Deep in the recesses of my brain, where I have to admit the memories down there get a bit fuzzy, reside some of the best rock shows when I was in my late-teens and 20’s. There were trips from Baltimore to DC – gas tanks often running on fumes – to shows that, back then, went on until closing time which was around 2 a.m. 

Without a doubt, one of the bands I looked forward to coming around was the Modesto, California-based band Grandaddy. The five-piece led by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jason Lytle melded driving four-on-the-floor rhythms with distorted guitars, quirky synthesizer tones, and Lytle’s distinct voice riding just over top of it all. 

The first time I saw Grandaddy was 25 years ago at the Metro Cafe – a small club on 14th Street, NW by Logan Circle that opened back in 1997 and could hold maybe 100 people. I don’t remember there being a huge crowd, but that night stoked a lifelong love of Grandaddy. 

The band essentially broke up in 2006, getting back together for short runs in 2012 and a hopeful reunion with new material in 2017 until the passing of bassist Kevin Garcia that same year. There were rumblings of reunions before Covid put the brakes on any live performances. That is, though, until the Spring of 2025 when it was announced a US tour – their first in 20 years – that landed a handful of East Coast dates, including The Howard Theatre. 

I hadn’t seen the band since 2003 when they opened for Elliott Smith at The Recher in Towson. I vividly remember, though, the stage set up like The Great Outdoors replete with stuffed critters and a screen playing videos at the back of the stage. At the Howard Theatre Friday night Grandaddy brought it all back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Sophtware Slump, an album that explores technology, nature, and relationships unlike any other album I had heard before.

Getting to the Howard Theatre I immediately noticed how quickly the theater space filled up. And it wasn’t just older fans with their graying beards and flannel, there were a lot of younger fans cheering on their favorite songs.

After a spirited set by opener Greg Freeman, a suite of pre-recorded ambient music as the screen behind the stage flashed “Welcome” and “Thanks for joining us tonight” on a huge screen that eventually displayed photos of outdoors scenes in between animated sequences of mountains and streams that changed throughout each song. That was soon followed by Lytle’s unmistakable voice as he started the piano opening for “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot,” a long, somber epic that marks the beginning to The Sophtware Slump. The nearly 10 minute song was beautifully perfect meditation only broken by applause and the introduction of the fan-favorite and more straight ahead beat of “Hewlett’s Daughter.” 

During the set one thing I marveled at was how perfect these songs sounded. A lot of bands that get back together after years apart have sets that can feel a bit disjointed or they’re just not as I remember, but Grandaddy sounded just as good if not better than those two plus decades ago. 

Check out the official video for “Crystal Lake” by Grandaddy from The Sophtware Slump:

And the band seemed to be reveling in the joy of playing together again as well. Founding members Lytle, Jim Fairchild on guitar and Aaron Burtch on drums were joined by Nik Freitas on bass and Radar Brothers’ Jim Putnam on keys. Noticeably absent was Tim Dryden who did not join on this tour.

As Grandaddy moved closer to the end of the regular set that made up The Sophtware Slump I could hear the crowd really getting into the performance and singing along. After a brief intermission the band returned to the stage for an entirely new set of material starting with the single, “Now It’s On” from the follow up Sumday.

In fact, most of the second set was from Sumday and Grandaddy’s debut LP, Under the Western Freeway. A notable exception was “Ghost of My Old Dog,” a song from Jason Lytle’s solo album yours truly, the commuter and as the song finished he looked up at the scrolling images projected on the screens flanking the stage as one of his dog appeared.

Other images and snippets of video from Grandaddy’s early days also flashed over the screens, including of Kevin Garcia as Lytle pointed to the photos. It was an emotional moment in a show filled with songs that brought back so much from the past 20 plus years.

Grandaddy returned for essentially a second encore with the brilliant “El Caminos in the West,” the beautiful “I’m on Standby” and the single that really started it all for many “A.M. 180.”

Anniversary shows can be a mixed bag, but seeing Grandaddy performing these songs and seeing the reaction of fans (both old and new) and feeling how those songs like I felt them the first time I’d seen them played live made this moment different than most. And although the band has wrapped up it’s tour, I really do hope that Grandaddy returns to playing live regularly.

The setlist included:

The Sophtware Slump:
He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot
Hewlett’s Daughter
Jed the Humanoid
The Crystal Lake
Chartsengrafs
Underneath the Weeping Willow
Broken Household Appliance National Forest
Jed’s Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)
E. Knievel Interlude (The Perils of Keeping It Real)
Miner at the Dial-a-View
So You’ll Aim Toward the Sky

Set 2:
Now It’s On
Lost on Yer Merry Way
Ghost of My Old Dog (Jason Lytle song)
Laughing Stock
Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake
My Small Love
Levitz

Encore:
El Caminos in the West
I’m on Standby
A.M. 180

Check out more photos of Grandaddy performing at The Howard Theatre on October 17, 2025. All photos are copyright David LaMason:

And here are photos of Greg Freeman opening the evening at The Howard Theatre: