Live music review: Black Moth Super Rainbow set weekend vibe at Radio East
It’s been an uncomfortable year between perimenopause and aging and three different car wrecks, so forgive me for not keeping up with the setlist for Friday’s bad-ass Black Moth Super Rainbow (BMSR) show at Radio East. I’m thankful that it’s near my house and a delightful place to see an outdoor show, so even if I’m feeling oddly antisocial, I can typically make myself get out to see a show there. Even at my most awkward, I wasn’t missing this BMSR show, and I’m glad I didn’t. Black Moth Super Rainbow set my weekend vibe to a T.
The opener, Giant Day, a duo from Pennsylvania had a really dreamy and catchy sound that warmed up the crowd nicely, not that they needed any help on a sweltering August evening. I’m not going to lie, I wish I’d done a little research on them, as I’d have shown up even earlier to catch their entire set. Give them a listen. Chances are you’ve seen one of their other projects if you’re into psychedelic music.
When Black Moth Super Rainbow took the stage, and I saw the weird screens set up both behind the band and in front of them, I knew we were in for a treat.
Kevin Jackson, a talented video mapper/projectionist has supplied the current BMSR tour with some very dreamily-trippy visuals on the aforementioned screens. Originally, I was sitting with a friend near the soundboard, but had an obstructed view so I moved around a bit to get a better look at Jackson’s sublime handiwork. I’d say unless Black Moth Super Rainbow’s music is too weird for you, the video projection work alone would make it a worthwhile show to check out.
Halfway through the set a friend suggested I check out the other side of the stage to get a good look at the band without the screens, and to see Thomas Fec (Tobacco) sitting on the stage “singing” and playing his vocoder. To know me is to know that I hate Daft Punk and other bands and projects that use autotune. Don’t know why, I just do, but I love how BMSR uses the vocoder.
The same friend also brought up the fact that Iffernaut wasn’t playing drums at this show, which to be fair, was obvious as the percussion performance seemed cleaner and studio-quality sounding instead of wild and loud. (Iffernaut, YOU WERE MISSED!) I think wild and loud is what is needed when seeing Black Moth Super Rainbow, but it wasn’t a make it or break it situation on Friday.
BMSR’s newest album, “Soft New Magic Dream” came out last summer (2025) and is a bit of a departure from their usual, jarring, trippy dance music – don’t get me wrong, you can still dance to it, but it’s way more chill than the usual material. Think, good background music, or music that belongs in a movie soundtrack. Jackson’s serene forest scapes, rainbows, and trippy geometric video craziness helped to set the aural-scape vibe.
The set was a solid mix of 20 years worth of music and while we weren’t treated to another “Spiracle” with The Octopus Project like the set at Levitation’s Halloween Freakend in 2025, Toto Miranda did join them for at least two songs as a second drummer, including one of my favorite songs on the Dandelion Gum album, “Forever Heavy”. If you hear that song (recorded or live) and stand still, we probably won’t ever be friends.
Friday’s tour-ending performance by Black Moth Super Rainbow at Radio East was a great way to start the weekend and set the stage for literally and figuratively floating all the way through the Sunday scaries.
All photos by Drew Doggett
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