Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theatre hosted a goth-themed trio of bands on April 15, 2025, featuring headliner The Birthday Massacre, with Magic Wands and Essenger warming up the crowd.
First on the stage was Magic Wands, comprised of Chris and Dexy Valentine, originally from Tennessee but now based out of Los Angeles, CA. Their music is a bridge between dream pop, dark wave, and goth. Dark, sometimes a bit haunting, their set was a gentle start to the evening’s show. Dexy Valentine’s stage performance reminded me very much of Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen; purple or dark blue lighting, lots of fog, sunglasses serving as protection, and a deliberate but low-key energy style of singing.
Next up was Essenger, a singer-musician from Kansas who is a one-person show. His music is a mix of electronic, EDM and rock, with occasional nods to different cultural flavors of music. Lyrically, he touches on relationships, worldwide concerns, technological dystopian unhappiness, and more. At the first song, I thought this was going to be a wild opener, as Essenger stepped out from behind his synth table and got the crowd jumping in time with his EDM beats. I literally could feel the pulsating of the floor as the audience jumped in unison with him. However, that was a momentary explosion of high energy, and for the remainder of his set, the pace of the music was fairly level, warming the crowd up for The Birthday Massacre, but not expending the audience so much they’d have nothing left for the headliner.
The Birthday Massacre came on stage, and the energy escalated immediately. Based out of Toronto, Canada, their music is industry goth-hard rock, and it had a distinctly different flavor from the two opening acts. Formed in 1999 under the name Imagica, the band comprises lead vocalist Sara ‘Chibi’ Taylor, rhythm guitarist Michael Rainbow, lead guitarist Michael Falcore, keyboardist Owen Mackinder, drummer Philip Elliott, and bassist Brett Caruthers. This tour accompanies their release, “Pathways,” just released April 11, 2025.
The Birthday Massacre definitely has a committed fan base, and likewise, throughout the show, I saw Chibi connecting with the fans who were fortunate enough to be within reach of the stage. She shook hands, took selfies, even gently caressed the face of one fan directly in front of her. It’s obvious she acknowledges the band wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the fans.
The setlist was well-orchestrated to take the audience on a journey and control the energy level throughout the show, and infused songs from the new “Pathways” release, to the audience’s delight. The Birthday Massacre sounds as good live as they do in the studio, and the show did not disappoint. The audience definitely got what it paid for.
The Birthday Massacre is still on tour; to see if they are coming to your location, check out their website Instagram. “Pathways” is available for purchase on Bandcamp.
Setlist:
