Del Water Gap Brings The ‘Chasing The Chimera Tour’ to Austin

Del Water Gap, stage name of Holden S. Jaffe, continued his ‘Chasing The Chimera Tour’ at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater on Feb. 23. 

Written by Isabella Narvarro

Photographed by Claire Hookstra

Prior to Jaffe taking the stage, Hannah Jadagu opened the show at 7:30 p.m. with a soulful and electric performance. Jadagu sang most of her discography with interludes of her thanking the audience for watching her perform. During “All My Time Is Wasted,” Jadagua engaged with the crowd by having them repeat the chorus back to her while flashlights lit up the amphitheater.  

Once Jadagu ended her set, fans waited eagerly for 45 minutes while a pre-show setlist played in the background. The audience hummed along to artists like Tame Impala, Harry Styles, The Neighborhood, and Role Model, while small conversations buzzed through the space in anticipation of the show.

At 8:45 p.m., the band came out and started playing the beat to a track off of Del Water Gap’s latest album, Chasing The Chimera,  “Small Town Joan of Arc”. The singer then emerged toward the front of the stage while fans screamed in unison. 

The first few songs followed the general setlist that’s been played throughout the tour. Before performing “New Personality," Jaffe told the crowd that the song was about a situationship, and emphasized “no more situationships in 2026.” Laughter erupted from the crowd, as if in response to their own experiences of situationships. 

Jaffe took a moment to thank the audience for coming to his show and mentioned that he first played in Austin at SXSW in 2019 and opened for Niall Horan at Moody Center in 2024. He then said that playing at Stubb’s had always been a dream of his, and now he gets to play ‘his own arena.’ Orange and pink lights faded as he stopped speaking, and the intro to  “Ghost in the Uniform” began. 

Following was “NFU” which had the crowd feeling all types of emotion when yelling “I just miss the way that you talk / And I’m sorry.” Jaffe repeated those lyrics multiple times towards the end of the song with rawness in his voice. "Beach House” started playing shortly after, and the song had everyone on their feet, jumping with high energy while Jaffe synchronised with the crowd. The lights were flickering quickly, resonating the energy that the crowd was feeling. 

“High Tops”, released in 2019, is another notable song on Del Water Gap’s discography. The song brought a mellow and nostalgic feeling to the crowd when hearing Jaffe’s deep-cut vocals. 

About an hour into the show, Jaffe brought Lauren, a fan of his, up on stage. He told the audience that she had multiple tattoos of him and comically stated that she had been to more shows than he had. Jaffe then announced someone else would come on stage. That person was Nelson, Lauren’s boyfriend. Nelson got down on one knee and proposed to Lauren, sending waves of shock and excitement throughout the venue. When Lauren said yes, fans were jumping in excitement for the couple, surprised that they just watched a proposal happen before their own eyes. 

Over the course of the tour, Del Water Gap has rotated the setlist with surprise songs like One Direction’s “Steal My Girl” and songs of his own. “Laid Down My Arms,” one of Jaffe’s oldest songs, was the surprise song for this show, which resulted in die-hard fans screaming and jumping for the slow ballad.

Mint green lights flashed while Jaffe danced in between singing “How To Live.” Behind the band was a screen that overlooked the front row, with fans waving at the camera and smiling. One tradition during Del Water Gap’s show is during “Coping On Unemployment,” where fans scream, “You need to get some help.” The voices echoed through Stubb’s, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off the crowd, sweating off the body heat and in awe of the magic the show encapsulated. 

The energy kept heightening as the band transitioned to playing “All We Ever Do Is Talk.”  

“Damn,” one of the first singles released in October off of Chasing the Chimera, caught the audience's attention as fans clapped to the beat and sang to each other while singing “That’s what it’s like to be free / Damn.” The band went into a jam session for about a minute before moving on to the next song. 

Before “Perfume,” Jaffe explained that the song was about running around New York City and playing pool, which overlapped with the lyrics “When we're playing pool, I’m in love in a dive bar.” Toward the end of the song, Jaffe got down from the stage and made his way to the pit. The final chorus was sung by him and fans in the pit while a crew member held a small camera that was displayed on the stage screen. 

Del Water Gap closed the show with “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” one of his most popular songs that quickly became a notable fan favorite. Before singing the song, Jaffe thanked the crowd for welcoming him back to Austin and expressed his love and gratitude to the fans. The whole venue shouted “Tell me that nobody else touches you like I do / Tell me that nobody else touches you like me.” Girls and couples hugged each other in acknowledgment of the show nearing the end. 

The highlight of the night happened at the very end of the show when Jaffe finished singing and climbed up the side speakers. The audience gasped and giggled while Del Water Gap waved to fans before exiting the stage. There was a burst of electricity and happiness among the audience as the lights shut off and fans shuffled out of the venue. “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds closed out the show with a sense of belonging among the attendees.