My third time seeing Deafheaven and they still refuse to disappoint. The moment I saw Drab Majesty and Deafheaven on the same flyer, my jaw dropped. This lineup is something out of a dream, and what a dream it felt like. A night full of friends, lights, noise, and dreams.
Uniform
Genre: Industrial/Noise Rock/Sludge FFO: Helmet, Whores., Unsane
Before this show, I only heard Uniform's collaboration with The Body which I was impressed by, I never heard anything by only Uniform. The band played as a three piece: drum, guitar, and vocals. All around soundwise was great quality, with a slight electronic effect coming from the drums if I heard it right.The vocals were raspy with an echo like an early aggressive grunge band. I couldn't help but think of Helmet when comparing the sound all together.
There was one song they played where the guitarist broke a string but manged to finish the song all the way through. While fixing this Technical difficulty, the vocalist talked about how he grew up in Natick and how the only landmark was the Natick Mall (still kind of is).
Personally I was rather impressed by the band. Not too many bands like to do a Helmet type of sound and mixing with noise rock elements as well as industrial influences is a gold star in my eyes.
Drab Majesty
Genre: Darkwave/Post-Punk/Synth FfO: Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Ritual Howls
Now this was the big reason I was here. Many many people I know considered The Demonstration one of their favorites of 2017, and very few caught Drab at the Middle East last year ( I was also not one of them). All we could think of is what are the costumes and make up gonna be. After setting up the equipment, the duo went backstage to get into costume which took like a half hour. They walked out in unison wearing white leather jacket and pants as well as giant spaceman style shades and white wigs. These people know more than a thing or two about image.
They began and the projections behind them turned on showing what looked like colorful tv static fading in and away. The electronics were pounding and made you feeling like a beating bass drum while the radiant guitar melodies soothed you down and equalized it. This paired up with the lighting effects bouncing off their reflective clothes made for an outstanding stage presence. Something I never knew was they both do vocals but manage to sound almost exactly the same and with the strong echo and harmonic singing, well I'm sure you could imagine.
If you are impressed by the music of Drab, you will be blown away by them live. This was an experience like no other. Drab Majesty earned their own title as: "The cream in the this oreo of a tour" as the said it.
Deafheaven
Genre: Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze FFO: Alcest, Bosse De Nage, OathBreaker
Now I know its a generic thing to hear from a lot of people but Deafheaven are a favorite of mine and ever since I first saw them with Envy, I always thought they were one of the best sounding live bands there is. Tonight was no exception. Opening strongly with the new single "Honeycomb" anarchy instantly formed in the pit. Like most, Deafheaven like to play more newer songs when they come out, so they opened with two singles and the reaction from the crowd was very strong. The shoegazing elements were very strong and paired up with their own projection of what appeared to be visions of the city, some of them even had puppies. Nothing can compare to hearing Sunbather songs live in my opinion, considering George's voice is more emphasized than it is in recordings.
If you've seen Deafheaven before, you've seen the energy George has when he performs. For the most part he would be leaning over the crowd as he screams but during the instrumental interludes, his movements are comparable to a conductor to an orchestra. He had a few more flamboyant moves here and could move those hips well. Deafheven ended with the last song off the new album, "Worthless Animal" then walked off stage only to have one of the guitarists come back to play the piano intro to the first song on the new album, "You Without End". Deafheaven went on to play "From the Kettle onto the Coil" then of course ended with "Dream House".
Now all throughout the set, kids were moshing, mic rushing, crowd surfing, even stage diving which I believe is the reason why Deafheaven have been jokingly given the term "Hipster Black Metal" but you can't deny that energy is like no other. Dream House especially was the most chaotic set for the crowd. You know there was tidal wave for the mic durin the "I'm Dying..." part and I just had to join in and do a backflip on stage. Needless to say I love the Deafheavens. Outstanding!
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