Slideaway Festival Concert Review (Day 1)
Slideaway Festival Night 1
The Hollywood Palladium
May 29, 2026
For a genre that once lived largely in record store bins, late-night college radio programs and internet forums, shoegaze has never felt more alive than it does right now. New bands continue to reinterpret the genre's walls of distortion and dreamlike melodies while many of its foundational artists are experiencing renewed appreciation from younger audiences discovering their music for the first time. Slideaway Festival exists at the intersection of those worlds, bringing together both the architects of the sound and the artists carrying it forward.
Night one of Slideaway Fest at the Hollywood Palladium showcased exactly why the genre continues to resonate decades after its initial rise. Featuring performances from Seko, Mint Field, Ovlov, Chapterhouse, Nothing and Hum, the festival offered nearly six hours of immersive guitars, hypnotic visuals and enough volume to shake the room. What could have easily felt like a nostalgia-driven event instead felt like a celebration of a scene that continues to evolve while honoring its roots.
The Hollywood Palladium proved to be an ideal setting for an event like Slideaway. Its expansive general admission floor gave attendees plenty of room to dance, mosh and lose themselves in the music, while the side areas provided opportunities to recharge between sets. As the evening progressed and the crowd steadily grew larger, a sense of anticipation settled over the venue. By the end of the night, attendees would leave with ringing ears and a renewed appreciation for a genre that continues to thrive.
The festival began promptly at 6 p.m. with South Pasadena's Seko, whose blend of shoegaze textures and slowcore pacing provided an ideal introduction to the evening. Despite holding the earliest set time of the night, the band had little trouble capturing the attention of an audience that was still filing into the Palladium. Their songs moved patiently, allowing layers of guitar to gradually build before crashing into heavier passages. The crowd responded with approving nods and steady movement throughout the set, signaling that many attendees had arrived early with the intention of experiencing the full lineup rather than simply waiting for the headliners. "Danny's Song" stood out as a particular highlight, offering an early glimpse of the emotional weight and sonic intensity that would define the rest of the evening.
Mint Field took the stage around 6:45 p.m. and immediately transformed the atmosphere inside the venue. Before a single note was played, the trio's stage setup created a sense of intrigue. Candlesticks and traditional Mexican textiles decorated the performance space, giving the stage an almost ceremonial quality. The band's set opened with electronic percussion before gradually introducing the hazy guitars and dreamlike textures that have become central to their sound.
Frontwoman Estrella del Sol thanked the crowd for their warm reception, noting that Los Angeles marked the final stop of the band's North American tour before returning home to Mexico. Throughout their set, Mint Field crafted an atmosphere that felt both intimate and expansive. Their music occasionally recalled artists such as Mazzy Star and Portishead, though never in a way that felt derivative. Instead, they filtered those influences through their own lens, creating something distinctly their own. Some of the most memorable moments arrived when Del Sol sang in Spanish, adding another layer of emotional depth to an already captivating performance.
By the time Ovlov took the stage around 7:35 p.m., the Palladium had noticeably filled in. The anticipation surrounding the rest of the evening was beginning to build, and Ovlov responded by delivering one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Within only a few songs, crowd surfers were already making their way across the audience while pockets of fans bounced and collided near the front of the stage.
The Connecticut band’s visual presentation complemented that energy perfectly. Pink and green spotlights washed over both the stage and crowd, cleverly mirroring Slideaway Festival's branding. Behind the band, live footage was manipulated into a distorted kaleidoscope of shifting colors and melting images, making it appear as though the performers were dissolving into the screen itself. Yet beyond the visuals and volume, what stood out most was the band's genuine enthusiasm. Frontman Steve Hartlett repeatedly thanked the audience throughout the set and took time to acknowledge the artists who had performed earlier in the evening. It was a small gesture that reinforced the communal spirit present throughout the festival.
Chapterhouse took the stage around 8:35 p.m. and were greeted with one of the loudest receptions of the evening. Their appearance carried a sense of occasion. For many in attendance, this was an opportunity to witness one of the defining bands of the original shoegaze movement, a group whose influence can still be heard throughout nearly every artist on the bill.
Opening with "Treasure" from their landmark 1991 album Whirlpool, Chapterhouse immediately demonstrated why their music has endured for so long. The guitars arrived in massive waves, filling every corner of the Palladium while still maintaining the melodic sensibility that separates great shoegaze from simple noise. Behind them, abstract visuals resembling television static trapped inside a lava lamp pulsed and shifted with every song. Colors bled together, shapes dissolved and reformed, and the screen seemed to melt in real time.
