Alice Glass and Zola Jesus with Pictureplane at Turf Club 05.08.18
Last night was a rarity, there were three shows in local goth/industrial scene happening. HIDE, Grendel and Alice Glass with Zola Jesus (with Pictureplane) were in town which made it extremely difficult for the locals like myself to choose which show to attend. I had difficult time between the Grendel show and Alice Glass/Zola Jesus show but I decided to go for Alice Glass and Zola Jesus because I had never seen either artist live. I have already seen Grendel and Ghostfeeder within the last few years and I am sure I will see them again in the near future. I would have loved to have seen HIDE last night but it just was not possible. All three shows overlapped each other which made it difficult for people in the scene to pick their poison so to speak.
In case people have been living under a rock, Alice Glass used to be in The Crystal Castles up until 2014 when she quit the band. Last month Pitchfork posted a great article on Alice called the The Agony and the Ecstasy of Alice Glass. It is definitely worth a read. The article delves into why Alice left her former band as well as her solo music.
Dark Energy's Grant Mayland began the evening with a great set. The only song I can honestly remember hearing during his set is "Wading" by Wingtips. The rest just flew over my head but I do remember the music was great and it was refreshing not to hear the standard EBM music which to me has gotten repetitive over the last few years although I still love me some synthpop. Pictureplane was the first musical act to hit the stage last night which was roughly around 7:30-7:50. His music was beat driven, lots of hip hop, noise, and drum and bass influences, with various samples interwoven through out the songs. Travis Egedy (aka Pictureplane) did rap in some of his songs. I did listen to his album Dark Rift today via Spotify. I liked what I had heard. I thought he was a good opening act for the Snowblood tour however there was a bit too much bass during his set IMO, nevertheless I enjoyed his set.
Zola Jesus followed Pictureplane's set. I always wanted to see her live but for some odd reasons just never made it to her shows. As I have stated earlier, Zola was the reason I made the painful decision to attend this show because I had never seen her live and always wanted to see her in concert. I definitely was not disappointed. Zola put on an electrifying performance last night. One of the highlights of her set when she dedicated a song to her uncle who suffers from depression and had twice try to take his own life. I am sorry but I missed hearing the title of the song. I do believe it is off her latest album Okovi. I was thrilled that Zola didn't save "Dangerous Days" (my favorite song by her) towards the end of her set. I definitely plan on seeing Zola Jesus live again. She is truly a consummate live performer.
I will be brutally honest. I had never seen Alice Glass when she was in her former band, let alone her as a solo artist. This was a real treat. I just didn't know what to expect. Alice came out like a bull in a China shop and would not let up. She was full of energy. She even got off stage and sang in the audience for the first song "Forgiveness". The energy from both the audience members and the music was overwhelming (in a positive way). Just completely electrifying. Alice completely threw herself into her music. I think the turmoil she experienced during her days in The Crystal Castles was pretty evident in her live performance as well as lyrics. I could hear her rage and pain as someone who knows all too well about angry and hurt. I initially did not know what to expect from Alice Glass but after last night, I was hooked. I definitely plan on seeing her again whenever she returns to the Twin Cities. IMO she should tour with Zola Jesus again and bring Chelsea Wolfe with them. Just saying ;).
I should note this was my first Dark Energy event. It was really interesting and cool to be around a different crowd for once. The audience was definitely younger than me (me being in her 40s). I am so used to the Ground Zero crowd so this was different and unfamiliar to me but I am cool with it. I am glad to see a younger audience taking an interest in music that appeals to me. Overall I would have to say last night's show was one of the best live shows I have ever seen. It definitely was one of the best concerts of 2018.
Setlist:
Intro
Forgiveness
Alice Practice
Without Love
"White Lies"
Love and Caring
Stillbirth
Natural Selection
Celestica
Suffocation
Blood Oath
Lips Apart
Cease and Desist
Of course I got some video footage from the show :). Just trying to make up for lost time after taking a several month sabbatical from concerts for personal reasons. The last video is my favorite because I can actually hear Alice's vocals. I apologize for the crappy sound.
In case people have been living under a rock, Alice Glass used to be in The Crystal Castles up until 2014 when she quit the band. Last month Pitchfork posted a great article on Alice called the The Agony and the Ecstasy of Alice Glass. It is definitely worth a read. The article delves into why Alice left her former band as well as her solo music.
Dark Energy's Grant Mayland began the evening with a great set. The only song I can honestly remember hearing during his set is "Wading" by Wingtips. The rest just flew over my head but I do remember the music was great and it was refreshing not to hear the standard EBM music which to me has gotten repetitive over the last few years although I still love me some synthpop. Pictureplane was the first musical act to hit the stage last night which was roughly around 7:30-7:50. His music was beat driven, lots of hip hop, noise, and drum and bass influences, with various samples interwoven through out the songs. Travis Egedy (aka Pictureplane) did rap in some of his songs. I did listen to his album Dark Rift today via Spotify. I liked what I had heard. I thought he was a good opening act for the Snowblood tour however there was a bit too much bass during his set IMO, nevertheless I enjoyed his set.
Zola Jesus followed Pictureplane's set. I always wanted to see her live but for some odd reasons just never made it to her shows. As I have stated earlier, Zola was the reason I made the painful decision to attend this show because I had never seen her live and always wanted to see her in concert. I definitely was not disappointed. Zola put on an electrifying performance last night. One of the highlights of her set when she dedicated a song to her uncle who suffers from depression and had twice try to take his own life. I am sorry but I missed hearing the title of the song. I do believe it is off her latest album Okovi. I was thrilled that Zola didn't save "Dangerous Days" (my favorite song by her) towards the end of her set. I definitely plan on seeing Zola Jesus live again. She is truly a consummate live performer.
I will be brutally honest. I had never seen Alice Glass when she was in her former band, let alone her as a solo artist. This was a real treat. I just didn't know what to expect. Alice came out like a bull in a China shop and would not let up. She was full of energy. She even got off stage and sang in the audience for the first song "Forgiveness". The energy from both the audience members and the music was overwhelming (in a positive way). Just completely electrifying. Alice completely threw herself into her music. I think the turmoil she experienced during her days in The Crystal Castles was pretty evident in her live performance as well as lyrics. I could hear her rage and pain as someone who knows all too well about angry and hurt. I initially did not know what to expect from Alice Glass but after last night, I was hooked. I definitely plan on seeing her again whenever she returns to the Twin Cities. IMO she should tour with Zola Jesus again and bring Chelsea Wolfe with them. Just saying ;).
I should note this was my first Dark Energy event. It was really interesting and cool to be around a different crowd for once. The audience was definitely younger than me (me being in her 40s). I am so used to the Ground Zero crowd so this was different and unfamiliar to me but I am cool with it. I am glad to see a younger audience taking an interest in music that appeals to me. Overall I would have to say last night's show was one of the best live shows I have ever seen. It definitely was one of the best concerts of 2018.
Setlist:
Intro
Forgiveness
Alice Practice
Without Love
"White Lies"
Love and Caring
Stillbirth
Natural Selection
Celestica
Suffocation
Blood Oath
Lips Apart
Cease and Desist
Of course I got some video footage from the show :). Just trying to make up for lost time after taking a several month sabbatical from concerts for personal reasons. The last video is my favorite because I can actually hear Alice's vocals. I apologize for the crappy sound.
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