Viaquez ⊕ | |
| Cue the Sun £ | Cue the Sun £ | Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound ⊄ | |
| Alba del orate £ | Alba del orate £ | Cygnus….Vismund Cygnus ⊕ | |
| Voice in My Knives £ [power went out during the song/band left the stage] | Voice in My Knives £ | Blacklight Shine √ | |
| Poseedora de mi sombra £ | Poseedora de mi sombra £ | Drunkship of Lanterns ≅ | |
| Celaje £ | Celaje £ | The Widow ⊕ | |
| Vociferó £ | Vociferó £ | Cicatriz ESP ≅ | |
| Mito de los trece cielos £ | Mito de los trece cielos £ | Televators ≅ | |
| Un disparo al vacío £ | Un disparo al vacío £ | Son et lumiere ≅ | |
| Detrás de la puerta dorada £ | Detrás de la puerta dorada £ | Inertiatic ESP ≅ | |
| Maullidos £ | Maullidos £ | ||
| Morgana £ | Morgana £ | ||
| Cue the Sun (Reprise) £ | Cue the Sun (Reprise) £ | ||
| Lucro sucio £ | 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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