The Midland theater’s classical opera house art style was the perfect setting for the Mars Volta‘s show. It was truly an appropriate stage for the masterful musicians.The dramatic architecture of the theater complimented the show’s storybook-esque theme.
The Mars Volta had four different backdrops that were featured during different parts of the show. It was like a new chapter was beginning every time a backdrop changed.
Chapter 1: The Arrival
The first backing of the evening was printed with swirling images of eyes and black wings.
Chapter 2: Welcome to the madness
Before the show began, the cloth quickly disappeared and was replaced with a Tibetan inspired backdrop.
The Mars Volta opened with “Son et Lumiere,” the first song from De-Loused in the Comatorium. During the song, lights of deep red and blue, and bright pink and green flooded the stage. The lights illuminated the backing image, shifting the artwork into two distinct images. Isaiah Ikey Owens (keyboards), Juan Alderete (electric bass), Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (percussion, synths), and Thomas Pridgen (drums) surrounded Cedric Bixler Zavala (lyrics, vocals), and Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez (guitars); a mass of instruments lined the stage and two flags hung by the drum set.
Zavala’s energy filled the entire room. As he ran across the stage, his dark clothing and wild curly locks complimented the stage’s colorful background. Zavala flipped his white mic stand over the heads of his band mates, reminiscent of his days in At The Drive In. As Volta jammed into their next song, Zavala sprung up, twisting his body into a semi-flip. When Volta began to play “Cotopaxi,” people in the front section of the audience began to wave their arms hypnotically. During the song, I noticed something smoking by Owens’ keyboards. While at first I thought that perhaps his instrument had lit aflame from his speedy fingers, I discovered the “smoke” was in fact steam rising from Zavala’s beverage.
Chapter 3: Psychotic trips 
Before the start of “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of),” the backdrop changed again. This time, the cloth had a large collage of faces. Zavala reached an even higher level of energy during this portion of the show (I know: I didn’t think it was possible either). He swung around the stage, swaying like a matador preparing to fight. The singer suddenly jumped across the stage towards the set of drums, and balanced on Pridgen’s bass drum, which was covered in art. The song soon faded into a cool, sexy jam that was sprinkled with a series of electronic blips and bloops, and Rodriguez-Lopez’s whale-like guitar chords.
Later in the evening when Rodriguez-Lopez broke into a solo, the crowd went wild. Following his solo, Pridgen’s talent was showcased. He has some of the cleanest, most precise drumming abilities I’ve ever heard. While the audience jumped and flailed, a series of green and purple lights shown over the crowd, causing everyone to look as if they were vibrating back and forth in sync to the music.
The band didn’t say much during their performance. Although, Zavala did take a moment to dedicate a song to those in the crowd who had supported them from the beginning. He thanked the people that allowed them to crash at their place, and thanked the people who had faith that the two fuck-ups from their last band could make this one.
Chapter 4: The end
After his heart-felt thanks, another back drop was revealed that contained a haunting face, and skeletons of fish that appeared to be covered in hoods. The band’s performance of “Luciforms” created distinct mental images of an abandoned, wrecked ship. Zavala seemed to catch the song’s words as they came out of his mouth, and mold them into invisible shapes.
Volta finished up the show with the bluesy, “The Widow,” and the manic “Wax Simulacra.”
Although Volta put on an hour and a half show, no one was ready to leave the theater at the end of the night. After the house lights came up, people continued to stand and wait, hoping the Mars Volta would appear again.
Set List:
Son et Lumiere
Inertiatic ESP
Goliath
Cotopaxi
Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
Viscera Eyes
Halo Of Nembutals
Eunuch Provocateur
IIyena
Teflon
Drunkship Of Lanterns
Luciforms
The Widow
Wax Simulacra
Mars Volta: website | myspace | @ bonaroo 2009
Set list courtesy of Setlist.fm
Photos by: Joshua Hammond
