The Black Angels brought a powerful Passover tour to Warehouse on Broadway

1 hour ago

Jason Colvin,

The Black Angels. // photo by Jason Colvin

The Black Angels
with L.A. Witch
Warehouse on Broadway
Monday, June 1

As the years pass me by, the list of bands I hope to see live only grows longer. The Black Angels have not only been on that list for some time but definitely close to the top spot. When I saw that they were going to be making a stop in Kansas City on Monday, June 1, to play a show at The Warehouse on Broadway, it brought me great joy. The wait was surely to be worth it as for this tour, they are back out on the road in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of their debut album, Passover.

L.A. Witch. // photo by Jason Colvin

To kick off the show, The Black Angels brought with them L.A. Witch. The all-female Los Angeles-based band formed in 2011 delivered a powerful opening set, grinding out their boozy garage rock sound. Members Sade Sanchez on guitar and vocals, Irita Pai on bass, Ellie English on drums, and joined by additional touring guitarist Lauren Andino, wowed the audience with a steady mix of psych rock, lo-fi blues, and post-punk rock through surf-tinted reverb, a sound the band has evolved over the years while releasing three full-length albums.

Their most recent album DOGGOD released last year brought further development of their ability to fuse sounds, adding a gothic-punk intensity. Their cool, confident stage presence was matched by each member’s stylish rocking threads. At other times through their set, you could catch them sharing smiles with each other and the crowd. A clear sign of not only their passion for the fans, but the friendship chemistry they share with one another. When they finished their ten-song set, I was left hoping to see them again sooner rather than later as a headliner.

TThe Black Angels. // photo by Jason Colvin

The Warehouse on Broadway was packed full as the chatter of anticipation for The Black Angels to take the stage moved through the air. The room went black as the band’s “Nico Logo” swirled at the back of the stage, and the band made their way onto the stage. Formed back in 2004 in Austin, Texas, the band takes their name from the Velvet Underground’s “The Black Angels’ Death Song.” With three original members onstage tonight — lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Alex Maas, guitarist Christian Bland, and drummer Stephanie Bailey — they are accompanied by Jake Garcia on guitar (since 2016) and Misti Hamrick on bass (since 2024). It is important to note that each of them lends many layers of musicianship to the band, sharing multiple talents on all instruments and vocals.

As the five arrived on stage, they immediately began playing “Young Men Dead,” the opening track to Passover. The night’s set was ready to kick off an epic play-through of the album in its entirety. As the crowd was captivated by their unique psych rock sound, the spectacular lighting narrative and projector visuals created an unforgettable atmosphere behind, above, and around the band. The striking, dark, psychedelic, and trippy visuals are provided by Tveye Media and Phantastic Lights. It was an all-out assault on the senses. The combination of sound and vision cast a spell on fans who shared their excitement with cheers and applause between each song. Garcia and Bland’s guitars skillfully brought to life fuzzed-out riffs and atmospheric effects that swirled through the venue. Bailey’s hypnotic and relentless drumming drove the psychedelic rhythm, building deep, trance grooves.

Hamrick switched repeatedly between bass and keyboard, her dirty, heavy rhythmic distortion complementing Bailey’s pulsing. The backbeat combination drops a thick, spellbinding groove and acts as the drone-rock foundation for the band. Like a wizard behind the curtain, except in this case from behind a black baseball cap and dark shades, Maas moved between instruments as well. Providing vocals, keys, guitar, and maracas, he loomed center stage, delivering the dark lyrics pitch-perfectly and flawlessly.

The Black Angels. // photo by Jason Colvin

Only a few words were shared here and there, but the intensity of the night was the narrative of the music. The songs were well known in and beyond the underground rock scene. A delightful highlight came at the finale of Passover, when Bland stayed onstage alone to play the ‘hidden’ song from the CD version of Passover, “Fighting in Iraq,” a reimagined version of Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam.” The haunting, quiet contrast to the rest of the album, originally using Iraq in place of Vietnam but now on this night replacing it with Iran.

The second part of the show was played like a best-of compilation as they moved through songs plucked from their six albums. Lightening up the mood a bit, they did their own version of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.” Also notable in the second set was the new, unreleased track “Daisies.” To close out the night before exiting the stage, they played “Entrance Song” from the 2010 album Phosphene Dream. After almost two hours of their music, and though the show was over, we had all completed our entrance into the never-ending journey of The Black Angels. A trip that is truly hard to give proper justice with words on a screen. It was a concert highlighting an important rock album that must be experienced in person.

All photos by Jason Colvin

The Black Angels

The Black Angels setlist
Young Men Dead
The First Vietnamese War
The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven
The Prodigal Sun
Black Grease
Manipulation
Empire
Better Off Alone
Bloodhounds on My Trail
Call to Arms
Mistress Brown (Fighting in Iraq)
Ronettes
Bad Vibrations
Push It
Song 6
Firefly
Daisies
Without a Trace
Turkish
Entrance Song