Drab Majesty turned us lowly earthlings into their glowing alien children, while Deafheaven guided us to the pearly gates of post metal paradise at Brick by Brick on Friday, August 17th.
Drab Majesty
Early birds to the sold out show were treated to a sonic blast of blistering industrial rock. Uniform‘s lead singer Michael Berden kicked the crowd into a rabid fervor, intimately grabbing people by the hair (including this writer) and screaming straight right in some lucky concertgoers faces. With their latest album, “The Long Walk”, and a month long tour coming to an end, their intensity seemed to be kicked up an extra notch.
Enter Drab Majesty. Part alien cult, part futuristic goth. Either way, they graced the stage with a presence that made it feel like Earth’s first concert with extraterrestrials. The stylish chrome duo (complete with silver wigs) crafted cavernous drones to start, hypnotizing and disarming the crowd with their foreign presence. Next, they proceeded to envelop the crowd with a set list primarily from the album “The Demonstration.” Their songs include dark wave elements and the best parts of what the 80s had to offer.
By the time Deafheaven stepped on the stage, the room had reached capacity and the crowd’s body heat filled the room. This didn’t stop the band delivering a powerful hour and a half set; The room heaved, people crowd surfed, and grown men screamed out to George Clark’s almost indecipherable howl.
The highlight was the closing song, “Dream House.” The relentless drums, echoing guitars, and pace of the song crescendo-ed to a peak, and with a final cathartic release, Clark screamed the words “I want to dream” multiple times into the night. There was something special shared between the band and the fans during those last final lines.