When I was little, around four or five, I was convinced that if you made direct, sustained eye contact with a snake it had the ability to hypnotize you. Your body and soul would bend into a trance-like state. Your prefrontal cortex would be at the mercy of the serpent before you and there was no fighting it. Being a ‘90s kid raised on worn-out VHS tapes, this was the direct influence of repeatedly being glued to a tired copy of “The Jungle Book”. Of course, that belief faded away as I got older. Snakes simply don’t possess that kind of power. But on May 1, 2026, Texas-bred alt-rock legends Toadies proved that while snakes don’t, amphibians certainly DO when they released their newest album, The Charmer; my brain hasn’t fully recovered since the LP engineered by the late Steve Albini bellied its way in.
On Saturday, June 13th 2026, I shuffled into the Belasco Theater located in Downtown Los Angeles, just as the historic building is celebrating a monumental 100 years. I adore The Belasco with its intricately designed Churrigueresque revival interior. The expressive, elaborate detailing hand-crafted into the centenarian’s walls. The ceiling that feels like it’s lived a million lifetimes, each more lavish than the last. It’s easy to picture what the world was like when the theatre broke ground. An intense appreciation for luxurious aesthetics, forged by a hopeful generation blissfully unaware of how far we would soon drift. Charming, really. But on this night with a lineup consisting of Toadies, Local H and Sparta, we weren’t just there to be distracted by The Belasco’s good looks. We were there to have our heads fucking rocked. And I was there to take some pictures along the way.
related: Jane’s Addiction – Hollywood Royalty at The Palladium
This leg of The Charmer Tour kicked off with Sparta on the heels of their widely anticipated sixth studio album, Cut a Silhouette. These guys always famously rip and it was no surprise to see the theatre fill up in time to catch the first supporting act of the night. Jim Ward’s deliciously smooth screams threatened to fully shatter the thick, living & breathing foundation bassist Matt Miller and drummer Neil Hennessy laid out. The evening was already a win, and we were just getting started.
I’d wager a stupid amount of money that just about every person who was in that theatre to see Toadies was equally there for Local H, present company included. How just two people, sole founding member/guitarist/vocalist Scott Lucas and touring drummer Ronnie DiCola, can grind out such a beautiful racket is beyond me. What I do know is that I don’t envy anyone who has to follow Local H. I dodged DiCola’s shower of sweat as he pounded away, his sticks held so high between each swing that I was sure the back of his head had become collateral damage.
related: Gen X Drip – Mudhoney and Meat Puppets at The Regent
After their third song (“Lovey Dovey,” to the delight of a young woman holding a sign begging the request) I headed into the heart of the pit to get knocked around for a few tracks before sprinting to the balcony to take in the scene from above. The floor below melted into a singular body as fans wrapped their arms around each other for “Eddie Vedder,” undulating like liquid and drunkenly spewing every beloved line back at Lucas. The Belasco quickly turned full rowdy for the song I was hoping to hear all night: “High-Fiving MF” and all us grinning, high-fiving motherfuckers in the building brandished joyous, loving middle fingers up to the stage. As the house lights rose, I stepped out on the patio to recalibrate my head. Toadies next.
Toadies, consisting of founding member and primary songwriter Vaden Todd Lewis on vocals & rhythm guitar, Clark Vogeler on lead guitar, Doni Blair on bass, and Mark Reznicek on drums, have been consistent hit-makers since their 1989 inception but have found new footing with The Charmer. As they opened with “Ash’s Theme”, it was glaringly obvious that when you listen to an album produced by Steve Albini, the subsequent concert experience will paralyze you with the uncanny likeness. This is certainly the result of Albini’s aptitude for allowing artists to sound unapologetically themselves but it makes even more sense when you learn the Toadies’ newly released studio album was recorded live, face to face, as the music gods intended. Standing there in the photo pit, my cameras dangled from my shoulders like pendulums as I’d briefly forgotten why I was there. A spell had been cast, and I suddenly found myself in Chicago, experiencing magic unfold at Electrical Audio. It felt like a secret I wasn’t supposed to bear witness, and if I blinked the spell would be broken. So for the next hour and half, I made sure to never break eye contact as I succumbed to the fully hypnotic and lobotomizing effect of Toadies’ “The Charmer” Tour.
