Zeta and Sodaseas
Ukie Club
847 N Franklin St.
Philadelphia
March 20, 2026
I think there’s a lot to be said for Zeta musically. Their style is a blend of American post-hardcore and psychedelic Latin rock that brims with passion, and every show they play feels both celebratory and transcendent. Honestly though, there’s nothing I can say about them that’s better than pressing play on any of the many releases they’ve put out over their TWENTY YEAR career. Over the decade or so that I’ve personally known Juanchi, Chino and Dani, we’ve played together or seen each other perform, made music together, fed and housed each other, introduced each other to so many other people, and overall formed a genuine connection that transcends music. They’re always warm faces that put me at ease when I’m in an unfamiliar place. I feel truly fortunate to have met them.
This show, which was advertised as a celebration of their having spent a decade touring the United States, was also a musical declaration of both gratitude and love for getting tapped into the nationwide DIY community they now help cultivate. It’s a community that their cultivation has deeply enriched. Zeta, who formed in Anzoátegui, Venezuela, exist in a way many American musicians could scarcely imagine. Since leaving Venezuela amidst political turmoil in no small part due to intervention by the United States, Zeta toured South America extensively, localizing runs to one country at a time. In 2016, Zeta hit the U.S. It was around this time that I met them; they were promoting their album L'Antiteoria del Todo and becoming Florida residents around the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term.
Now, in a time when the United States hates immigrants more than it ever has, this band, which also features bassist Antonio Pereira, is touring the country celebrating their time here and the people they’ve met along the way. Their second guitarist Dani couldn’t join them on this tour because he had to stay in Venezuela. Do you see the depth of this, the poetry of real life that transcends the obvious lies perpetuated by mass media? Is it clear how fucking valuable we all are; how lucky we are to have each other?
The show was a chill, two band affair on a rainy night. The sole opener, Sodaseas, were a maximalist local ensemble consisting of bass, drums, guitar (both electric and acoustic), violin, synths, and hand percussion (specifically a goblet type drum that I admittedly still cannot identify, a kind of djembe but wider). I can honestly say I was impressed and intrigued by the group’s ability to coherently mix the styles and vibes of bands like Man Man, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, and City of Caterpillar. Clearly no idea is off the table for this group, who managed to combine all of these influences into atmospheric and instrumentally dense compositions that routinely surpassed the 5 minute mark. They approached this with a vigor that only young, idealistic musicians can, and when I chatted with their bassist after their set I repeatedly asked them to never break up. I can’t imagine what they’d be capable of in a decade.
carmenta (prophetic visions) | sodaseas - Bandcamp
At this show, Zeta played as a trio, the smallest iteration of the ensemble I’ve ever seen perform. I’ve seen them with up to eight people on stage, but from the first song, they played just as hard and as fully as they always do. It was truly remarkable, actually. It was slightly eclipsed by Dani’s absence, as I caught layers of his voice playing on a programmed track mixed into the set. How bittersweet it was to hear him but be deprived of the usual sight of him bouncing around every inch of the stage.
Chino is so fucking good at drums dude. He hits hard as a motherfucker, plays the busiest parts with the most tasteful placements, and looks like he’s having the time of his life doing it. Juanchi and Antonio both were playing aluminum neck guitars, once again proving my theory that another person’s tone is impossible to truly reproduce because it is all in your hands. How else do you explain how they play such warm, soulful music on metal-necked guitars? I have no shortage of good things I could say but I’ll leave it at this. When Zeta says FUCK ICE, it really means FUCK ICE.
FUCK ICE.
