Written by: Christian Le

After coming to North America in the Spring, Last Dinosaurs come back once again to show fans that didn’t see them earlier this year, what they were missing out on.

It was a Tuesday night when I saw them play at Soma but it felt like a Friday night. After pounding a few Trulys in the parking lot to pre-game for the show, I was ready to see what the night had in store for me. Having been a fan of the Australian rockers since high school, I was always awaiting the day when they finally came to the U.S. to play. My sentiment wasn’t alone since when I went inside the venue, there were many supporters there to show their love for the band. Before we can see the band though, the openers, Born Ruffians, a band that hailed from Canada, performed first to hype everyone up before Last Dinosaurs could grace the crowd with their presence. Born Ruffians provided some headbanging music and their tunes were solid but I can tell me and other people in the audience were awaiting for the headliner to play.

When Last Dinosaurs finally arrived on stage, the mood in the crowd shifted and everyone was roaring with excitement. When Sean Caskey’s vocals graced the microphone, the crowd was entranced. The band started off hot and fast by playing “Wurl” from their 2015 album, Wellness. Right off the bat, you can tell the difference from listening to their music to seeing them live. “Wurl” is more of a chill song but with them playing the instruments and the audience, the song jammed seemed anything but mellow. While the band did play alot of songs from their latest record, Yumeno Garden, they seemed to be playing songs from their whole discography early in the set. They even pulled out their new song “FMU” which got me feeling fucked up in my feelings. They played “Sunday Night” off their debut album, In A Million Years, and I felt like I was instantly transported back to high school when I used to belt out the lyrics to the song with my friends in the car. Songs like “Non Lo So” were sang by lead guitarist and lead singer’s brother, Lachlan, whose vocals were refreshing to hear. Listening to the both of them sing and play guitar is a constant reminder of how talented the two of them are.

They played all of their great hits from In A Million Years with some of my favorites such as “Andy”, “Weekend”, and of course, “Zoom”. Playing songs from all three albums made their set list diverse and gave you that feeling of not knowing what was going to be played next. The band kept playing and we fed off their energy and gave it back tenfold. The crowd was giving off wholesome and harmonic energy. There was not much moshing going on tonight and everyone just vibing. They ended the night with “Apollo”, one of my all-time favorite songs from them. It was such a great night and an enjoyable concert.

Just kidding. As usual, their was an encore with cheers of mad enthusiasm when they came back onto the stage. Last Dinosaurs played ‘Apollo’ to end the night on a good note and also to send the crowd off happy. It was great seeing them live again and while I did find when I saw them play in LA at the Moroccan Lounge as a better show, there were great moments that happened at this one. A moment that stood out was when the crowd yelled out “Last DInos. Ole, Ole, Ole!” like a soccer chant during a moment in between songs. Something that i’ll never forget though is there was this grandma in front of me during the show who kept recording Last Dinosaurs playing their songs and she was singing along the lyrics too!

Some fans waited after the show to buy merch from the merch table and were able to meet and take pictures with the band. For me though, seeing my favorite Australian band was enough. It was a great night and definitely one of the best concerts i’ve been to this year. If they ever come back to perform in San Diego or in southern California in general, i’ll be there ready to lose my voice once again.