The Warning at The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles: Night Two

After heading to Los Angeles from Orange County for night two of The Warning at The Fonda Theatre, I took the long way in. As I emerged from the escalator and started walking away from the Pantages along Hollywood Boulevard, I could see a crowd in the distance.

I spotted Gen X, millennials and Gen Z almost immediately. The guy behind me had to be Gen Alpha, and I am not going to lie, I am sure there were a few boomers sprinkled throughout too. That was one of the first things that stood out to me before I even walked into The Fonda. The Warning was not pulling one specific age group, and I liked seeing that.

Speed of Light Opens the Night

Speed of Light opened the night, and they were impressive, to say the least. The sibling trio is made up of Riley Christensen on vocals and bass, Cameron Christensen on guitar, and Tyler Christensen on drums, and all three of them were absolute headbangers. They matched each other’s energy really well, and the entire set felt like it was constantly moving.

Their name made sense once I saw them live. Everything about them felt fast moving, from the way they played to the way they moved around the stage. The energy never really had time to sit still, and they did exactly what an opening band should do. They got the audience warmed up and ready for what was next.

The Warning Live at The Fonda Theatre

Then The Warning came out to the audience erupting in cheers.

The Monterrey, Mexico trio is made up of sisters Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Vélez on guitar and lead vocals, Paulina “Pau” Villarreal Vélez on drums and vocals, and Alejandra “Ale” Villarreal Vélez on bass and backing vocals. Dany, Pau and Ale have been playing together since they were young, first gaining attention through videos of them performing rock covers before building their own catalog and growing into the band they are now.

The Warning was nothing short of phenomenal.

Stage Design, Lighting and Sound

The stage itself was fairly simple, but it never looked empty. A large LED version of The Warning’s logo filled the screen behind them, giving the whole setup a strong visual identity without making it feel overdone. Pau was raised in the center behind the drums, with Dany and Ale working the front, and the way the stage was designed made the trio and their instruments stand out.

The guitars, bass and drums all had their own visual space, so your eye stayed on the musicians instead of getting lost in the production. That was probably what I liked most about the setup. It still felt big enough for a rock show, but nothing was competing with the three of them. The production supported them instead of swallowing them.

The production supported them instead of swallowing them.

The lighting was one of my favorite parts of the show. It moved between cool blues, purples, bright whites and heavier backlighting, sometimes outlining them against the logo and sometimes letting the screen fall into the background. There were so many moments where one of the sisters would be framed perfectly by the light, and it made the stage look beautiful without becoming distracting.

The sound inside The Fonda was great too. Everything felt full, but I could still hear the separation between what each of them was doing instead of it all turning into one wall of noise. Pau’s drums hit hard, the bass carried through, and the guitars still came through clearly. For a rock show with that much energy, the sound stayed clean.

“Open Up the Pit!”

Somewhere behind me was a man who really wanted a mosh pit.

“Open up the pit!”

He kept yelling it throughout the show, and he was very committed to making it happen. He wanted that pit badly, and I kept waiting to see if the people around him were finally going to give him one. They never quite matched his enthusiasm, but he definitely did not stop trying.

Thirteen Years of Playing Together

At one point during the night, The Warning mentioned that they had been doing this for 13 years, and that stuck with me. Thirteen years is a long time to grow up performing with the same two people, and I think that history shows when they are onstage together. They know each other, they know how each other plays, and there is a comfort between them that does not look forced.

There were moments where Pau would completely pull my attention behind the drums, then Ale would take over with the bass, and then Dany would bring my focus right back to the front of the stage. Each of them could hold your attention on her own, but watching them together is what really made the performance work. There was always something happening, but it never felt chaotic.

The crowd knew the music too. These were not people standing around waiting for one song they recognized. They were singing, yelling, reaching toward the stage and reacting to the little moments between the sisters. You could tell these were fans who genuinely love this band, and The Warning gave that same energy right back to them.

That connection between the band and the audience was probably one of the things I enjoyed most about the night. The crowd was giving them everything, and they were feeding off of it instead of just moving through the set. Even toward the end of the show, the energy in the room had not dropped. If anything, it felt like people wanted more.

What the Name The Warning Felt Like Live

Later, I kept thinking about their name.

The Warning.

I do not personally know the meaning behind it or what they intended when they chose it, but after seeing them live, I took it a certain way. It felt almost like a statement that this is the warning of what is still to come. They have already been doing this for 13 years, but nothing about watching them felt like I was seeing a band that had already reached its peak.

It felt like I was watching what comes before the next level.

And if that is the warning, I get it.

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