Concert Review: ALEXSUCKS at Mohawk
Garage-rock band ALEXSUCKS wrapped up its first headlining tour with a bang on April 2 at Mohawk in Austin, Texas.
Written by Claire Hookstra
Photo courtesy of Warner Records
ALEXSUCKS, the four-piece band consisting of lead vocalist Alex Alvarez, bassist Garrett Orseno (known as Topgun), guitarist John Luther, and drummer Ethan Demoulin, made its way onto the dark-rock scene in 2021. Just four years later, the group departed on its first headlining tour, ‘Dance Punch Cry,’ in March 2025. ALEXSUCKS concluded its 19-stop journey in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, April 2.
The night started with South Floridian band Rehash at 8:01 p.m. All under the age of 20, the alt-rock quartet meekly took the stage as a silence fell over the crowd. Wearing a bright red shirt reading “freak,” lead singer Renzo Valdez let his gritty vocals shine through in songs like the hard-hitting “Here Comes the Rain” and its new release, “lovers blanket.” Treating the audience to two unreleased tracks, Rehash’s set ended with thunderous applause from the packed room at 8:41 p.m. Fans both new and old fled to the merch booth to snag a photo with the rockers before the main act took the stage.
The sweltering indoor stage at Austin’s Mohawk was packed to the brim, with some fans stuck watching from outside the room in the venue’s doorway. At 9:01 p.m., the lights dimmed and a retro blue and red “OPEN” sign illuminated the space. Cast in an ominous red glow, the band entered the stage to a quiet room with a few scattered, seemingly out-of-place “woos.” As the first song and the band’s most recent single, “Worm in the Sun,” began, Alvarez noticed the surprisingly unenthusiastic crowd and let out a “What the fuck is up Austin?” to try to engage the stiff concertgoers. This attempt proved successful, as the front half of the crowd took that as their cue to begin jumping around to the energizing beat, throwing their arms up in the air.
After the first track, Alvarez noted that Austin was the band’s last tour stop and the members “wanted to end it with a bang.” A lone man shrieked “fuck yeah!” back at the singer, making him crack a smile for the first time during the show. The “OPEN” sign’s neon lights began to flash rapidly as the unreleased “Fish Don’t Fly” began. The drum-heavy song proved critical to energizing the audience, with the number of enthusiastic concertgoers seeming to increase. Moving straight into “Can We Forget,” bassist Topgun amped up the crowd for the danceable track with his garage-rock bass lines. The crowd sang back to the band, “Can we just forget / Ooh / I need you again,” as the repetitive chorus brought the song to an end.
The barely air-conditioned room only got steamier as Alvarez let out a long, raspy note, followed by cheers from the crowd. Teasing the start of the song, he repeated the note, leading a brief singalong as fans sang the note back to him. As the singer transitioned into “Talk to You,” the audience, finally, was ready to rock with the band. At its core, the track explored self-deprecation and yearning for love under its intense instrumentals. Alvarez sang, “I just keep waiting for someone to love me / I’m spending days in the dark.” A small mosh pit formed in the first few rows from the stage, and Alvarez took time out of the song to stare wide-eyed at the crashing dance moves before him, while guitarist Luther kept the song pumping.
A small group of hardcore fans kept yelling quite loudly in the brief moments of silence between songs, gaining Alvarez’s attention. “Those are my guys right there!” he shouted, pointing at the group in the second row. “Better Things” and “Go” followed suit, highlighting Demoulin’s head-banging drum style. Without stopping for a break, ALEXSUCKS moved into two unreleased songs: “Backwards” and “Hopeless.” The first — and only — slower songs of the night offered a break from the intense sonics of the band’s typical discography. Hardcore fans in the audience already knew the lyrics to “Hopeless,” despite the track not yet being available on streaming platforms.
In a twist, ALEXSUCKS announced a “special guest” and brought Rehash drummer Daseth Lopez onstage to play guitar for the rhythmic track “Warm Beers.” The audience roared in admiration as Lopez shredded the guitar, showcasing his musical range through the song’s repetitive chorus, “I need to figure it out / I need to figure it out.” Through “The Gutter” and “Hate Me If You Want,” the energy stayed high in the almost unbearably hot room, which didn’t seem to bother the crowd. Alvarez teased the concertgoers, explaining that the band had reached the part of the show where it leaves and the audience begs for another song. Doing just that, the group left, before quickly reappearing onstage to end its dark rock set with “6 Pack and Cigarettes” and “What We’re Doing Here.”
Alternative garage rock group ALEXSUCKS ended its tour proudly in Austin, playing the sold-out indoor stage at Mohawk. Mosh pits, hand tosses, and some very loud “fuck yeahs!” characterized the set for the tattooed rockers. ALEXSUCKS will be back in Austin this July, supporting the rock band late night drive home.