Songs such as "Greater Power" and "Love Forever" highlighted the band's ability to balance beauty with sheer sonic force. While many legacy acts often feel content recreating past versions of themselves, Chapterhouse performed with a genuine sense of energy and purpose. The crowd responded accordingly, bouncing and swaying beneath the swirling projections as if transported back to the genre's formative years. By the time they concluded their set, the audience seemed fully aware they had witnessed something special.
Nothing followed shortly before 10 p.m., celebrating the tenth anniversary of Tired of Tomorrow by performing the beloved album in its entirety. The Philadelphia band has long excelled at finding beauty within discomfort, and hearing these songs performed front-to-back only reinforced why the record continues to hold such significance for fans.
Opening with the title track, Nothing immediately established the emotional tone of the set. Songs like "Vertigo Flowers," "Our Plague" and "A.C.D. (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder)" carried a heavier weight in the live setting, their layers of distortion amplifying the vulnerability embedded within the songwriting. Frontman Dominic Palermo frequently paused between songs to thank the audience, expressing genuine appreciation for the support that has allowed the album to remain relevant a decade after its release.
What made the performance particularly compelling was the crowd's connection to the material. Fans sang along throughout the set, treating each song less like a performance and more like a shared experience. Even moments of humor found their way into the evening. A surprise appearance from a Grillo's Pickles mascot wielding a guitar injected a welcome bit of absurdity into an otherwise emotionally heavy set. It was strange, funny and completely memorable. When the band closed with bonus track "Tic Tac Toe," the response felt less like applause and more like gratitude.
As the clock pushed past 11 p.m., anticipation throughout the Palladium reached its peak. Hum emerged to the ominous sounds of John Carpenter's Escape From New York, immediately drawing a roar from the audience that had been waiting all night for their arrival. Though years have passed since the band's emergence as alternative rock cult heroes, the reaction they received made it clear their influence remains enormous.
Hum's performance felt expansive in every sense. Material from You'd Prefer an Astronaut, Downward Is Heavenward and 2020's Inlet blended seamlessly together, demonstrating the remarkable consistency of the band's catalog. Songs such as "Stars," "I'd Like Your Hair Long," "Suicide Machine" and "Green to Me" landed with tremendous force, while newer tracks including "Desert Rambler," "Shapeshifter" and "Step Into You" proved equally captivating. Rather than dividing the audience between old and new material, every song felt like part of the same larger universe.
The visual presentation reflected that sense of scale. Waves of sand drifted across the screen before giving way to oceans, landscapes and abstract natural imagery. Unlike some of the more psychedelic visuals featured earlier in the night, Hum's imagery felt grounded and expansive at the same time. It complemented the band's music perfectly, emphasizing the sense of distance, wonder and emotional weight that has always defined their sound.
Deep cuts like "Iron Clad Lou" generated some of the night's loudest reactions, rewarding longtime fans who had waited years to hear these songs in a live setting. When the opening notes of "I Hate It Too" signaled the final song of the evening, a sense of collective disbelief settled over the room. Nobody seemed ready for the night to end. Yet as the final notes rang out and the band exited the stage, it felt like the perfect conclusion to a festival lineup that celebrated every facet of the genre.
The greatest strength of Slideaway Festival's first night was its ability to connect multiple generations of shoegaze and alternative rock fans through a shared appreciation for immersive music. Emerging acts like Seko and Mint Field demonstrated where the genre continues to go, while Ovlov injected the evening with a sense of unpredictability and raw energy. Meanwhile, performances from Chapterhouse, Nothing and Hum served as reminders of why these artists continue to inspire musicians decades after their earliest releases.
For one night, the Hollywood Palladium became more than just a concert venue. It became a gathering place for people chasing the same feeling: the rush of standing inside a wall of sound and finding something beautiful within the noise. If the first night of Slideaway Festival was any indication, the genre's future remains every bit as exciting as its past.
Chapterhouse Setlist:
Treasure
Breather
Falling Down
Autosleeper
Come Heaven
In my Arms
Mesmerise (With Rachel Staggs)
Then We’ll Rise
Pearl
Greater Power
Love Forever (With Rachel Staggs)
Nothing Setlist:
Tired of Tomorrow
Fever Queen
The Dead are Dumb
Vertigo Flowers
A.C.D. (Abscessive Compulsive Disorder)
Nineteen Ninety Heaven
Curse of the Sun
Eaten by Worms
Everyone is Happy
Our Plague
Tic Tac Toe
Hum Setlist:
Waves
The Scientists
Isle of the Cheetah
I’d Like Your Hair Long
Step Into You
Desert Rambler
Suicide Machine
Green to Me
Iron Clad Lou
Why I like the Robins
Shapeshifter
Encore:
Stars
I Hate it Too (Extended Outro)
