Warm summer nights at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre have a way of making almost any concert feel cinematic, but Friday’s pairing of Cannons and Bob Moses seemed especially suited for the setting. Beneath the open sky, surrounded by towering eucalyptus trees and a hillside full of fans, the two acts delivered complementary sets that drifted effortlessly between dreamy indie pop and pulse-raising electronic grooves.
Cannons had a chance to reflect on how far they’ve come, and they didn’t waste it. Before launching into another stretch of dreamy synth-pop, the band looked back on 2017, when they were uploading songs to SoundCloud with no idea where it would lead. “Thanks for making our dreams come true,” they told the crowd, a simple moment that felt less like a rehearsed line and more like a genuine acknowledgment of the journey.
Lead singer Michelle Joy appeared in a flowing white dress, emerging through thick clouds of stage smoke as the band eased into “Hurricane.” The understated production fit their aesthetic perfectly, allowing shimmering tracks like “Starlight,” “Carousel,” “Heartbeat Highway,” “Purple Sun,” and “These Nights” to wash over the audience. Their soft disco sound blended modern synth-pop with a nostalgic glow, making the warm Berkeley evening feel like an extension of the music itself. Closing with “Fire for You,” Cannons left the stage looking every bit like a band enjoying a well-earned moment of arrival.
Bob Moses shifted the mood without losing the night’s momentum. Their performance leaned into the duo’s signature blend of live instrumentation and electronic production, turning the Greek Theatre into an open-air dance floor. “Time of Your Life,” “Waiting on the World,” “Comes Back to You,” “Round & Round,” and the Grammy-winning “Tearing Me Up” built steadily toward a high-energy finish. A dark, brooding cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” added an unexpected twist before “Afterglow,” “Keep Love Waiting,” the ZHU collaboration “Desire,” and a closing performance of “Blink” kept the crowd moving until the final note.
Cannons and Bob Moses may occupy different corners of the electronic music world, but together they created a seamless summer bill. One offered dreamy nostalgia, the other delivered dance-floor catharsis, and under the stars at the Greek Theatre, it was hard to imagine a better setting for either.
