[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Deafheaven
I’m not a huge fan of Deafheaven, but the more I kept seeing this show advertised (and postponed and rescheduled) the more I thought I might really like to see them live.
I like their blend of shoegaze and screaming metal. I couldn’t listen to a lot of it, but I figured a show would be just right.
The band’s newest album, however, is very different from past efforts. There is almost no screaming at all. Lead singer George Clarke who pretty much only screamed a largely incoherent rasp on previous records actually sang on this one. The music wasn’t vastly different although it tended to be a bit less intense.
When I looked to see what their setlist was like, the show in late 2021 had them play the entire new album and then a couple old ones. I wasn’t that excited by that prospect, but figured I’d still enjoy it. And after Holy Fawn, I was ready.
They opened with “Shellstar” which is quite a pretty song. I think I would have really liked it if it weren’t Deafheaven. Plus, I had never seen any footage of them before. Clarke was a wildly intense figure, but he was dancing and moving and shuffling. Dressed all in black in a button long sleeve shirt, he moved about the stage and fully engaged with the audience.
Meanwhile, lead guitarist Shiv Mehra was playing some wonderfully soaring guitar lines while far guitarist (who I couldn’t see all that well) Kerry McCoy played the main melody. The song was catchy, but not what I was expecting.
They followed that with “In Blur” which continued in the same vein of jangly guitars. Bassist Chris Johnson was right in front of us and really enjoyed watching him play all over the neck of his bass.
They followed it with “Great Mass of Color.” So far they were playing the new album in order. And I was a little disappointed. Which is really a shame because I’m listening to it as I write this and I really like it–it’s just so different from what I was expecting.
But as you can see from the setlist below, the first three songs are separated from the rest.
Up next came “Honeycomb” from Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. The tone was instantly darker with Shiv playing some gorgeous ringing guitars before they totally rocked out with loud crushing heavy chords and Daniel Tracy’s explosive drumming. He’d been good before this, but wow. In addition to playing really really fast, he also played some really complex patterns on his relatively small kit. There was plenty of double bass on his single bass drum as well.
And then Clarke came to mic and his vocals were in that wraith-like screamed style. It was such a disconnect between this really pretty catchy song, with fantastic guitar work from Shiv and George’s scary vocals. And it was exactly what I wanted to see.
And the fans too. Because as soon as this song started the heretofore bouncing crowd turned into a swirling mass of a mosh pit, catching everyone around them off guard. The song is 12 minutes long and has a lovely instrumental middle section, with a kind of trippy solo from Shiv.
Then George said they were going back to 2014 for the next one. The guy behind me, muttered “Holy Shit!” and they played “From the Kettle Onto the Coil” a single the band did for Adult Swim. This song is one of the more intense songs they played with everything at breakneck speed –thundering drums and a powerfully intense vocal performance. The middle of the song is a gorgeous slow soaring shoegaze section.
AS they played these older songs, the backing images switched to trippy swirling colors. There was an unintentionally amusing moment when the screen projected a familiar message: Your battery is running low, please plug in your computer.
George pointed at it and smiled. And that’s what was so fascinating all night. Whenever he spoke to the audience, he was soft-spoken and friendly–making sure everyone was having a good time and thanking the opening bands.
The opening of “Worthless Animal” was slow and pretty, with ringing guitars and, George’s growly voice rather prominent. It was one of the few parts where the music was quiet while he sang like that.
The band returned to the new album for “The Gnashing.” And, although I was really enjoying the screamed vocals, it was nice to have him go back to clean vocals for a bit.
“Mombasa” was also from the new album and it opens so quietly and beautifully. But after five minutes the song explodes with rocking guitars and the closest thing to growling vocals that he gets on the new record. It proved to be a very cathartic set ender.
After a brief encore break, George said they had time for two more songs. When the opening strains of “Brought to the Water” rang out, the crowd went nuts. And when the heavy, heavy chugging guitars and super fast drums kicked in, the crowd kept pace with some ferocious slam dancing. By this time, George had hopped down to the fence and was singing into the fans.
When the song ended, he waved someone on from the side of the stage. As the band started playing “Dream House” from their breakthrough Sunbather, the whole place erupted. And when Ryan Osterman from Holy Fawn came out to sing with George, it was a great moment.
Ryan sang while George crowd surfed. When George came back on stage, he put his arm around Ryan and they screamed together. I didn’t think it would be possible to harmonize a screamed vocal but they seemed to manage.
Ryan left after a couple of verses and the band just tore down the rest of the house with the intensity of the ending of the song and the show.
It was incredibly cathartic and I can’t believe I had any doubts in the show at all.
SETLIST
- Shellstar ∞
- In Blur ∞
- Great Mass of Color ∞
- Honeycomb ♥
- From the Kettle Onto the Coil ∀
- Worthless Animal ♥
- The Gnashing ∞
- Mombasa ∞
encore - Brought to the Water ß
- Dream House §
∞ Infinite Granite (2021)
♥ Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (2018)
∀ adult swim single (2014)
ß New Bermuda (2015)
§ Sunbather (2013)
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