Photos by Andy Argyrakis

In ten years together, electronic pop band ARIZONA logged over a billion streams and several hundred shows split between headlining or supporting the superstar likes of Panic! At The Disco, Quinn XCII, Third Eye Blind and Yellowcard.

Given such steady momentum, hopes were high that singer Zachary Charles, guitarist Nathan Esquite and keyboard player David Labuguen would start their second decade, yet instead Instagram followers were met with the message, “ARIZONA has given us more than we could ever have imagined or asked for but it’s time for us to step away and take an indefinite hiatus.”

Though the group went on to clarify, “We’re not closing the door (and the three of us will always be friends and collaborators) but we can’t say when we’ll pick it back up,” it nonetheless sent fans flocking to the aptly titled “Victory Lap” Tour, including a completely sold out stop at Chicago’s hefty House Of Blues.

Since ARIZONA doesn’t have any new material per se, it meant a chance to revisit the “Gallery,” “Asylum” and self-titled albums, plus several of the stray singles along the way totaling nearly two hours.

The guys began with the sizzling bounce of “Let Me Touch Your Fire,” then dove directly into the bangers “What She Wants,” “Nostalgic” and “Feed The Beast” as the audience danced, reminisced and soaked it in for the last foreseeable chance.

Even so, ARIZONA left nothing to be desired, merging the like-minded “Electric Touch” and “Problems,” calming down for “People Crying Every Night” and “Running” confidently towards the goal of the finish line.

The already heart-pounding pace kicked up another notch come a mash-up of “Summer Days/Where I Wanna Be,” “Annie” and “Cross My Mind,” building to an epic encore of “Brave Enough” and “Freaking Out.”

However, ARIZONA closed on the bittersweet note of “Oceans Away,” a yearning ballad about saying goodbye, as the House Of Blues raised a teary and thankful toast to the trio until they all hopefully meet again.

For additional information on ARIZONA, visit ThisIsARIZONAMusic.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the House Of Blues include Pink Sweat$ (Feb. 22); Thuy (Feb. 25); Feels So Close (Feb. 28); Mo Gilligan (Mar. 2); Cavalera (Mar. 5); La Santa Cecilia (Mar. 7); Wilder Woods (Mar. 8); George Thorogood And The Destroyers (Mar. 9); Kim Dracula and HANABIE. (Mar. 11); Spencer Sutherland (Mar. 12); Armor For Sleep (Mar. 13); Gaelic Storm (Mar. 14-15); Chris Olsen & Ryan Trainor (Mar. 16); The Decibel Magazine Tour (Mar. 20); Poppy (Mar. 21); DJ Matt Bennett (Mar. 22); mxmtoon (Mar. 26); Anberlin (Mar. 27); Whitechapel (Mar. 28); Alexandra Kay (Mar. 29) and The Used (Mar. 30-31). For additional details, visit HouseOfBluesChicago.com.

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