related: Vulnerability Is Punk – The Lemonheads at the OC Observatory
Lewis has always artfully penned songs that have featured characters outside of himself. Enigmas who have delighted, frightened and grabbed the listener, frequently leaving us uncomfortable but never satiated. It’s easy to lose yourself in these stories. Intimately familiar gems like “Possum Kingdom,” “Tyler,” “No Deliverance” and “Jigsaw Girl” cunningly wove their way between their freshly minted tracks, with the four-piece executing absolute precision through every cell in our bodies like world class surgeons. Halfway into their set, Lewis allowed us to enter the space a little further as he tenderly opened up abut struggling with thoughts of self-harm and suicide. He detailed his previous fears of losing his creative edge by allowing himself the opportunity to heal before loudly rejecting this misguided notion and encouraged others suffering in silence to do the same. And this is when it all started to make sense.
The Charmer is not an external fictionalized character. Instead, The Charmer is an introspective mirror, reflecting back on Lewis. To the relevant listener, it’s the voice in your head that compels you to doubt your own abilities, luring you into hopelessness and helplessness. It can be seductive and frequently validating but ultimately destructive. The album’s title track spins this false narrative delicately but deliberately with lines like “I’m the liar and feet to fire, it’s only you that keeps me alive” and “You’d be nothing if it weren’t for me.” Taking the steps needed to heal is almost always terrifying when you’ve grown so attached to, and perhaps even seemingly reliant on, the darkness that infiltrates. “I Walk A Line” vacillates between having agency over your own mind and being led astray by the siren call of depression. But with every line breathed into existence, The Charmer as an entity loses its power while Lewis’ grows.
related: Beck Acoustic at The Lodge Room – A Storyteller
“Get Out Of Your Head” paints hopeful shades of insight (“And then from a tree, a little bird sang to me and said ‘You must get out of your head boy, get out of your head’”). This track offers no resolution, perhaps acting only as a warning to say we were never meant to navigate through the dark alone. Lewis’ vocal high notes in these new songs rival anything he’s ever produced as the raw and personal subject matter does not render any form of reservation. Backed with matching intensity by the rest of the Toadies, they sound better, and perhaps even more like themselves, than ever.
With the Charmer out of Lewis’ head and now pressed into 180-grams of gritty, heartfelt art, the message is clear that nothing is lost by reaching out for help. Certainly and vehemently the opposite. Before continuing, Lewis smiles sincerely, sharing how good it is we’re all there with him in that room. There to sing, to dream and to just simply be in this world together. He’s glad you’re here, and we’re glad he’s here.
related: Pixies and Modest Mouse – Clash Of The Indie Titans at The Hollywood Bowl
As the night progressed and we inched closer to the end of the set, I couldn’t help noticing the shift in energy. While the music continued to keep its stronghold, there was a heightened impression of collective clarity. That we could count on each other. That we weren’t alone. That we matter and our vulnerability can be our greatest strength. The fog began to clear. Before the lights went down again, the chords to one of my favorite new tracks, “Normal,” slowly began to chug. Lewis, full of that tasty Texan twang, drawled out “I don’t wanna be angry. I don’t wanna be sad. I don’t wanna be sorry. I just wanna be fucking normal.” We don’t want you to be angry, sad or sorry…but thankfully, Vaden Lewis, you are so much more than fucking normal.
The encore came and went, including their toothy rendition of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ haunting classic “I Put A Spell On You” which rightfully slapped me in the face with how on the nose it felt for this tour, and I couldn’t contain my crooked smile. Fuckin’ amphibians, man.
Toadies are continuing their Charmer Tour through the Fall and have teamed up with the Hi, How Are You Project, the nonprofit inspired by Daniel Johnston, releasing limited edition band merch. Proceeds support mental health education and awareness initiatives.
Words and Photos by Michelle Evans
