Moss Oak Commons 10/01/2026
Huge shout-out and thank you to Ian of @gasmo.lightshow for the incredible light show he projected onto the performers last week! I hope to get the chance to witness and document his work again soon.
I saw Presence for the first time earlier this summer (read more here) and they’re fantastic. I learned from their social media that they’ve recently begun opening band practice with a period of group meditation and you can hear it in the unified unfurling of their heavy riffs. The guitars and bass play more like the right and left hands of a single pianist than distinct individuals playing disparate instruments, the drums somehow following and leading at the same time. Vocal duties are split between the two guitarists with each singer bringing a unique texture to the songs they sing. A performance from Presence is better experienced directly than described.
Blair Gun is from San Diego and they sound like it (good). There’s something about their music that carries forward the sound of SD punk bands in the early 2000s. The kind of music where you can hear the through line from the blues to punk rock, but with that indie rock single coil shine mixed in. Their new album Nonstop Bullets is one of my favorite albums released this year and has been in heavy rotation since a friend recommended them to me. Their performance was even more passionate and chaotic than the record.
Something Wicked headlined, which often feels like the prime spot, but tonight felt like taking one for the team. Moss Oak is pretty rigorous about ending their weeknight shows on time out of respect to their neighborhood location so Something Wicked wound up playing a pretty short set. It’s a testament to the punch they pack that they managed to cram so much energy and attitude into such a short set. Luckily, they have no short supply of shows on the near horizon.
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