Staff Editor on October 4th, 2023

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Lo Moon opened their four-week residency at Zebulon on Monday night with a bang. The quartet performed an hour and 20 minutes of crowd-pleasing songs that included a guest appearance by Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES. The crowd was amped from the start, pressing close to the stage.

They opened their set with a new song called “Borrowed Hills,” which is surely to be their rock anthem go-to from here on out. Their song “Expectations” from their sophomore album “A Modern Life” has the lyrics, “When I was sixteen / I had such big dreams / But I was born with let down, expectations.” Teenage dreams crashing down around you? One can hope not. Also from that 2022 album, “Raincoats” started out with haunting Gregorian vocals that were slowly overwhelmed by Sterling Laws’ drum beats, growing in strength until lead singer Matthew Lowell took back control with rock god power. On stage left, bassist Crisanta Baker went full hair fling while on stage right guitarist Samuel Stewart played off the drummer when not providing backing vocals.

When it came to their PJ Harvey cover of “Down by the Water,” Lo Moon brought up their occasional tourmate Mayberry. It was a pleasant surprise, but perhaps the more observant fans caught the subtle hint via her Instagram Stories. She was also seen graciously taking a selfie with a fan afterwards.

Overheard comment from Lowell, “I almost choked on my spit during that song.” Noticed during the set is the wide smiles that appeared when Baker, Lowell and Stewart play off each other. It is a sign that this band really enjoys each other’s company.

They closed out the night with an 11-minute encore called “Evidence” that let their musical talents shine.

Opening the night was Charlie Hall of the War on Drugs. Many of his songs were New Age instrumentals, which had him saying at one point, “This song is about … well, as much as a song without words can be about.” That amused the crowd. The War on Drugs drummer took lead guitar duties in this side project of his. He recently released an album called “Invisible Ink.” Lo Moon wrote this on an Instagram post: “His amazing spirit, his beautiful soul, his incredibly unique musical voice, and the way he respects everyone he crosses paths with. He has made my life and all of our lives significantly better by just being in it. We consider him and his family and the War on Drugs family, and that is a beautiful thing.”

The Los Angeles music scene might have felt a collective sense of despair when the Echo decided to end their decade-plus long tradition of Monday night residencies earlier this year, but other venues have kept the tradition going strong. Lo Moon at Zebulon is just another example of that.

Lo Moon setlist: Borrowed Hills, Tried to Make You My Own, Expectations, Thorns, Waiting a Lifetime, This is It, Raincoats, Carried Away, Down by the Water (PJ Harvey cover with Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches), Dream Never Dies. Encores: Loveless, Evidence

Photos and recap by Notes From Vivace