Amid technical difficulties and an unresponsive crowd, Holy Wave launched their Latin American Tour at The Mohawk on Wednesday, Mar. 1.

Story by Elise Barbin

Austin noise favorites Ringo Deathstarr were lined up to support Holy Wave but ended up dropping out. Brazilian psych band Boogarins filled in on the bill, stealing the show with their high energy and body contorting dance moves. Local trio Pale Dian opened the show with synth fueled shoegaze and seraphic vocals, leading into the next performance.

Holy Wave started out the show with a track from their upcoming album, “3s”, an ephemeral, lofty song with a strong jazz beat foundation. The sound of this opening song strays from the hard-driving guitar riffs and rhythms of Holy Wave’s distinguishable sound, perhaps signaling a change in direction for future releases. The beginning of the set elicited low energy from the crowd, but by the third track the band gained momentum with the bass heavy “Buddhist Pete.”

Multi-instrumentalists, Ryan Fuson and Kyle Hager, passed the band’s recognizable Fender Splattercaster guitar back and forth during the show, alternating between guitar and the keyboard. Technical difficulties with the keyboard forced the band to stop playing several times. Late in the show, the band decided to replay a previous song that had been cut short due to sound issues.

Originally from El Paso, the outfit now centers their music in Austin and decided to start their tour with a hometown send off. Over the next month, the band will make their way across Texas, Mexico and Argentina, culminating the tour in Oaxaca, Mexico.

“I liked Holy Wave before I realized they were from El Paso,” El Paso native and current Austinite Destinnie Bujanda says. “Now that I have made the connection, I’m proud of their success and love them even more.”