Photos and review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

Garbage chose Los Angeles to end their 2025 tour on November 5th, and the Palladium got to be host, with the sold out crowd excited and ready for the band to play their final set of 2025. Which according to singer Shirley Manson, might be their final headlining set ever.

Garbage has been around since the 90s, and has seen just about everything there is to see in the music industry, and the latest news is that touring is generally not economically viable for many bands performing night after night. Thankfully, two days after this last show, they announced a co-headlining tour in the UK with Skunk Anansie, so if that’s what it takes to be able to see them live, their fans will embrace it completely, headlining or not.

Manson, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and touring bassist Nicole Fiorentino are a great band. They’re super talented professionals who look like they love what they do, and they’re excellent at it. The Los Angeles show saw a 20 song set, with lots of favorites, including a third encore song in “Special” that was literally special to this end of tour night. They played “Not My Idea” with a bit of New Order’s “Temptation” sewn in at the end, and at soundcheck it’s reported they played “Wicked Ways” with some “Personal Jesus” added. Manson is very talkative, and liked to have a chat in between songs, and she shared some heartwarming and entertaining messages, including urging the crowd to support OxFam (they had a table set up at the Palladium with information and to gather petition signatures), and to support Palestine, and a call to protect the environment, and importantly a plea to protect all people of the world, no matter who. “If you’re a good person in this life, then you’re a friend of ours.”

Before “Push It” Manson urged people struggling to dig deep and keep going, because something great will break the stasis and life will begin to be adventurous and joyous again. And before “Queer” she talked about how before this tour nobody really sang along, but now everyone does, and that was no different in Hollywood, with a great crowd response for the old favorite.

Also importantly, Manson is a champion of her cast and crew. During this whole tour on socials she’s been pouring out love and affection to her bandmates and support folks, naming people directly and singing their praises. She did it on stage, talking glowingly about her manager, her lighting designer, everyone who’s been instrumental, calling them “fabulous motherfuckers.” This is not typical of performers, and it’s a special, caring, ego-free superstar who admits that it takes a village to make the big machine run. All of this plus more makes it impossible to argue the fact that Shirley Manson is just really cool.

And most importantly of all, the music: Garbage sounded fantastic. Technically they’re so good– Manson’s voice is flawless and unique, Butch Vig is a musical genius as he steers the ship from the back on drums, and getting to hear “#1 Crush” live was a real treat. Garbage fans are real fans, with people against the barricade who’d been traveling show to show, plus fans in the far back who were singing loud and dancing just as much as the crowd in front. The music has endured three plus decades, many record label changes, many music industry switchups, and they still sound as fresh as ever.

Keep touring, Garbage, and a co-bill is fine– whatever gets you on the stage will be loved by all fans both old and new. For all the latest news and info and what’s coming up with touring and tickets, check out www.garbage.com and @garbage.