(Photography by James Chen)
Avatar brought the “In the Airwaves USA” tour to The Observatory North Park in San Diego on November 6, 2025 for a night of headbanging Swedish metal. This stop of the tour comes just days after the release of the band’s latest album “Don’t Go in the Forest” and the venue was filled with energetic fans eager to rock out.
As the performance began, the stage falls into darkness and a thick fog spreads across its surface. Unmoving cloaked figures appear from the rear of the stage and appear to float and glide on the fog toward the audience, with the front-most figure holding a lantern. The cloaked figures perform “Captain Goat” to open the set.
When the cloaks are removed, the figures reveal themselves to be the members of Avatar, after all (the cloaked intro was cool, but we knew who it was! lol). Avatar are based in Sweden and consist of John Alfredsson on drums, Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby on guitar, Johannes Eckerström on vocals, Henrik Sandelin on bass, and Tim Öhrström also on guitar.
The band then cranks it up with “Silence in the Age of Apes” with a lot of headbanging and fans respond with feverish energy and excitement. The set changes gears once again by continuing with “The Eagle Has Landed”, a less aggressive mid-tempo track from the “Feathers & Flesh” album which leans heavily into theatricality.
This was actually my first time seeing Avatar’s show, and I had not seen any videos of their live performances prior to this. While frontman Johannes is clearly a very talented vocalist and performer, I was somehow caught off guard by how simply charismatic and funny he is. In between the songs, Johannes’ banter was very entertaining and demonstrated his sharp wit, all the while enabling him to emanate an extremely friendly energy when not declaring himself Satan (as heard in “Dance Devil Dance”) while in the maniacal ringmaster / clown persona.
This San Diego show happened to fall on the same night as the weekly North Park Farmer’s Market, which took place on a small street just behind The Observatory North Park venue. Johannes quipped about having a good time in San Diego every time they are in town, and this time the band had a chance to stroll through the farmer’s market. Johannes described being impressed with seeing hemp-based chocolate milk, as well as hand-crafted “snap-on jock scarves” - the crowd erupted in cheers and laughter.
In addition to the band members each having unique and very dynamic stage presence, the lighting direction also took the audience through multiple stages of the night’s experience. With seemingly simple changes, the entire venue transforms dramatically: at one point of the show, flat panels of lights facing the audience are wheeled out behind the band. Once activated, this lighting apparatus casts onto everything and everyone an absolutely intense hellish blood red, turning the band members into silhouettes.
Near the middle of the set a piano was brought on stage for Johannes to take control of while donning a black leather jacket. A change in lighting direction completely transformed the atmosphere to create a more intimate feeling for the performance of “Howling at the Waves” and “Tower”.
“Tower” is a haunting ballad that strips away the band’s usual chaos in favor of a minimalist, piano-driven atmosphere of dread. It serves as a chilling exploration of isolation and madness, building toward an emotionally heavy climax that showcases Johannes’ most sentimental and theatrical vocal performance.
After the midpoint of the show, the background set for the stage changes subtly and Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby appears on stage seated upon a throne as banners depicting Jonas are lowered from the rafters. Jonas is dressed like a king (the “Kungen” of Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby is the Swedish word for “the king”, by the way) and this spectacle is a thematic reference to the Avatar’s 2018 album, “Avatar Country”.
“Avatar Country” was a humorous album framed as a national anthem for the fictional land of Avatar Country where The King (Jonas) reigns - he does not speak, he only shreds. With enthroned Jonas donning his impressive regalia, the band performs “Legend of the King” and “Let It Burn”.
The band also performs “Tonight We Must Be Warriors”, a defiant anthem that gives encouragement to find strength and unity in the face unavoidable darkness and struggle. It blends a driving, heavy metal rhythm with an empowering chorus, emphasizing the band’s core message of finding light within the shadows.
As the show approaches its end, Johannes once again demonstrates how skillful he is as an orator by reassuring everyone present that it’s alright to be a misfit: others may point their fingers at us, call us names, say that we look like a… freak show and
everybody knows they’re not wrong… but it’s a good thing.
Johannes provides reassurance that those others are the ones who are missing out by creating and keeping distance and barriers.
Johannes continues on, prompting with a rising, questioning, intonation:
It smelllllls…
the audience finishes for him:
LIKE A FREAKSHOW!!!!!
The band finish off the night with “Smells Like a Freakshow” and “Hail the Apocalypse” and leave with another positive message for the fans:
Be good to yourself, and take care of each other!
