San Diego indie rock band, Buddha Trixie, came to House of Blues on March 18th to play an unforgettable performance. The concert came in honor of their new single, “Sad On The Internet” which was released the night before the show and brought crowds of loyal fans excited to listen to it live. The band was also joined by openers Home View and The Band Ice Cream, putting together a fun and eventful night at the House of Blues. Buddha Trixie was just a group of close childhood friends when their first EP was released back in 2016. Since then, the band has cultivated their own unique sound as a mixture of The Strokes and GROUPLOVE, with an accumulated over 40,000 followers on Spotify. They’ve made a name for themselves as regulars at the House of Blues and connect with their close fan base not only with their music but by sharing memes and relatable content to their Instagram page.

Starting off the Saturday night was the band Home View, who set the stage for an exciting night by bringing lots of energy and enthusiasm to the crowd. Next came The Band Ice Cream, who kept the good vibes and high energy going by playing some of their most popular songs including a cover of “Fell In Love With a Girl” by The White Stripes. By the end of their set, the crowd was riled up and the anticipation was high for the main event of the night. Finally, the Buddha Trixie took the stage accompanied by many excited screams from the crowd.

The stage was blanketed in deep blue and purple as they went into their first song, with the crowd singing along and excitedly jumping up and down. The main singer, Daniel Cole, was positioned center stage while impressively belting out lyrics and playing the drums at the same time. I was positioned right below the stage, and so when the band began playing their second song, a very popular single called “Shmoopie,” I got to see first hand how insane the crowd got. Immediately from the first guitar stroke of the song the crowd started dancing and screaming with the most enthusiasm of the night. The audience members standing closest to the stage began excitedly bumping their bodies into each other to form a mosh pit. As I was looking at the audience, a boy who was standing next to me behind the barricade quickly ran up onto the stage and confidently launched himself into the crowd without a second thought. The audience thankfully caught him and the boy surfed the crowd as the band continued their fast-paced and upbeat hit, “Shmoopie.”

“Shmoopie” is personally one of my favorite songs from the band so to hear it live and up close from the band was like nothing I’ve ever been to before. The excitement and energy was practically vibrating off the crowd and made me feel excited to be a part of that experience. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments from the concert as later on in the night the crowd began screaming for the band to play “Shmoopie” once again.

Throughout the show, lead singer Daniel comfortably joked with the crowd from behind his drum set. Before playing hit song, “Pitbull Goes To The Club,” Daniel started off by saying that he “wanted to introduce a special guest,” Pitbull, in which the crowd went wild once again at the mention of the song. Daniel and the rest of the band came off as very easy going by often engaging with the crowd as if they were well acquainted friends. Daniel made jokes such as explaining that one song was a bit too difficult for him to sing and often encouraged the crowd to sing along, which they did with practically every song.

The energy of the crowd didn’t once die down. One of their top hit singles, “Inside Out” was performed alongside a female friend they brought on stage to help sing. This created a fun and entertaining dynamic for the crowd as the blend of their voices made for the most rock-sounding song of the night. Towards the middle of the set the band finally played their long awaited new song, “Sad On The Internet,” which prompted lots of moshing from the crowd. Their second to last song was their number one single, “Stay,” which got the crowd almost as crazy as when they played “Shmoopie.”

Buddha Trixie offered a one of a kind concert, successfully demonstrating a band that can be funny and relatable while also making music that any indie lover can rock out with. This band is on the rise and I have a feeling San Diego will be hearing and seeing a lot more from them in the future.

Featured image by Ava Turner