LSD & The Search for God. Kraus. Launder. 5.2.2025

“Shoe-gaze” as a genre of music has been around since the 1990s. I like to refer to the genre as “Dream-gaze,” and I’ve also heard it referred to as “Sea-gaze. Both of which are less condescending names, while they more accurately describe the sound and appeal of the genre. The genre made a revival in the early 2000s, making it more well known to a wider international audience. And now it seems it’s making an even bigger comeback as a popular genre with the Generation Z crowd. This was evident at this concert at Great American Music Hall San Francisco, where the line to get in the door was wrapped around the block at this sold-out show. There seemed to be an abundance of young women in the crowd of all nationalities and ancestries, but the one thing they had in common is that they were all very, very young, at this all-ages show. It’s as if all the fans of Morrissey and emo music all gravitated over to this genre in mass, after a certain age. It’s easy to see the appeal, as the bands in this genre often play very ethereal, washed out and emotional music. There is definitely an inherit feminine quality to this music.  The lyrics and song structure are of less importance in this genre. Instead, we are left with emotional landscapes of sound, hushed or processed vocals, reverberated guitars in the mix, etc. I have often wondered what musicians of this genre would sound like acoustically? 

All photography by emi | emi-arts.com

Accompanying these three top-tier shoegaze bands was Zachary Rodell and his light show. It’s hard to imagine a dream-gaze show without a light show of this caliber. Psych and dream-gaze concerts almost need a visual aspect to them for the full multimedia experience, and the show would feel empty without  them. Seeing these bands with just some regular stage lights flashing on   them is just not transformative or entertaining enough. The light show makes the show what it is in most cases, and this was no exception. As the audience walked into the venue, we were treated to a huge aquarium of fish being projected behind the stage, with very little other sources of light in the venue other than the bar area. Between that and the intricate antique woodwork, thick carpet on the stairs, and design of the venue, made an interesting combination. When the music started, the visuals and music combined made it very disorienting to walk or even move in the venue. I had to watch where I stepped on many occasions, and people were moving pretty slowly as to not tumble as well. At one point, I noticed one gentleman had passed out on the venue floor. He was OK, but I completely understood. The flashing projections along with the loud ethereal music can pitch you out pretty far into one’s mind. Dream-gaze is neo- psychedelic music after all. With a headliner having “LSD” in the title, I will bring out all the San Francisco heads, and it’s almost a dare to take psychedelics and come to this event.  

All photography by emi | emi-arts.com

Kraus, based out of Texas, opened the evening. The place was packed, and I overheard someone say they have never seen this many people at this venue for an opening band. The liquid oil lights were used in the first part of the show, eventually moving over to video overlay of the band and digital manipulation of the footage with video synthesizers. This created some amazing tapestries for the band to play in front of. I even heard the audience cheer for certain visual changes going on, which I’ve never seen before at a show with projections. I cannot stress how much better this show was with this light show. If I ever had to see these bands without a light show, I would be disappointed. The band had a very full sound for a three piece. I quite enjoyed the performance, even though most of the songs had a similar dreamgaze production vibe, with some songs having more distortion or being slightly “harder” than others. My only complaint of this genre is that it’s highly able to be imitated with the right Fender Jaguar whammy bar and reverb pedals. It’s amazing to realize how influential bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and other pioneers of this genre are all these years later. Launder, a four-piece from Los Angeles was the second act. This band’s sound has more of an indie, Sonic Youth ’90s vibe, with some of the reverb thrown in. The vocals have both masculine and feminine aspects, with the lead singer singing in different registers, and with most of songs being in mid-tempo. All the bands of the evening had that washed out sound, and I couldn’t tell you what any of the songs were “about,” but it’s not that important most of the time with music, especially this music. 

All photography by emi | emi-arts.com

LSD & The Search for God has been around for 18 years and have only recorded ten songs and released two EPs. They have gradually become more popular in the underground San Francisco scene over the years. I really wish they would record a new full album, complete with music videos. It’s amazing how popular they are with such a little catalog of music. This was reflected in their setlist, as they don’t have a lot of songs, but they are all really good! They have two psychedelic music videos that have helped gain them worldwide attention, and to be honest with a name like “LSD & The Search for God,”  anyone would like this band. Often band names are not that important, but this band has one of the best psychedelic band names in the history of psychedelic and dream-gaze music. Every time I’ve seen this band, they have had a different lineup of musicians, so it’s always hard to tell who is in the band at any given time. The amount of guitar pedals on stage was the most I’ve seen in a while, making a whole circle around the lead singer and guitarist on stage. They are worthy torch bearers of the genre in that sense. Along with the mesmerizing light show and great sound design at this venue, I was completely transported for the few hours I was there. I love the Great American Music Hall as a venue though, and it was the perfect venue for this event.