Photos by Katelyn Villon
On March 14, Miguel brought the CAOS to San Diego, and I honestly found my jaw on the floor. From flipped cars to a stone face god freaking people out, you can tell that Miguel didn’t just come to sing, but PERFORM; we love a performer on stage.
No pauses, no warnings: Miguel laid out exactly what kind of story and message he wanted to display to the world, and crumbs were not left on the stage. He served up a devastating bass that shook the Earth, and the live band smothered you with each chord they played. I’m never usually impressed by a deep bass, but Miguel’s music had to oppose moments of sonic stillness with such bass. It made you breathe in each intimate moment created, only to drag you back into reality with a wake-up call.
From spinning around and dancing to gazing at the stars as he lies on a flipped car, Miguel’s incredibly emotional performance is underpinned by a deep backstory. Following his divorce in 2022, he found reconciliation in developing his newest album, CAOS, after 8 years since his last LP. It was a tug of war on stage, witnessing Miguel fall into chaos from hard rock and grunge, to then transition to a yearning atmosphere. Honestly, bring back the yearning culture because every nostalgic song he plays just hits different. A specific moment that stood out the most was when he composed the song “Girl With The Tattoo Enter.Lewd” live on a keyboard, playing his voice at different pitches, like an acapella. I felt like I was seeing his heart get broken in real time. Right after this song came the perfect transition to “All I Want Is You,” where he brought out the mic stand, leaning on EVERYTHING on stage. I swear he was melting up there because I have never seen a man this down bad, but well deserved. Sing your heart out, king. I was crying on stage with you.
Such an atmosphere would, of course, stir up nostalgic memories of the past, as Miguel brought up how he started writing music from such a young age when no one listened to any of his songs. Now, he was glancing at the 4,600+ people who showed up at this specific moment to listen to what he needed to say. Yes, Miguel, of course, we listened because I swear I grew up with this man’s music since elementary school.
Following these touching moments, he moved back to his chaotic world with a stone-faced statue that popped up during songs from CAOS. This part of his performance also found Miguel spray painting “ICE OUT” on the wrecked car, preaching that this is no way humans should be treating each other. I fully agree, and found myself feeling this album hit even harder live with its emphasis on hardcore rock.
In my attempt not to crash onto Miguel’s stage again with my car, he did crash my heart as he brought out the OG yearning music that I’ve been craving.
A gallery of moments from that evening:
