"Ya'll wanna hear some songs about depression?," asked Urban Heat vocalist Jonathan Horstmann during the band's packed show at Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre on Saturday night. Originally slated to take place at The Roxy, the show was upgraded to the venue located in the Miracle Mile. Saturday's performance also made it one of Urban Heat's biggest headlining shows to date.

While Urban Heat's new studio album The Tower arrives on August 16 via Artoffact Records (pre-orders can be made here), vinyl copies were available at the show, and several attendees waved their copies gleefully when the new album was mentioned. A handful of unreleased songs from the record landed on the setlist, including album opener "Take It To Your Grave" and "Savor Not the Thrill."

Regarding their live setup, Urban Heat members Kevin Naquin and Paxel Foley play double duty at times with the synthesizers and their own selected member of the guitar family; Foley handles the bass while Naquin rocks a regular guitar. On a few occasions, all three members grabbed their stringed instruments, including one raucous guitar clash at the end of "Blindfolds And Magic Bullets" from their forthcoming album.

While Horstmann grabbed the guitar every now and then, the vocalist managed to light up the stage with simply a microphone in their possession. "Your operating table needs a sanitizer hit," the singer stated during "Sanitizer" while wearing gloves like a surgeon. During the last few moments of "A Simple Love Song," Horstmann pretended to be the new conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic as they waved their microphone around as the crowd chanted "But the world keeps falling apart" while "Right Time Of Night" found the singer auditioning for the Lakers with some wild vertical leaps.

Upon the opening chords of their cover of Q Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses," the Los Angeles crowd shrieked in excitement. Over 30 years after becoming a part of horror history via The Silence of the Lambs, the beloved synth-pop tune still finds its way into the public eye. As Horstmann crooned, members of the audience waved their phones around while one individual swayed their cowboy hat in delight.

One highlight of the set came courtesy of "That Gun In Your Hand" from Urban Heat's 2022 studio album Wellness. Drenched in moody synths, the song deals with the ever-growing issue of gun violence. As the crowd softly swayed from side to side, Horstmann pleaded "Let's put our guns on the ground."

For the encore, Urban Heat rolled out "Seven Safe Places," which dives into the uncertain longevity of our own safe spaces. With the final song "Have You Ever?," Horstmann gave the dancy Los Angeles audience one last time to belt out resounding melodies inside of the nearly 90-year-old venue.

Urban Heat’s North American tour continues through October. Tour dates and tickets can be found here.

Urban Heat setlist

Running Out Of Time

Trust

Living Well

That Gun In Your Hand

Take It to Your Grave

Sanitizer

You've Got That Edge

Blindfolds And Magic Bullets

Savor Not The Thrill

Right Time of Night

Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus cover)

A Simple Love Song

Like This

Encore:

Seven Safe Places

Have You Ever?