COLONY HOUSE PACKS THE REGENT THEATER FOR A HIGH ENERGY NIGHT IN LOS ANGELES
WORDS BY JOSIE CRUZ
The Regent Theater was packed on Saturday night for Colony House. The room was full from the barricade all the way to the back of the floor, with fans pressed shoulder to shoulder waiting for the first band to step on stage.
The night began with the opening act Mercury, who delivered a set that felt surprisingly intimate despite the size of the crowd. For most of their performance, the band was backlit, leaving them mostly in silhouette. As a photographer, I was caught off guard at first. I found myself waiting patiently for the occasional burst of light to hit the stage. In that quiet space between shots, I ended up getting completely pulled into the music. Instead of chasing lighting cues, I was watching the band lock in with each other. You could see them glance across the stage to stay on time, leaning on each other to keep the performance tight. It made the whole set feel focused and connected.
When Colony House took the stage, the atmosphere shifted immediately. The lighting was bright and colorful, with the outline of the band’s 77 light rig slowly coming to life behind them. Once the full outline lit up, the band kicked the show into high gear and never really slowed down. There were still moments where the lighting dropped into silhouettes, but most of the set was filled with bold contrasts and fast-moving lights that kept the stage constantly alive.
The Regent offers some unique vantage points throughout the venue, and the lighting spilled out into the audience as much as it did onto the stage. From different angles around the room, you could see smiling faces everywhere. Friends turned to sing to each other. Groups held onto one another while jumping from the balconies above. Those small moments in the crowd were just as powerful as what was happening on stage.
The crowd’s energy clearly fueled the band. Caleb Chapman, on vocals and guitar, barely stayed in one place, sprinting across the stage between his bandmates before turning back to face the audience again. At one point, he jumped straight into the crowd and walked through the entire venue, high-fiving fans along the way. Colony House moves fast, and the moments happen quickly. Trying to capture them was challenging, but also one of the most rewarding parts of the night.
