September 15, 2026
The Independent, San Francisco
Words and pictures by Geoffrey Smith II
For a tour forty years in the making, and drawing from a catalog of a dozen releases, there was no way The Tear Garden could meet every fan’s expectations. But for the second night of the project’s first official tour, cEvin Key, Edward Ka-Spel and their bandmates put together a powerful, sharply executed set that felt remarkably satisfying without overstaying its welcome.
The Tear Garden was always a studio project, with past live appearances limited to a track or two when Key and Ka-Spel happened to be at the same festival. Seeing a full nearly two-hour show felt surreal, and had a constant tinge of nostalgia from my hazy remembrances of their music being played at clubs in my youth. The Tear Garden does not have the sizable name recognition of Skinny Puppy or The Legendary Pink Dots, but they do have a dedicated following in the goth/industrial scene. Looking around The Independent, I saw plenty of familiar faces, including people I had not seen out at a show in years. It’s interesting that the promotion for this show did not feel particularly strong, yet the right people knew about it anyways.
What was the actual structure of the performance? Well, rather than a typical setup with a central frontman, the band arranged themselves in a broad U-shape across the stage. Visuals with album iconography were projected onto the dark red fabric backdrop behind them, though often hard to make out. On the left, Orbit Service and Pink Dots member Randall Frazier was walled off behind an L-shaped setup of two keyboard stands, keeping a downward gaze much of the time. His long hair fell over his face, obscuring his thick square glasses as he focused intently on playing.
On Frazier’s rear-left, cEvin Key played his drum kit with power and focus. His drum mix seemed louder than that of other bands I’ve seen at The Independent, but his share of the performance was also a big factor in people buying tickets, and it felt like it really showcased his playing. He stayed behind his kit for most of the show, wearing a t-shirt, flat-brim cap, and shorts. His defined jaw and strong build stood out against the slender frames of the rest of the band, giving him a powerful presence behind the drums as every hit landed heavy and precise, like he was the foundation on which everyone played.
Across from cEvin, Erik Drost (also from Orbit Service and Pink Dots) spent most of the set against the back wall with his guitar rig, illuminated by projections, and bookended by amps and road cases. He moved more broadly than his bandmates, swinging his guitar and leaning into his playing. On the far right, Edward Ka-Spel was stationed with a mic and MIDI controller, wearing his usual dark shades, scarf, and no shoes. He had a goth spiritual guru vibe going on, regularly stepping away from his table to frequently sing or gesture towards individual members of the audience, then returning to base. His vocals sounded strong and distinct, just like when I saw him perform with Amanda Palmer in SF back in 2016.
The show moved quickly and didn’t get stuck in one tempo or sound for too long. They mixed early 80s tracks with a healthy amount of cuts from the latest album, Astral Elevator. A highlight was “You and Me and Rainbows.” The album version is over fifteen minutes long, but they cut it down and stitched the main parts together for a more energetic, condensed live version.
After finishing the main set with “Sheila Liked the Rodeo” and “Coma (aka The Centre Bullet),” the band walked off for less than a minute. They skipped any stage banter, knowing the crowd expected an encore. They came back out to play “Romulus and Venus” and finished with probably their best-known song, “Ophelia.”
I got into the goth/industrial scene around 1999, much later than the old heads of the ’80s. Back then, I mostly listened to heavier, faster acts like KMFDM, Front 242, Ministry, and 16volt. I saw Tear Garden CDs in record store bins, sometimes filed in with Skinny Puppy or the Pink Dots. I checked out their music but it felt slower and more contemplative than what I was looking for at the time. It took years for my tastes to mature and embrace their music as well. While others may have been waiting forty years for it, this show came at just the right time for me.
As the last track of the set ended, the members embraced each other on their way towards stage exit. I think most of us shared this sentiment of thanks from a shared emotional experience. It was a well-rounded and satisfying set that covered the important eras of the band, and highlighted their newest material without dragging on.
Opening the night was poet and musician Anthony Xavier Jackson, a man who earned my respect for several reasons over the course of his brief performance. A recovering addict, and substance use disorder counselor helping others in the bay area, Jackson engaged the audience with much more than just an acapella “spoken word” set (which is what I expected going in).
The Tear Garden member Randall Frazier had produced Jackson’s backing tracks, which vibed with and served as an excellent bridge to The Tear Garden’s set. There were beats to be heard, but a level of abstraction that supported Jackson’s words without taking the focus away from them. Many of the sounds used were familiar. The pace or beat of the music didn’t always seem to align with the words, which made some of us wonder if the lyrics were at times improvisational, or this was an intentional stylistic choice.
Jackson also added flourishes and effects to his tracks during instrumental portions. His charm, sense of humor, and storytelling won the crowd over by the end.
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