APRIL 4th 2026
HEALTH x CARPENTER BRUT
CONFLICT : LEATHER TOUR 2026
Review by Richard S Hensey
Photos by Peter Ruttan
https://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/health-x-carpenter-brut/
CONFLICT : LEATHER tour at the Vogue Theatre brought together three distinct yet complementary acts—Desire, Carpenter Brut, and Health—for a night that felt less like a typical concert and more like a carefully curated descent into neon-lit chaos. I went into the show at the Vogue Theatre already expecting something special, but I don’t think I was fully prepared for just how intense, immersive, and unforgettable the night would turn out to be .Across roughly three and a half hours of music, the show demonstrated how different strands of dark electronic music can intersect to create something immersive, cohesive, and overwhelming in the best way.
Desire opened the night, and honestly, they were the perfect choice to ease everyone in. The vibe in the room at that point was still pretty relaxed—people grabbing drinks, finding their spots—but the second their set started, the mood shifted into something more atmospheric. Their sound felt like being dropped into a late-night movie scene—lush synths, soft but haunting vocals, and this emotional weight that kind of crept up on you. It wasn’t high energy in the way the rest of the night would be, but that’s exactly why it worked. It gave everyone space to settle in and really absorb the sound. I remember looking around and seeing people just swaying, completely locked in. It felt intimate, almost hypnotic.
Carpenter Brut hit the stage. I’ve listened to their music before as my fav album is Leather Teeth, but nothing really compares to experiencing it live. The second they launched into their set, the entire theater exploded. The bass was pounding through the floor, the guitars were loud and aggressive, and the lighting was just insane—flashes of red and white that made everything feel chaotic in the best way. It went from a chill crowd to a full-on surge of energy within minutes. People were jumping, pushing forward, and by the middle of the set there was a legit mosh pit going, which I did not expect at a synthwave show.
What I loved most was how physical it felt. You weren’t just hearing the music—you were inside it. Every drop hit like a shockwave. Carpenter Brut didn’t slow down either; it was just hit after hit, no breathing room. By the time they played “Maniac,” the entire place felt like it was at its breaking point. Everyone around me was either dancing like crazy or just standing there in disbelief, trying to process what they were witnessing. It was easily one of the most intense live sets I’ve ever seen.
At that point, I honestly wondered how Health was going to follow that what Carpenter Brut just performed. The energy in the room felt totally maxed out.
But when Health came on, they didn’t try to outdo Carpenter Brut in the same way—they just took everything in a completely different direction. They opened with “Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” which was such a wild and unexpected choice, and the whole crowd immediately started singing along. It kind of broke the tension for a second, but then they dove straight into their heavier material and everything got dark fast. Their sound live is just massive. It’s heavier, noisier, and way more overwhelming than it comes across on recordings. The lighting setup was a huge part of it too—lots of harsh backlighting and silhouettes that made the band look almost unreal, like shadows moving through dense smoke and noise. It created this feeling of being trapped in the sound, which sounds intense because it totally was.
The crowd stayed fully engaged the entire time. There were constant waves of movement—people pushing forward, crowd surfers coming over the barricade, everyone completely locked into the performance. Songs like “DSM-V” and “Major Crimes” hit especially hard. You could feel the bass pounding in your chest, and Jake Duzsik’s vocals had this raw, almost desperate energy that made everything feel more emotional than just a heavy dark set.
One thing that really stuck with me was how the show ended. No encore, no big sendoff—just done. At first it felt abrupt, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The whole set had this overwhelming, almost electric energy, and ending it like that just left everything hanging in the air. It didn’t give you that usual moment of release—it just stopped, and you were left standing there trying to come back to reality.
The Vogue Theatre is the perfect size for a show like this. It’s big enough to have that crowd energy, but still small enough that everything feels close and intense. No matter where you were standing, you felt connected to what was happening on stage. A night to remember!
