Indie pop darlings The Pains of Being Pure at Heart brought warmth to an overcast, wind-chilled San Francisco on February 19, kicking off a two-night run at Rickshaw Stop as part of Noise Pop Festival’s 2026 lineup. The evening promised a full three course meal, with openers Cindy and Still Ruins setting the table before a packed menu of playthroughs from the Pains’ self-titled 2009 album.
The show was full of nostalgic callbacks to the 2000’s indie music community: the Pains got their start on Myspace and first opened at the Rickshaw Stop in 2009 for SF-native Deerhoof. After splitting in 2019, the band reunited in August 2024 in time to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their self-titled debut (this show was actually their first in the city since 2017!).
Perched from the corner of the stage, I watched as folks in beanies and their rainy-day best packed the hall, mingling to a pre-show playlist of Elliott Smith, Beach House, and Lush. It was clear that we were in store for a throwback to the 90s and early-2000s indie revival scene tonight.
Cindy opened with gentle warmth, the band’s all-black uniform proving a stark contrast to their warm and sun-dappled sound. Singer-songwriter Karina Gill and her bandmates strummed softly beneath lazy yellow spotlights, tambourines shaking alongside dreamy chords that evoked the stripped-down sounds of The Velvet Underground. The lullabies from their 2024 Swan Lake EP made it feel, briefly, as if the sun had moved into the Rickshaw. I would imagine their songs to be a perfect match for an afternoon at a park in their San Francisco hometown.
Still Ruins brought a dramatic, grungey contrast to Cindy’s radiating energy with their act. I stopped by the second floor of the Rickshaw to watch their performance and was treated to the sight of gloomy fog swirling over the packed crowd: a perfect visual mix with their darkwave, dream-pop sound. The Oakland three-piece performed a mix of tracks from their recent S/T EP and select singles. The crowd, entranced, gave their full attention to songs that veered between pulsing bass lines and dark synths. The band returns to San Francisco on April 28 at The Chapel for a show that will certainly be a treat.
By the time The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took the stage, the venue felt less like a concert and more like a dinner party with your dearest friends. From the lively bar constantly shaking up new drinks for the crowd, to the concertgoers exchanging greetings with acquaintances across the floor, the atmosphere was jubilant and expectant for the main act. The band roared through their set, joyously rocking to “Stay Alive” and a very on-theme set of verses in “Heart in Your Heartbreak”:
And your friends don’t understand that the world could end / And it would feel no worse than this / Every thought of the look in her eye / Like a cold California sky
If the openers were like a bright appetizer and warm soup, the band was a hearty main course. Each song was met with raucous applause and people dancing along to every beat of music. To end the night, frontman Kip Berman started out a five-piece encore with a solo rendition of “Ramona,” tenderly crooning “I don’t need time, I just need you.” In almost an answer to this call, the rest of the band rejoined Kip as they energetically finished the set with some of their most popular post-2009 releases.
The concert brought a perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh sounds, and I left the show a newly converted fan of both openers. This night at the Rickshaw Stop was certainly a balm for the pure of heart.
Review and photography by Abby Wang
