Louis XIV Reunite & Return to The Casbah
Alt-rock foursome celebrates 20th anniversary of 'The Best Little Secrets Are Kept'
San Diego’s beloved alt-rock band Louis XIV, which released three studio albums and four EPs from 2003 to 2008, has reunited and will perform two nights, Jan. 10-11, at The Casbah; the same venue where the group played their first show 20 years ago.
Aiming to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their landmark sophomore release, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, the group quickly sold out the 11th so they added the preceding night. The album caught attention with its risqué cover when it came out, but its best known for spawning the catchy single “Finding Out True Love Is Blind.”
Louis XIV’s three co-founders—Brian Karscig and Jason Hill (both on vocals, guitar and piano) and Mark Maigaard (drums)—remain in place; Jake Pinto recently joined the group as the bassist for shows and tours.
“Jake fits in perfectly,” Karscig shared during a call with D-Constructed. “It feels like he’s been part of the band for a while with how great he fits in with us and the music.”
Following the release of Secrets in 2005, Rolling Stone and MTV both named Louis XIV one of their top ten bands to watch. Four years later, after releasing another EP and their third full-length, the group officially called it quits on July 3, 2009.
Since then, they’ve occasionally resurfaced—including a reunion show in 2011 and supporting The Killers on a 2012-13 tour. And, in 2020, they surprised some with a new music video for the single “Playtime.”
More recently, Louis XIV briefly got back together for a gig at North Park Music Fest in June of last year, but they’re looking at The Casbah reunion as both a celebration of the past and perhaps the spark that ignites their future.
“We’ve always talked about doing reunions and have done a couple of one-off shows over the years,” Karscig said, “but 20 years since the release of ‘The Best Little Secrets Are Kept’ felt like the right time to do some shows for everyone in the band.”
Karscig was coy about revealing too much about what concert-goers can expect to hear at the pair of Casbah shows, preferring instead to keep the details a surprise. He did, however, share that the band plans to play much (if not all) of Secrets, as well as other songs from their catalog.
Perhaps even more exciting for fans, Karscig teased that attendees also might hear some new material before it’s released in 2025. “We’ve actually recorded new music over the past couple years,” he revealed, “and releasing material we’ve worked on is definitely being discussed.”
LA-based up-and-coming act Mystic Knights will open both nights, joined by Film Co. on Friday and Tre Aces on Saturday. Mystic Knights features Chris Cester of Jet and former The Soft White Sixties guitarist Aaron Eisenberg, whose production house and creative consultancy, Sound+Vision Co., has worked with artists like Ringo Starr, Father John Misty, and Haim. The band recently released their debut single and video, “This High Up,” a jaunty earworm hinting at a promising future.