[ATTENDED: February 22, 2023] Pure Adult
I knew about Gilla Band and have listened to a few of their songs. They’re a bit too abrasive to listen to for fun, but I imagined that their live set would be amazing.
I had no idea who would open for them, and had not heard of Pure Adult.
Pure Adult is technically a duo: Jeremy Snyder and Bianca Abarca.
Although on stage there were five people.
Pure Adult is that wonderful kind of band that I feel like was more prevalent in the 1990s (and maybe bands like this have always been around and I don’t know them). They play weird music that doesn’t really fit a style or pattern. There are catchy parts and non-catchy parts and sudden stops and starts and vocals that may or may not match with the music. The singers are weird and the lyrics have no context and feel like they are story songs. In other words, they will never be popular and never make any money. But they may find some fans on college radio stations. And they will always be amazing live.
They came out and Jeremy Snyder looked like someone straight out of a 70s movie (possibly pornographic). He had on tan pants (maybe polyester) with a button down shirt and a jacket. He had shaggy hair and a bushy mustache. He jumped around the stage shouting and relating his lyrics.
Bianca Abarca was on keys, but they traded off when she sang the lead parts. She also did some cool moves–the Johnny Brenda’s stage was way too small for them.
Their guitar player Nelson Antonio Espinal (in the dim light I pictured him as Paul Rudd in a big curly wig) played some wild solos and made some great noises as well. I also really enjoyed the sounds that their bassist created ( I didn’t get the name of him or their drummer who was solid and handled the wild time changes easily).
“Ain’t I a Woman” opened the set with a looping feedback squeal and erratic drums while Snyder and Abarca traded lyrics and then traded trippy synth sounds. It segued into the far noisier and guitar heavy “The New Guillotine.” Snyder preached and conducted the band as they ran through the wild changes and sounds (great synth space sounds). After Snyder removed his jacket the song took off into a fast pummeling riot.
Abarca took most of the lead on “Sex Plan” with Snyder adding loud backing vocals. But as with all of their songs, that changed a couple minutes in when things slowed down for a quiet middle section. Until the song took off with screaming guitars and chanted vocals.
By this time the crowd was thoroughly won over. After a brief introduction, Snyder strapped on a guitar and they lurched into “A Big Surprise.” I enjoyed how he added just a little bit more chaos to the proceedings with his guitar–even though this song had the simplest and catchiest “chorus” of any of their songs. I enjoyed that Snyder was just as dramatic and over the top in his guitar playing as everything else–he’s quite the showman.
“The Power of Incredible Violence, Pt. III” is the first single from their new album. Sung by Abarca, the song showcases her voice behind the alternatingly chaotic and simple melodies. About midway through the song, Snyder had mic trouble so he and Abarca had to share which worked surprisingly well.
Despite the mic setback, they jumped right into “Can Not Wait,” a spoken (as opposed to shouted) vocal over wild guitar noises. Of course it slowly builds to an intense pitch and then Abarca jumped in and they shared the rocking end. By now the crowd was eating out of their hands. And after a pause they jumped into “Cam Girls” which gave Snyder a chance to make even more noise on the keys while chanting the catchy refrain “with everybody looking” after every line Abarca sang. There was a funny moment where Snyder slammed down a tambourine and it bounced into the audience. The person in front of me handed it back mid-song while he was not quite expecting it, but he took it good-naturedly and continued to sing.
Heavy drumming and heavy guitar introduced “Casual Animal.” This song had some great stomping riffs but was also plagued by mic issues. But it didn’t hold them back as they launched into “Hot Crusade,” the opening track from their new album and one of the noisiest feedback-filled songs of the set. It also featured the spot on lyric: “You got to be rich to be radical.”
For a band that is ostensibly a duo, the five of them were tight as anything. And that’s saying a lot given how complicated and wild their songs were.
It was a really fun set and someone has even posted the whole show on YouTube
SETLIST (with times for the YouTube video)
- Ain’t I a Woman ⊗ (0:00)
- The New Guillotine Ø (2:14)
- Sex Plan Ø (5:35)
- A Big Surprise ⊗ (10: 00)
- The Power of Incredible Violence, Pt. III ⊗ (14:45)
- Can Not Wait Ø (19:53)
- Cam Girls * (25:35)
- Casual Animal Ø (29:33)
- Hot Crusade ⊗ (34:50)
⊗ II (2023)
* single (2021)
Ø I (2019)
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