Closing out the remarkable first leg of their I’m Almost Over U, I Promise Tour, indie-pop duo Mickey Darling took the stage of The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles for a nearly sold out headlining show, featuring support from Nick Wagen and benten. With an entry line that stretched around the block of the historic venue, hundreds of teenagers and young twenty-somethings piled through the doors promptly at 8pm in hopes of being as close as possible to the self-proclaimed world’s sexiest boyband.

Far from the San Antonio bedroom studio where much of their music is born, the band, composed of Skyler Molina and Austin Medrano, has seen a continuous rise in popularity and reach over the past few years. In this time, it’s clear that they’ve also curated an extremely devoted fanbase with many having personally met or interacted with them at some point, as it was rare that a fan wasn’t recognized and greeted from the stage between most songs throughout the set. Seeing a band that truly cares for their fans, enough to remember them and take the time to get to know them, is an immense green flag. Just a bonus on top of the sheer quality, charm, and eccentric, whimsical power of their music.

There are few words in the English language that could truly capture the energy of attending your first Mickey Darling show, which I quickly discovered as the show progressed. If I had to describe it, it’d be within another question: have you ever been punched in the face, in a good way? Maybe in the pit at a rowdy show, where your friend accidentally pummeled you while moshing. Or even in a misguided round of truth or dare with just a light hit. Perhaps playing the slapping game from Bodies Bodies Bodies? Is that too niche? These are the kinds of experiences that mark our youth, occasionally reminding us of just how young, dumb, and unserious we are sometimes (bless our hearts).

Listening through, and fully embracing the intentions of, Mickey Darling’s music could likely evoke the same realizations and emotions from you without the less than ideal first step described above. Dancing along to their songs, in a crowd full of people without any cares or worries, is pure catharsis, cheer, and laughter all bundled up into one.

It’s the epitome of letting loose and releasing every inhibition you have, if only just for one night at the show.

Opening up their set was fan-favorite “Feed My Ego”, which sent the crowd into a frenzy of jumping and dancing. From the moment Molina uttered the first few words of the song, the crowd was already singing along down to the last syllable. Even down in the photo pit, it was impossible for us to resist calling out the chorus of “Keep telling me all the ways that you think I’m great / Feed my ego”. From here, the immediate jump into Medrano’s opening guitar solo of “SOMEWHERE ELSE” only raised the energy of the room to new heights, reaffirmed by a wave of screams and shrieks from the crowd as Molina eventually called out “You’re somewhere else f**cking someone else while I try my best not to kill myself / And I could go on and on and on about all the reasons”.

To unfamiliar ears, the pause in the second half of the song could sound like the end. Quite the opposite, it’s a mellow bridge that, live, gives the band and the crowd time to catch their breath. On this night though, Molina used it to tease a crowd dive, only leaning over the photo pit to reach out and grasp as many of the outstretched hands as possible as the final chorus rang out, all while Medrano continued shredding on the guitar.

The first trio of songs was rounded out with “Wallows Song”, another energetic, longing anthem. it gave Molina the time to leap through the photo pit and make his way over the barricade, diving into the crowd in time for the final.

The remainder of the set saw nearly the entirety of their discography performed, with my personal favorites being those that had special guests come out to join the duo on stage. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Los Angeles show location was very conducive to having many of the band’s friends join them, including MyKey for “Mallcore Movies”, Dafna for “IS THAT SO WRONG?”, support Nick Wagen for “BLAH BLAH BLAH”, and even a random fan that Molina pulled on stage to dance her heart out during Mom Jeans. The addition of new energy never failed to seamlessly blend with that of the Mickey Darling boys.

It would be hard to find any better examples of how pure friendship can play out on stage.

Toward the end of the show, the crowd’s energy was nowhere close to dimming. If anything, it had skyrocketed since the start of the night. Fitting, as three of the band’s most energetic songs “VROOM VROOM”, “Big Sad”, and “Reverse Cowgirl” closed the night off with the warmest, whimsical farewell. As many fans donned pink cowgirl hats with the name of the song written or painted on in some way, the word “Sike!” echoed forcefully throughout the theater at the start of the lattermost of the three songs. Rightfully so, it’s the best part of the song. Hearing the full room come together for one last shout of joy and excitement was the cherry on top of an already fantastic night of music.

Be sure to secure your tickets for Mickey Darling’s second leg of tour, kicking off on April 4th in Seattle. I know I’ll be in the crowd at their Phoenix tour date, come along and leave all your worries at the door. You won’t need them where we’re going.