The stellar talent of Failure and Quannnic was on full display at The Belasco Theater in Los Angeles last night, as these two acts offered up a gloriously intergalactic pre-Halloween hometown show.
Failure are a titularly fantastic (pun intended) band from Los Angeles whose influential sound has helped shape the alternative rock and metal landscape. Their legacy continues to inspire a new generation of musicians, including Quannnic, a 21-year-old Florida-based musician whose hazy, shoegaze-infused sound offers a fresh take on the atmospheric style that Failure fans know and love. Quannnic joins them on their Rising Skyline tour, bringing a new perspective to the band’s familiar sonic territory.
Failure released their most recent album, Location Lost, back in April, and the tour has spanned much of 2026, with the band playing major festivals such as Sick New World and Welcome to Rockville, bringing their unique blend of atmospheric and moody space rock across the US.
Quannnic opened at 8 pm, and delivered a unique blend of old-school shoegaze à la Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, with a modern edge that felt fresh. Quannnic told the crowd that this was the only show where the energy had been electrifying enough to form a massive pit. Many of their fans were incredibly supportive, shouting and singing along. It was great to see a new artist with a massive cult following opening alongside a legendary contemporary.
As soon as Failure arrived at 9 pm, the lights went down and everyone in the building was cheering. It was truly astounding to witness and take part in such a massive crowd, helping to celebrate the return of a band that has pioneered so much within modern rock and metal. They opened with ‘Crash Test Delayed’, accompanied by futuristic visuals that maintained the energy and atmosphere of the show throughout.
‘Saturday Savior’ kicked off, and the energy in the room shot up tenfold. Crowdsurfers were everywhere, and the crowd sang along, soaking up every moment as Failure performed this classic from their 1996 album Fantastic Planet. With the album celebrating its 30th anniversary, the band certainly spoiled us with this setlist! And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, they followed it up with ‘Sergeant Politeness’. By this point, I was headbanging and singing along with everyone else. The visuals, which shifted to mimic the flashing lights of police cars and ambulances, were the perfect complement to the song. Once again, Failure proved that they never fail to deliver a truly unique audiovisual experience at every show.
The band then surprised their OG fans with not one, not two, but THREE songs from their 1992 debut, Comfort: ‘Princess’, ‘Macaque’ and ‘Screen Man’. It was particularly amusing to see so many fans whipping out their phones during ‘Screen Man’, a moment that felt utterly fitting.
Next up was ‘Undone’ from Magnified, my personal favourite Failure album. What followed was a glorious blur of crowdsurfing, singing and face-melting moments.
The set then concluded with a mix of hits and deep cuts from their space-rock magnum opus, Fantastic Planet. ‘Solaris’ brought us back into orbit, ‘Smoking Umbrellas’ was a vocal crowd favorite, the band encouraged a singalong with ‘The Nurse Who Loved Me’ and they ended their main set with ‘Another Space Song’, altering the lyric to “I’ve got no LA to wind down to”, which was a peak representation of the night.
The band returned for a face-melting encore, playing ‘Headstand’. ‘Stuck On You’ was yet another crowd favourite, and lastly, ‘Heliotropic’, the most phenomenal show closer, wrapped up the night perfectly with its moody, unresolved nature.
It was truly gratifying, as a longtime fan of Failure, to catch them for the first time at such a lovely venue, surrounded by a massive crowd of enthusiastic and passionate fans who love the eerie and otherworldly musical landscape that Failure consistently pave.