Angels & Airwaves at The Warfield San Francisco

It was a calm and beautiful night on September 30th in San Francisco, as fans anxiously walked into the famous Warfield venue in the Theatre District. 1990Nowhere opened up and did their thing, as more and more fans entered the venue. After 1990Nowhere played, many fans walked around The Warfield to buy drinks and/or merchandise. Many people wore AVA and Blink-182 shirts!

Next up was Bad Suns and they were great! Their 10-song set list included “Daft Pretty Boys”, “Off She Goes” and “Violet”. During the show, frontman Christo Bowman mentioned San Francisco “feels like a second home” and loves the vibe up here. North from Los Angeles, Bad Suns showed their appreciation and support for the city by the bay. The lights were a perfect blend with their music, with dark blue and purple matching their alternative/indie rock sound. Bowman also mentioned this was their second live show in two years and was “so happy to be playing to their fans again”. The crowd cheered and roared, because everyone was happy to see concerts again. Bad Suns finished off the night with their most popular song, “Cardiac Arrest”.

As fans were anxious waiting, some were screaming out, “Tom! We love you!”

Angels & Airwaves walked onstage as the fans went nuts, immediately starting off the night with “Kiss & Tell” off their new album, Lifeforms. There were a lot of hardcore fans, because they were singing the new songs, too! Throughout the show, lead singer Tom DeLonge talked to the crowd and joked around. He loves San Francisco and claims that bassist Matt Rubano was the most handsome man in the city — “he’s going to steal your wives”! Before they played “Everything’s Magic”, DeLonge explained this song was almost in the movie Shrek and jokingly said they had a hard time writing a clean song. Fans were laughing and cheering on through the song. 

Halfway through the show, DeLonge went into detail how their song “Tunnels” came to form. Years ago, in the middle of the night, Tom felt something go through him like a spirit and he immediately had energy to finish the song. Moments later after, he received a call that his father passed away. It was an interesting story and the fans patiently listened. It’s amazing how and when artists get their inspiration when they write their music. After, Angels & Airwaves played some of their old hits, like “Start the Machine” and “The War”. Fans were rocking out, dancing and moving their heads to the guitar riffs. Everyone was having a great time!

Before they played “Rite of Spring”, DeLonge explained to the crowd the meaning behind the song. The story is about Tom’s life through high school: how he went through his parents’ separation, his undying love for skateboarding and the formation of Blink-182. It’s a great song and fans were singing all of the lyrics. AVA finished off the night with “Heaven” and Tom thanked everyone for coming out and showing the love for the band. It was a blast and fans were chanting, “One more song!” It was a magical night and we didn’t want to rest our souls.

Photography by Arik Ruiz

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