One of Atlanta’s newer concert halls, The Eastern, played host to Grammy Award-nominated alternative rockers Garbage on a pleasantly cool Monday night in the South. Out on the road for their first solo headlining trek in seven years and has been billed as their “Happy Endings” final tour, Garbage was supported by Starcrawler. Opened as recently as September 1, 2021, in the historic Reynoldstown neighborhood off the Atlanta Beltline, this state-of-the-art 37,000 square foot venue sprouted up as part of the redevelopment of the Atlanta Dairies plant that supplied milk to local families and schools in the mid-1940s. The industrial-looking, reclaimed materials complex boasts retail shops and eateries, and is anchored by the multi-tiered Eastern that can handle a capacity crowd of 2,300 concert goers.
At preciously 8:00pm, retro-glam punk rockers Starcrawler from Los Angeles, California, kicked off their night. With Arrow de Wilde (vocals) an undeniable, sexually charged focal point, Starcrawler put on a 30-minute electrifying musical experience that you couldn’t look away from. Perhaps best well known for their soundtrack contribution of a Ramones “Pet Sematary” cover for that film’s 2019 adaption (which they played live), the band channeled gritty and raw rock vibes as they blasted through captivating originals like “Roadkill” and “I Love LA.” While Starcrawler certainly hypnotized the large early audience, I can only imagine the intense energy that would be unleashed if they were in a more intimate performance venue.
Starcrawler
Arrow de Wilde – Vocals
Henri Cash – Lead guitar
Tim Franco – Bass
Seth Carolina – Drums
Bill Cash – Pedal steel, rhythm guitar
Setlist:
1.) Goodtime Girl
2.) Ants
3.) Roadkill
4.) I Love LA
5.) Stranded
6.) Pet Sematary (Ramones cover)
7.) She Said
8.) Train
9.) Bet My Brains
With the equipment turn complete, the house lights went dark at 9:00pm to announce the start of Garbage’s set. With founding members Duke Erikson (guitar), Steve Marker (guitar) and Butch Vig (drums), along with touring bassist Nicole Fiorentino, taking their spots, vocalist Shirley Manson casually appeared on stage and started the band’s night out with “There’s No Future in Optimism” from their latest release, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (May 2025).
Advertised as the Happy Endings Tour, the show was marketed as part of the last North American headlining run for Garbage, to which Manson reinforced the message mid-set to the audience (to audible disapproval) that the decision was made “because it’s too complicated to tour for financial reasons.” That is likely why the band treated their dedicated fan base with a setlist which threaded their new material within legacy tunes from across their highly decorated discography (57 nominations, with winning 17 awards). Garbage emphatically delivered upon favorites such as “I Think I’m Paranoid” and “Why Do You Love Me,” along with recognizable tunes in “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)” and “Push It.”
It is also worth noting that Manson took the time out to briefly honor the late Brent Hinds from Atlanta-based heavy metal band Mastodon. Hinds was tragically killed in a traffic accident a few weeks ago, and Manson gave an emotional reflection upon him and his impact on the music industry. It was a very classy moment.
For nearly two hours, the ageless rockers (Manson at 59 years old, Erickson at 74, Marker at 66, and Vig at 70) navigated a mood lit 19-song main set that concluded with a revisit to Let All That We Imagine Be the Light with the softer “The Day That I Met God.” Then returning to the stage for “two crowd pleasers,” as Manson put it (which sadly did not include “Stupid Girl”), Garbage launched into their breakthrough 1995 hit “Only Happy When It Rains” from their self-titled debut studio album. The band then concluded their fourth tour night with “When I Grow Up” pulled from their multi-platinum second album, Version 2.0 (1998).
Garbage’s Happy Endings Tour will continue on through the beginning of November, when their currently scheduled U.S. dates will wrap up on Wednesday, November 5th, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.
Garbage
Duke Erikson – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Butch Vig – Drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Marker – Lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Shirley Manson – Lead vocals
Nicole Fiorentino – Bass, backing vocals (touring musician)
Setlist:
1.) There’s No Future in Optimism
2.) Hold
3.) Empty
4.) I Think I’m Paranoid
5.) Vow
6.) Run Baby Run
7.) The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
8.) Not My Idea
9.) Hammering in My Head
10.) Wolves
11.) Parade
12.) No Gods No Masters
13.) Even Though Our Love Is Doomed
14.) Godhead
15.) Chinese Fire Horse
16.) Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
17.) Push It
18.) Why Do You Love Me
19.) The Day That I Met God
Encore
20.) Only Happy When It Rains
21.) When I Grow Up
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Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.