The Regrettes returned home to Los Angeles this week to say goodbye with three sold-out shows at the Fonda Theatre. Their final show Thursday night followed the surprising news that this talented young act was breaking up, but their farewell performance was a lot more joyful than sad, with only occasional tears, signing off with 20 songs of catchy guitar hooks and attitude.
While dissolving a band with a committed following is never expected, band leader Lydia Night was only about 14 when the Regrettes started in 2015. Along with founding guitarist Genessa Gariano, they’ve been at this for a big chunk of their lives. Now at 22, Night and the others are simply ready to explore other sounds and collaborations, they say.
(left to right) Genessa Gariano (guitar), Lydia Night (vocals, guitar) and Brooke Dickson (bass) perform during the farewell performance by the Regrettes at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.
So at the Fonda was the band’s final lineup: Night, Gariano, bassist Brooke Dickson, and drummer Drew Thomsen. The Regrettes had enjoyed a steady rise during their years together, releasing their debut album Feel Your Feelings Fool! on Warner Bros in 2017, and playing a memorable set at Coachella in 2018 as a band of garage-y pop-rock with bite. They were back there again in 2022, this time more sophisticated and delivering songs from their third album, Further Joy, which presented Night and the others exploring contemporary pop elements, easing toward a transition that Gwen Steffani once made following No Doubt’s early successes.
At the Fonda, Night began the night up close and personal with fans, singing “Anxieties” from the photo bit, standing on a barricade and leaning over the front rows. The band was typically tight and energetic, with Night often bouncing in place.
Singer-guitarist Lydia Night performs during the farewell performance by the Regrettes at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.
Over these three sold-out nights, the band didn’t simply repeat the same setlist and order, but mixed things up and added a few surprising cover songs to keep things interesting to themselves and anyone attending more than one night. (On the first night, they tackled “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads.) But it was far less the song choices than the emotions in the room that defined this night’s farewell address by the Regrettes.
“I have so much to say but I can’t start crying right now. I can’t,” Night said at one point, and she was soon dabbing her eyes with a towel. Even then, there was more joy in the room than tears, as fans shouted along and bounced most of the night.
Bassist Brooke Dickson performs during the farewell performance by the Regrettes at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.
For the punchy pop-rock of “Monday,” fans sang along to the ecstatic “Yeah-yeah-yeah!” hook. Night then asked fans to make room on the floor to try some line-dancing to the modern pop beat of the new album’s “Rosy.” There was a festive cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” and then for “Dress Up,” Night joined fans on the dancefloor, cutting through the crowd as she sang.
At the end, roses were handed out to fans, and the Regrettes stood at the front of the stage together, all smiles and arm-in-arm. Whether they ever reunite for another round of music and performance, the LA quartet showed they’ve at least mastered the going away party.
Opening the night was their friends in Rocket, a next-gen indie rock band in the classic mode. Playing tightly wound songs from their debut EP Versions of You, they still left room from moments of wild expansive guitar in the tradition of underground elder statesmen like Sonic Youth and Pavement. FL
