Photos courtesy of Emma DeLeon
Without a doubt, since moving to L.A. two years ago, my favorite venue has been The Fonda. From the insane architecture, the perfect sound mixing, and being situated right in the heart of Hollywood, it is the best place to catch shows. So, when I heard LAUNDRY DAY was headlining there on October 4th for their “LARGER THAN LIFE” tour, I knew I had to go.
LAUNDRY DAY has been a band I have had my eyes on since middle school. From classic songs like “FRIENDS” to newer hits like “SUPERMODEL,” they simply have a vibe that is indescribable. After seeing them, I can say for sure that they bring the energy to the stage like no other band I have seen before.
Starting off the night, New York collective 10xTANTRUM crafted a perfect mix of chaos and perfection on stage. The best way to describe them is a Tumblr-esque LCD Soundsystem daydream. Opening with a thumping kick drum, they transitioned perfectly into getting the crowd going and hyped up for the night ahead. A highlight of their set was when they performed “MONEY!” and JACK XANDER, a member of the group, hopped down into the mosh pit. I loved how theatrical their performance was and I cannot recommend their music enough.
Following 10xTANTRUM, Illusion Hills came out to a mashup of famous heartbreak/yearning lines — I was completely caught off guard hearing a clip from the ending of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — that transitioned into their song “Bedsheets”. As they went through a variety of songs from early in their discography to ones from their upcoming mixtape, they hyped up the crowd and even brought out KAIRO to perform their 2025 collab “so bad.” Illusion Hills kept up the great vibes from 10xTANTRUM, but what I found extremely special in their set was their callbacks to pop culture through remixes and covers: remixing “Apple” by Charli xcx into their song “bang” made the crowd go wild and their closing cover of “Robbers” by The 1975 hit me right in the heart.
After a quick break between sets, “Sorry” by Beyoncé flooded the speakers and then the members of LAUNDRY DAY — vocalist Jude Ciulla-Lipkin, vocalist/drummer Sawyer Nunes, guitarist Henry Weingartner, and bassist Henry Pearl — hopped on stage to rapturous applause before starting off with their most recent single “I WANNA LOVE YOU BABE,” a synth dance track. Even though the song just released last month, it felt like everyone in the audience already knew the song by heart. It’s just that catchy.
The band continued their set, cranking the guitar up to the max on their 2024 single “Why is everyone a DJ?” and transitioning to a more surf-rock sound with “Little Bird,” before they surprised the audience with Teezo Touchdown, who they collaborated with on “HOMEGIRL.” My favorite part of Teezo coming out was the fact his microphone was inside a huge bouquet of roses that he carried on stage the entire song.
After Teezo’s appearance, the band transitioned back into more oldies from their discography, with Jude commenting on how this tour is similar to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, through the setlist exploring songs from their most recent EARWORM album all the way back to their 2018 EP Light Up Shoes.
Slowing down the tempo, I was absolutely blown away by the song “MEDICINE” and how beautiful the lyricism was, my favorite line simply being the repetition of “She’s gotta smile that makes it feel like medicine.” On top of that, the venue’s disco ball was turned on about midway through the track, illuminating everyone (especially cute to see couples slow dancing to this one from all the way back near the sound booth).
Picking up the energy once again, eight more songs were played, including my new favorite song, “APEROL SPRITZ,” before transitioning into “I DON’T KNOW THIS SONG,” which was written about a night out in L.A. surrounded by strangers. It felt very full circle hearing this while dancing my heart out, sharing this moment surrounded by 900 people I had never met before. Closing the main set with this song really made the show feel like a hometown event, even if LAUNDRY DAY is from New York (shoutout East Coast)!
After a brief break, they went straight into their three-song encore of “I KINDA LIKE THAT” with an extended piano intro, “SUPERMODEL” with Jude joining the crowd for a huge mosh, and finally “FRIENDS.” After these three songs, they danced to Chance the Rapper and splashed water from the stage, celebrating until the curtains dropped and our night together ended. This show was simply electric and I genuinely saw the livliest audience I’ve ever seen here, all amped up by LAUNDRY DAY’s fantastic stage presence and insane discography. I am so lucky I got to discover more of their music in my favorite venue and I hope to catch them again soon.
