The tour continues in 2026 with orchestra
Eric Church took the stage at Los Angeles’ new state-of-the-art arena, Intuit Dome, on Saturday (November 15) in front of a sprawling band and orchestra. To start, the chef treated the packed SoCal venue to a performance of his entire concept EP 2025, Evangeline and the machine.
Sketches of a factory-controlled dystopian world, not too far from 21st century reality, animated on the screen behind the Church for the Machine segment. A unique feature of the Dome is that the same work of art is brought to life on the massive screens that surround the entire bowl of the arena. It was an impressive way to bring the eight-song project to life.
Church was accompanied all night by a massive 22-person band including an orchestral section – called “Strings and Things” by the pre-show announcer – as well as Church’s touring band. Singer Joanna Cotten has happily returned to the road with the Chief, to the delight of fans. They do magic together.
Case in point: Cotten stalked the stage apron, lit just as brightly as Church, during “Desperate Man.” As she joined the fans on one side of the stage, they cheered and joined her with the same vigor with which they competed for a nod from Eric. That’s to say nothing of his vocals, which were front and center on a catchy “Proud Mary.” We’ll leave it up to you to figure out where that comes from overall.
Church took a moment to address the rare rainy days in La La Land: “I’m staying here Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I opened my weather app and said, ‘Fuck you,'” he said to laughter and cheers.
“Never Break Heart” was a delight Heart and soul project that he played like a treat. Another rarity is “Homeboy,” the story of a wayward rural American who ran to the big city and got into trouble with the law. This prompts his brother to lovingly plead, “Come home, boy. » It’s one of my personal favorites and has always given me chills as strong as the first time I heard it – as a Nowhereville student newly relocated to a big city.
The orchestra played on almost every song, adding a body to its catalog of hits. They enhanced the emotions and did not detract from the familiar melodies.
Intuit Dome is a marvel of a place. From its illuminated roof to its massive vestibule, it amazes as soon as you approach it. Biometric entry works as advertised. But now, ushers always ask you to see your tickets when you take your seat. And the “grab and go” bar still needed to be pressed on my Apple Pay because their eyes in the sky didn’t work.
Inside the bowl, each chair has a charging port for your phone cord. (USB-C, not USB-3 for us dinosaurs) LEDs on the chairs light up to create an immersive feeling. The Church used it sparingly. As an example, the feature emphasized “Springsteen” near the end.
An important note, however, is the sound in the dome. The speakers had difficulty transmitting sound at Club level, relying a little too much on the reverberation of the room. This sometimes meant hearing an echoed reflection, rather than the native sound. It’s not Church’s fault – who likes it loud – but probably a calibration issue in the room that they will no doubt learn from.
An Eric Church show is a bit like a box of chocolates: you know what you want and hope for, but you never know what you’ll actually get. (Just look at his strange but epic CMA Fest 2023 closing performance.) In this way, he remains the Machine-bucker he’s always been. And this tour, which continues next year, is a celebration of a deep catalog from an artist who continues to innovate in ways that tell the machines — both real and in Music Row costumes — to fuck off, with all this L.A. rain.
