ELECTRIC SIX made a contractually obligated stop in Arizona on their contractually obligated annual tour

Dick Valentine of Electric Six performing in Phoenix, AZ on Sunday, May 19, 2024. Photographed by Alex Gold.

At least they brought a few friends along for the dance. 

VOLK opened things up with a bluesy cowpunk dance vibe, something very tonally different from the rest of the night–something that they would later poke fun at, exclaiming that "genre is overrated. Then again, so is your mom,” before exploding into their closing song which was significantly less twangy, and a much more fitting bridge to the next act.

Despite not being the headliners of the night, everybody in the room was PUMPED for SUPERSUCKERS. The crowd persistently called for Adam. Like, relentlessly. Even parts of the crowd mentioned how unreasonable it was getting, but alas the summon request...nay, demands, persisted from several pockets of the crowd. Was it a coordinated group effort? Or, just a group of people who all wanted Adam? We may never know.

(Editor’s note: I cannot find an “Adam” listed as a member of any of these three bands. I genuinely have no idea who they wanted to take the stage.)

Adamless, SUPERSUCKERS opened up with one MASSIVE intro track that the crowd absolutely loved. It felt like at least 2-3 songs, but their setlist did not lie. With that initial jam out of the way, the band took a moment to introduce themselves as a trio of friends from Tucson, Arizona.

Getting close to the end of their set, they kept things relatable with “Going Back to Tucson,” a song about the shitty place that the band grew up. Frontman EDDIE SPAGHETTI assured the audience that it could be about anybody’s shitty hometown, though. His hometown just happens to be our southern pal Tucson. SPAGHETTI thanked the crowd for being so incredible on a Sunday night, stating they made it feel more like a really shitty Thursday than the reality of the current (unfortunate) day of the week. 

Overall their set was high energy hit after hit with them being anything but shy about getting as close to the audience's face as they could without physically being in the crowd. All things must come to an end though, and come SUPERSUCKERS did, closing out their set with “69” followed by "Tail.” Songs about...well...if you don't know, you probably shouldn't learn it from this article. 

Finally, it was time for the Dance Commander to close out the party. Unfortunately due to…complications, they were the Electric Five this tour as their synth player Tait Nucleus? (real name Christopher Tait) was unable to be in attendance due to contracting Lyme Disease according to DICK VALENTINE (real name Tyler Spencer).

Starting out with some newer songs, the audience admittedly wasn’t quite as into as you would have expected for the opening of a headliner set. VALENTINE assured them that the first three are the worst on the setlist, but fourth is the best. Later in the set, VALENTINE further explained that their contract requires them to play a certain number of new songs.

Performing almost the whole set with his eyes practically closed and a deadpan expression (even while delivering a majority of his jokes), those unfamiliar with front man VALENTINE’s schtick might be under the impression that he didn't particularly want to be on stage, but his relentless performance showed that it's all just part of an extremely calculated act on his part. 

Though a brief technical issue almost threw him off while a cable got stuck between the stage monitors, VALENTINE quickly saved the moment, exclaiming "Do you remember the James Franco movie where his dick gets stuck between a rock for 128 hours? That's what's going on with my cable right now. Don't be James Franco.”

Nearing the end of their set, the band announced that they didn't come here from Gila Bend to not tell us about a DANCE EPIDEMIC as a part of the "last two" songs (with the set list clearly visible to the audience. And two encore songs listed. But definitely the last songs.)

To "end" the night, he called upon his trusty drummer to “use his drums as he has on other previous songs” to begin "Drugs,” a massive crowd pleaser from their third album "Switzerland."

The band didn't have time for both listed encore songs, but nonetheless played an invigorating round of adult hide and seek with the audience before returning for an encore of “Dance Commander,” the first track from their debut album “Fire.” 

With an impressive 16 album catalog, VALENTINE begged the crowd to please buy at least one of them to help support their continued dance party which includes a planned insane THIRTY shows in 30 days throughout their home state of Michigan.