Bob Moses, Cannons brought an ethereal dance party to Phoenix

Under the glow of a plastic crescent moon and a full-size street lamp, Michelle Joy spun around the stage singing ethereal vocals over a disco beat. Later in the evening, the soft glow was replaced by massive light bars, and the beat traded disco for EDM. Tom Howie put his own spin on shoegazey vocals over a rumbling base. Two large smoke machines pumped fog the entire night, and the crowd never stopped dancing.

Tuesday night was the first show of a four-month North American tour with co-headliners Cannons and Bob Moses. 

Cannons kicked off the tour four days after releasing their latest album, “Everything Glows.” But they started the night with their 2023 single, “Loving You.” The song opens with a catchy whistle, which fans instantly recognized.

To a loud cheer, Joy sauntered onto the stage, singing “Waiting for the night to come / ‘Cause I’ve been hiding from the sun / Every time I hear the wind / Yeah, I can feel it rolling in.” The pink-hued lights bounced off her white silk corset and shone through a mess of tight blonde curls, creating a halo around her face.

Next, she danced through “Starlight,” a classic indie-pop track from the new album, followed by “Hurricane,” which again starts with a catchy whistle. This song, from the 2022 album “Fever Dream,” had the crowd singing along to every word.

The beat took a turn into reggae with the 2022 single “Purple Sun,” and then dove back into bubbly disco pop.

Joy threw it all the way back to the first song she ever performed in front of an audience. This time, she twirled through the lyrics of 2014 single “Up all Night” in front of a full crowd at Arizona Financial Theatre, instead of a small bar. 

Then, she performed what she described as the “heart” of the new album: “Take Me to Tokyo.” She sang “lost in the glow of city streets / the night is soft it sings to me,” while dancing underneath the pink glow shining down from the on-stage street light.

Cannons wrapped up their set with the crowd-favorite “Fire For You,” from their 2019 album “Shadows.” As Joy made her way through the chorus, the crowd began to chant, “on fire, on fire.”

Though they performed first, Cannons was anything but an opener. The two bands are co-headlining the Afterglow tour, and Cannons commanded the spotlight for the first half. They played for 65 minutes and kept the crowd in a trance the entire time.

During a roughly 30-minute interlude, crew members reset the stage, hauling off the streetlamp and comically struggling to get the moon down. What had previously looked elegant hanging above the stage now bounced and bobbed as the crew figured out the ropes. 

When the lights dropped once again, a rumbling began. Pulsing bass shook the metal panels on the sides of the theater and hit everyone right in the sternum. 

By the time the duo known as Bob Moses took the stage, the fog machines had been pumping full throttle for hours. As the first notes of “Time of Your Life” rang out, beams of red light sliced through the swirling smoke. They set the tone. This set would be darker, louder and more primal. 

The band Bob Moses consists of Tom Howie on vocals and guitar, and producer Jimmy Vallance. The Canadian duo played their October 2025 album “Blink” from the top, with the first song followed by the second, “Waiting on the World.”

After two new songs, Howie announced an “oldie” was up next. As the chorus of “Inner Light” built with, “You wanna dance / I wanna lead,” the crowd did just that. On the packed floor and throughout the seats reaching to the far back of the room, no one stood still. 

In the middle of the set, the duo jammed with an electronic interlude. The stage lights turned to shine on the floor, which made a previously dancing crowd immediately aware of those around them. Everyone waited for a return to the vocals.

When the band dug into “Last Forever,” a song off the new album, fluidity returned to the room. Videos of waves crashing played on a giant screen behind the band and everyone relaxed into the classic easygoing but driving Bob Moses sound.

After a dreamlike moment floating through the 2018 song “Enough to Believe,” the band picked the energy back up with a performance of the 2022 hit, “Love Brand New.”

Then, a few notes rolled out over the crowd, as a slow murmur arose. What was this song? Was it a cover? As Howie sang “I wanna fuck you like an animal,” suspicions were confirmed. Bob Moses was performing the 1994 Nine Inch Nails song, “Closer.” The crowd laughed and danced along.

The band returned to original music with the third track from their new album, “Keep Love Waiting.” The bubbly pop beat transformed the show back into a dance party and left us thinking about Cannons’ first act. 

Bob Moses’ set ran until 11 p.m. sharp, when the band exited the stage. Expecting the typical pause and return for an encore, the crowd hung around. And for a second, the blue stage lights popped back on, causing the floor crowd to crush in tight. But whether intentional or not, it was a fakeout. The house lights then came on and Hall & Oates sang “You make my dreams come true,” over the speakers. 

Cannons didn’t get an encore, and this show was all about sharing the stage. But the momentary pause had set up a false promise. 

“Who does that?!” shouted one fan. Others, unbothered, kept on dancing. Now fully illuminated as the crowds funneled towards the exits, groups on the floor were eager to keep the fun going. Among the discarded beer cans and plastic cups, they danced with reckless abandon as the smoke slowly cleared. This party didn’t want to end.