Chevelle Goes Down The Rabbit Hole in San Diego

Kaiya Vandemark
Sep 28
2 min read

Chevelle came to Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater in San Diego on September 23rd as part of their Bright as Blasphemy Tour with support from Dead Poet Society and Asking Alexandria. This tour is celebrating their 10th album, of the same name, released last month on August 15th.

The evening kicked off with Dead Poet Society. I’ve loved this band for a few years now and this was my first time actually being able to see them (other than catching a couple songs at a festival)! Their stage presents were energetic and engaging with lots of jumps and kicks throughout their set. They played hits “.intoodeep” , “.SALT.”, and “.CoDA.”, before closing out with “HURT”.`

Asking Alexandria was up next bringing a burst of high energy. They played through old-school favorites such as “The Final Episode (Let’s Change The Channel)” and newer material like “Things Could Be Different” and “Dark Void”. Toward the end of their set, they slowed it down with “Moving On”, for a stunning acapella/acoustic/full-band mashup and the stage was almost solely lit up from phone lights. It was a beautiful moment that was so quiet and so loud at the same time.

I saw Chevelle at this same venue in October of 2023. It was cool to see how their production has changed since then. They had two little alien guys on the sides of the stage. They had LED screens with mesmerizing visuals in the back behind them. Towards the end of their set, it was revealed that the screens moved. What looked like one big screen, split and rose creating a whole new dynamic and had this feeling that the stage had expanded.

This tour is in support of their latest album, Bright as Blasphemy, that they just released in August of this year. They only played three songs of that album while still playing hits throughout their entire discography including “Self Destructor,” “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along),” “Face to The Floor,” and “The Clincher.” There was nothing like the feeling of hearing “Send the Pain Below” and “The Red” in an open-air amphitheater on a cold night though! It was such a beautiful moment especially because the crowd was so loud! The passion Chevelle puts into their performance is something unexplainable and only something you can truly feel in person.