Tower Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK
December 1, 2023
Review and Gallery by Ally Arens
December 1, 2023 is a day that will be remembered by fans of the Oklahoma City-based rock band Aranda for many years to come. The band took the stage at OKC’s historic Tower Theatre to honor the 15th anniversary of their self-titled debut album by playing it in its entirety, along with a few other surprise tracks, for a night of rock-and-roll unlike any other. The crowd was filled with the band’s family (including Dameon and Gabe’s 90+ year-old grandmother who cheered them on from the balcony seating), longtime friends, and fans, both new and old, who would unite as one Aranda Family for the night.
Starting off the evening was a musician collective known as the ADAM Music Project, short for Artists Developing Astonishing Music, who made their live debut that evening and absolutely blew me away. Though I wasn’t sure what to expect, having pretty much only listened to their collaborations with Aranda prior to the set, I found myself enamored by the stage presence of everyone involved. Throughout the set, the group rotated through multiple equally talented vocalists, while their guitarists absolutely shredded; everyone performed as if they’d been playing together for years. One thing that was unique about this group is that all of their tracks took inspiration from a video game or game characters. Two of my personal favorites were “She’s the Key”, which took its inspiration from The Last of Us, and set-closer Eating Ghosts, a track written from the perspective of none other than Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Their set was a whole lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store in 2024.
Finally, around 9:20 or so, brothers Dameon and Gabe Aranda took the stage to a thunderous roar of applause, thanked everyone for attending, and started things off acoustically with “Don’t Wake Me” from 2015’s Not the Same, followed by All I Ever Wanted from their debut. The energy picked up from there when their guitarist and drummer joined them for “Dead Man Running”, and did not stop for the entire evening. Unlike most anniversary shows where the artist plays the album from front-to-back with a couple of other encores at the end, their setlist was a full retrospective of their career thus far.
Making things even more personal, the band paused frequently to share personal stories in between tracks, whether it be talking about hearing themselves on the radio for the first time before performing their breakout single “Still in the Dark”, or simply sharing moments from their youth, such as Dameon being surprised he didn’t get fired from a local restaurant for forgetting to turn off a vat of root beer and flooding the kitchen. As a longtime fan who had not had an opportunity to see them live yet, barring a short in-store acoustic set at a since-closed F.Y.E. in 2015, it was a truly magical evening, and it further cemented my feelings that Aranda are a hugely underrated band. Both Dameon and Gabe are absolute powerhouse vocalists, especially when they’re harmonizing, and they equally shred on the guitar and keyboard, respectively, and if you have an opportunity to catch them live – do it, as you are in for nothing short of a phenomenal evening. Aranda are a truly talented band, and are equally great people who truly care about making their fans feel like part of one big family.
While they don’t have much announced yet for 2024, this show certainly cemented that Aranda aren’t going anywhere, and I am eagerly awaiting what the future holds.
Follow Aranda on X, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube.
Keep up with the ADAM Music Project on X, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok.
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