“We wanted to thank you so much for coming out tonight and giving us our first sold-out show of the tour,” Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson said to the elbow-to-elbow crowd at the Agora theater Friday (September 12, 2025) night. “In particular, those of you who have traveled with us for 30 fucking years,” she continued in her Scottish brogue, as the crowd erupted. Garbage is on tour promoting their latest album, ‘Let All That We Imagine Be the Light,’ released in May of this year. And, according to the band, this will be their last headlining tour in the States, aptly entitled the Happy Endings Tour. With about 10 years since their last major tour, Garbage had a lot of expectations to live up to. And live up to them they did, bringing older classics and new sounds to their jam-packed setlist.
Garbage’s first song of the set, “There’s No Future in Optimism,” is also the first song on the new album, a modern take on the European 80s synthy new wave. The setlist then spanned their eight-album career, from the zeitgeist-capturing eponymous debut album, ‘Garbage,‘ to their latest album, and everything in between. Only four of the 21 songs were from the new album, leaving plenty of room for fan favorites and hidden gems. Overall, it was full of bangers, as one attendee said to me.
As someone who was only marginally familiar with the band, mainly as a mainstay of the 1990s alternative scene, I had no idea about the large group of staunch, loyal fans who still show up to this day. Garbage was unavoidable in the ’90s, for sure. Songs like “Stupid Girl,” “I Think I’m Paranoid,” and especially “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” flooded the radio waves. But had I listened to them further, I would have found that they continued to grow well beyond that ’90s sound, evolving as a group over the years and surpassing many of the acts that couldn’t escape the same scene. They also put on one hell of a live show.
Manson’s voice has held up well over the years, belting out the heartache or the hell storm when either was needed. Instrumentally, the show was tight, as well. Butch Vig’s drumming anchored the set. Guitarists Steve Marker and Duke Erikson weren’t necessarily flashy but stepped to the front of the stage to really let loose when the song called for it. Touring backing vocalist and bassist Nicole Fiorentino was a nice addition to the band’s sound. The band lineup has remained unchanged since its inception, a feat that becomes even more impressive with the passage of time. It seems that it will never change at this point.
The encore consisted of their two most well-known songs, the aforementioned “Stupid Girl” and “I’m Only Happy When It Rains,” which sound just as good now as they did in the late ’90s. Watching them play live allows you to see why they have such a cult following even to this day. It was such a surprisingly energetic show. This band is not resting on its name. They show up. I felt lucky to be able to see them live. Now’s the last chance for many, so I highly recommend seeing them if you can.
Starcrawler opened with a bang. Lead singer Arrow de Wilde is known for her no-nonsense stage persona, but all I could see was a person having a blast, and who really knows how to perform. She strutted all over the stage in her tight glam-rock outfit, alternating between singing and screaming, and it all sounded great. The backing band held their own as well, with some showy guitar flourishes and heavy drumming.
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