The event, which officially celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, is like comfort food for Southern California radio listeners. Returning to Kia Forum, which has been home to the event for several years, felt like the warm hug we all needed after three years apart. There was excitement in the air and while some fans danced like it was their last night on Earth, others were bopping along, but were bit more reserved.
Both reactions seem to be in direct response to the pent-up energy and pandemic fatigue, topped by the extra added pressure of the holiday season that society is collectively feeling at the moment. On one side of the venue, a young man wildly waved his arms, jumped up and down and sang along to every single song. Directly across from him, another man peacefully napped, snuggled in between two friends for the better half of a heavy-bluesy set delivered by The Black Keys.
The Interrupters pose for a photo at KROQ;s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Social Distortion perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Black Keys perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Social Distortion perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Imagine Dragons perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Black Keys perform at KROQ???s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Imagine Dragons perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Jimmy Eat World perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday, . (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Fans on the barricade have fun at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Wet Leg perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Måneskin performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Yungblud performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Måneskin performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Fans on the barricade have fun at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg pose for a photo at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Fans on the barricade have fun at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Jimmy Eat World perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Yungblud performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Jimmy Eat World perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Interrupters perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Maneskin performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Social Distortion perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Mike Ness of Social Distortion poses for a photo at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Interrupters perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Yungblud performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Wet Leg perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Måneskin performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Yungblud performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Jimmy Eat World poses for a photo at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Wet Leg perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Måneskin performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Interrupters perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Klein and Ally announce Wet Leg at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday, . (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Yungblud performs at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Social Distortion perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
Imagine Dragons perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Black Keys perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
The Black Keys perform at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday. (Photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)
There were highs and lows throughout the evening, but the overall sentiment was one of joy as music fans reunited, dressed up in their Santa hats, ugly Christmas sweaters and light string necklaces and posed for photos with the seasonal décor scattered throughout the venue. They either raged or nodded along to performances by Imagine Dragons, Death Cab For Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, Yungblud, Måneskin, The Interrupters and Wet Leg. Indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs were scheduled to perform, but vocalist Karen O called into the station earlier in the week to announce they’d have to sit this one out due to guitarist Nick Zinner fighting a bout of pneumonia.
The group was replaced by Orange County’s Social Distortion, which is in the middle of its own multi-night, multi-venue Southern California run. Though vocalist Mike Ness joked during an interview backstage that the evening would have been his only night off in between shows at House of Blues Anaheim, he said he was grateful for KROQ’s unwavering support of his band.
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Social Distortion played the very first AAC back in 1990 at Universal Amphitheatre alongside Dramarama, Chris Isaak and The Posies. The guys were a welcomed addition to this year’s lineup, waking up the crowd and getting a couple of circle pits brewing on the floor as they blasted through “Bad Luck,” “Reach for the Sky” and a brand new song, “Tonight.” Whether Ness & Co. knew it or not, they paid homage to that first AAC as they covered Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”
“I was messing around with it before we went to Europe and it was sounding really cool, so I was like ‘Let’s do it on our tour’ and they went crazy for it over there,” Ness said of the song. “I want to put it on the (new) album, just doing our version of it. It’s a great song and we’ve always done that with covers. It’s a song we love and you wish that you wrote it, but you didn’t so the next best thing is to at least do your version of it.”
The night also featured arguably the most female musicians to ever grace the same stage on the same evening at AAC. It all kicked off with British indie rock band Wet Leg, with lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Rhian Teasdale and lead guitarist/vocalist Hester Chambers leading the charge. The duo, backed by a full band, played their bouncy single “Chaise Longue” and “Ur Mum,” during which Teasdale led the audience through a loud, lengthy and therapeutic screaming session.
“It’s always good to have a scream,” she said backstage. “Normally, I would do that in my car when I was driving back from work, but that doesn’t really happen much anymore, so it’s nice to be able to find another outlet for it.”
Los Angeles ska-rock band The Interrupters are now AAC veterans, having played the event three times. Guitarist Kevin Bivona said that being locals, they grew up attending AAC as kids. The last AAC at Honda Center in Anaheim in 2019 was also one of the band’s final shows before the pandemic shutdowns. The band dropped its fourth album, “In the Wild,” back in August and toured heavily earlier this year with Flogging Molly and Tiger Army.
“We’ve missed everyone, so every show has kind of felt like a little reunion in every city we went to,” vocalist Aimee Interrupter said backstage. “When you lose something or don’t have access to do it right away, you don’t know when it’s coming back and then you do get it back, you just have such a deeper appreciation for it.”
Competing with Social Distortion with having played the most AAC events, Jimmy Eat World, which has played more than a handful of times, was a reliable and still very fun choice. The band powered through the hits “Sweetness,” “Bleed American” and “The Middle,” while slowing things down for “Hear You Me” and delivering the only holiday tune of the evening, its cover of “Last Christmas.”
Death Cab for Cutie, which just announced a huge 20th anniversary albums show at Hollywood Bowl in 2023 along with the Postal Service, was also solid with “I Will Possess Your Heart” and “Soul Meets Body.” The Black Keys were a clear evening favorite and played a good mix of songs including “Howlin’ For You,” “Tighten Up,” “Lonely Boy” and “Gold on The Ceiling.”
Italian rock band Måneskin brought a ton of energy with songs like “Kool Kids,” “Supermodel,” “Beggin’” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave.” After the first song, vocalist Damiano David, who was moving and shaking and giving it all he had, called out the crowd for their rather blasé response and they seemingly hopped to by the second song.
English singer YungBlud had no problems keeping spirits high. He’s a fireball of chaotic energy with a filthy mouth, playful sense of humor and a commanding stage presence. He was all over the place with “The Funeral,” “Fleabag,” “I Think I’m Okay” and “Tissues,” which features a bit of The Cure’s “Close To Me.”
And last, but definitely not least, Imagine Dragons. The band went from opening a side stage at KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast and kicking off the main stage at AAC in 2012 to closing out the show a decade later. Vocalist Dan Reynolds is a beast on stage and though a decade older than YungBlud, he came in with that same sort of fire. Sharing messages of love, unity and, most importantly, self-acceptance, Reynolds & Co. brought the 30th anniversary of AAC to an end with a fiery, confetti-filled set that featured several of its grand-sounding hits including “Believer,” “It’s Time,” “Whatever It takes,” “Demons” and “Radioactive.”
