Los Angeles found it’s historic Wiltern Theater transformed into a gothic night club on Sunday night for the much anticipated Twin Tribes headlining show on the second leg of the Darker Skies Tour. The evening was presented by Los Goths Co., the beloved LA-based latino goth community, elevating the night with DJ sets in between supporting groups, TRAITRS, Forever Grey, and Soft Vein. The venue was packed and the evening was electric, the black lace and latex fitted crowds growing larger every hour as the night lost sight to the pulsing beats of dark synth and dance.
From the first moment stepping into the venue, it was clear this event was something more than a concert, but a much-needed community gathering and a moment of solidarity. Los Goths opened the night with a 60-minute DJ set followed by Soft Vein performing irresistible dark beats. Los Goths kept the energy up with 15-minute DJ sets between darkwave group, Forever Grey and the hypnotic lamenting beats of TRAITRS, and then jumped back in for a 30-minute DJ set to keep the crowd in a trance before the ever-awaited haunting duo, Twin Tribes.
The curtain opened and the crowd was hit with the first few synth notes while Luis Navarro (guitars, lead vocals, synth, drum machines) and Joel Niño, Jr. (bass, synth, backing vocals) took presence on stage opposite each other on electric keyboards and machines. The stage was darkly lit a deep blue, aside from two glowing red tubes in the background. After their haunting intro, the duo came out to center stage singing and dancing with guitars. The setlist included songs from all across their three well-received studio albums, Shadows (2018),
Ceremony (2019), and Pendulum (2024) including the fan favorite tracks, “Shadows,” “Fantasmas,” “Heart & Feather,” “Monolith,” and “Cauldron of Thorns.” With lyrics in themes of death, the occult, and the cosmos, paired with the quintessential darkwave melodics, each song is hard not to find as a favorite.
The lights shifted from blue and purple pastels, to deep, icy blues, always keeping shadows in the mix and the sense of another realm. Adding to the setlist, the band played a few cover songs including “Tren Al Sur” by Chilean rock band, Los Prisioneros, and the crowd went wild for it while singing along every lyric. The night became an intersection for music and magic, dance and catharsis, cultural pride and community. At the end of their set, the two brought out a Mexican flag that they proudly held high and waved, holding their hearts and throwing love out to the crowd. Fans were screaming and crying and it was the most beautiful note to end the show on.
The Darker Skies Tour continues with only a few West Coast shows left in San Diego, CA June 24th and wrapping up in Phoenix, AZ June 25th. If you missed this tour, be sure to check out Twin Tribes at the Dark Ceremony Festival in Houston, TX on June 28th playing in a lineup with London After Midnight and Drab Majesty, or at Terminus Festival with Front Line Assembly July 24-27th in Calgary, Canada.
GALLERY: Twin Tribes at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, California (June 22, 2025)
