There are a few bands that occupy such a weirdly specific space in your life that seeing them live feels less like a concert and more like walking into a fever dream you’ve had since you were a teen. For me, that band is HORSE the band. My introduction came via my good friend Joe, whose enthusiasm for the band bled into our whole friend group. Nearly two decades later, on April 25th, 2025, I finally saw them in the flesh at The Regent in LA, and it somehow exceeded the unreasonably high expectations I’d built up over the years, based on the stories I’d been told.
This tour marked 20 years since The Mechanical Hand dropped, and to celebrate, they played the album straight through, front to back. But HORSE doesn’t just “play an album” — they tear through it. The band hit the stage to the 1977 animated Hobbit sample that opens “Birdo.” Right as Gollum uttered the iconic “ahh…eggs,” they launched into the song with explosive energy. That moment alone set the tone for a night that would only escalate from there.
As the only photographer in the venue, the pressure was real. This was easily one of the most challenging shows I’ve ever shot — trying to visually track a band this unpredictable while crammed into a pit full of limbs, sweat, and chaos was no joke. After “Manateen,” I left the somewhat calmer photo pit and moved into the crowd, still snapping shots but now in the thick of it. Undoubtedly, one of the fiercest pits I’ve encountered all year.
HORSE fans are a different breed. The sheer passion radiating from the crowd was unmatched — like being swept into the world’s most chaotic, dysfunctional family reunion. Everyone knew every word, every cue, every transition. My buddy had told me that the crowd in San Diego wasn’t nearly as rowdy or connected as LA’s, and based on what I was witnessing firsthand, I couldn’t imagine his statement untrue. People were chanting, climbing over each other, screaming every lyric at the top of their lungs — and still cracking jokes in between.
Speaking of jokes, HORSE’s banter is as much a part of the experience as the music. Early in the set, keyboardist Erik asked the crowd who else was from Lake Forest — the band’s hometown — after someone shouted it out. A surprising number of people responded, which led vocalist Nathan to smirk and call them all liars. Later in the evening, after one of the several times Erik reassured the crowd with, “Don’t worry, we’re almost done,” Nathan shot back, “Is it night night time? Do we need to tuck you in?” The mix of sarcasm, absurdity, and genuine connection somehow lands just right — like everything with this band, it’s strange, but it works so well.
A few moments into “Soaring Quails,” drummer Daniel’s kick pedal broke (or whoever’s kick pedal it was anyway), leading to one of Erik’s wildest stories: The band had been invited to play Studio Coast in Tokyo by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas — a band that had been massive HORSE fans since they were kids. They were paid $10k to perform and rented all their equipment for the show, but during soundcheck, they realized they had no double kick pedal. They can’t play their songs without a double kick pedal. So, a runner quickly grabbed one just before the set, but just a few seconds into their first song (“Birdo”), the pedal broke. The band stood on stage awkwardly while the crowd stared blankly for a good ten minutes. Erik described it as “the worst set we’ve played in our whole life.” Just as the tension built around a potential repeat of that story happening in real time, Daniel’s kick pedal was fixed and ready to go, and they dove right back into the song.
Every song hit with wild, unrelenting force. “A Million Exploding Suns,” “A Rusty Glove,” “The House of Boo” — each one exploded with precision, emotion, and the kind of manic energy only HORSE can deliver. During “Murder,” Nathan sang with a rag covering his face the entire time, which was hilariously bizarre but didn’t deter even slightly from the intensity of the song. Fans lost their minds over Erik — normally known for his signature shorts — who wore pants, and I overheard multiple people comment on it like it was a monumental change in the band’s lore. At one point, Nathan scanned the crowd and delivered maybe the most devastating read of the night: “You guys look so fucking old now. I was worried about myself, but thank god you’re here. We can all blow away in the wind together… woosh — and that was the last of us.”
After closing out the album, the band returned for a 3-song encore: a cover of Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration” (sung by guitarist David Isen with absurd sincerity), followed by “Murder,” and then ending the night with “Cutsman” — a fan-favorite and one hell of a final punch, as the crowd screamed along “CUT! CUT! CUT CUT!”
Post-show, the band stuck around. Not backstage, but at the merch booth and out front, mingling, chatting, selling shirts, just being real humans. Bands that live in reality with the rest of us are my favorite kind, and I didn’t for a second expect any less from them. At The Regent, the merch setup lives inside Prufrock Pizzeria, attached to the venue’s front left. On the other side is The Love Song, a bar where the band was set to throw an afterparty of sorts. I didn’t get to stay for it, but judging by the rest of the night — I’m sure it was rad.
The show was so good, our group (sans myself, unfortunately) made the trip to Pomona the very next night just to do it all over again. Because once isn’t enough. Because HORSE the band isn’t just a performance — it’s an experience. This may have been my first HORSE the band show, but I really hope it won’t be my last. *Hint hint*
We’d like to thank HORSE the band for having us out for a night of chaotic debauchery.
GALLERY: Horse The Band at The Belasco Theater in Los Angeles (April 25, 2025)
