Just a couple of months ago, I found myself at an unknown show being headlined by Brockhampton (protip- Brockhampton is a rap collective, not a solo rapper). Sure, Brockhampton was great but it was opener 100 Gecs that really had me at hello. Their sound was unique, in your face, intense and a bit of a throwback to my angsty teenage years. I never would have thought they would become an act to sell out venues but I was in love with them and when they announced a show at The Fine Line, I knew I had to be there.
The audience was beyond young and I instantly felt out of place as I walked into The Fine Line a couple of minutes before opener Tony Velour took the stage. A scan around the quickly filling room told me everything I needed to know– I didn’t belong there and I was about to be surrounded by one of the most obnoxious crowds I had been in in a long time. I wasn’t wrong but knowing that I was about to experience 100 Gecs live, and this time on a smaller stage, was all I needed to keep me going. The houselights went down and a DJ took the stage and put on Hilary Duff’s “Let The Rain Fall Down” which I thought there was no way the young audience would know the words to but was shocked when the audience broke into song. After the prolonged intro that included a full playthrough of that hit Hilary Duff song and another song that I was clearly too old to know, Tony Velour took the stage and had the audience in a frenzy.
Tony and his DJ had all of the right beats and sounds to get the audience moving. Their music was infectious, upbeat, and, at times, a bit abbrasive but that range in vibes made Tony Velour the perfect opening act for this show. Beyond the energy that was clearly being felt from the audience that was pushing and shoving their way through the set in a way that I wasn’t quite expecting for an opening act, was the energy on stage. I was supposed to be getting photos last night but it turned out to be an impossible task with the way that Tony spent majority of his set literally bolting from side to side of the stage. His energy mixed with the energy from the audience all wraped up with the sound of his rap tunes that were unique while feeling familiar made up for a great opening act that had me completely forgetting just how old I was for the audience.
Although I was blinded to the audience throughout Tony Velour’s quick opening set, it wasn’t long into the set change for headliners 100 Gecs that I was reminded of just how out of place I was. With loud conversations that had me just leaving my earplugs in throughout the night to the stench of youths that apparently don’t feel the need to shower or use deoderant (I’m not kidding– it freaking stunk in there), I was more than annoyed as I waited for 100 Gecs to take the stage. The icing on the cake was the girl in front of me that apparently just couldn’t stay awake and kept bumping into me as she would pass out onto her boyfriend. Yeah, I was annoyed but still excited to see 100 Gecs. I was more than relived when the duo took the stage and the youths pushed to the middle of the floor giving me some much needed breathing room.
I thought that Tony Velour had the audience moving but realized that was barely movement compared to what happened as 100 Gecs kicked their set off with “Stupid Horse”. The audience was moshing, jumping, shoving… it was honestly just a hot freaking mess that I loved watching from the sidelines. Although I find 100 Gecs’ music intriguing and fun, I found the audience more intriguing and spent majority of the first few songs just taking all of the madness in. I may be fairly new to the world of 100 Gecs but I was the only one in that spot. The audience was screaming along to every word and I knew right then that I was late to the party but was more than happy to finally be a part of said party.
100 Gecs’ style is all over the place from an overall theme of electronic noise and onsense to the undertones of old school emo music and new school trap music. The creativity and almost genius that goes into their music is what had me stuck on them in the first place. Sure, you can listen to it and just call it noise and I don’t think I would fight you on that but I find a beauty in that noise that I just can’t seem to get enough of. The duo consisting of Laura Les and Dylan Brady have a live show that seems to match the chaos of the music. With almost constant strobelights and a steady flow of smoke onto the stage, it was hard to catch all of what was going on but it as chaotic as it was, it was absolutely perfect and really brought the music to life.
100 Gecs’ music definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s for me and I ate up every second of their fairly quick headlining set on Thursday night. Although I could have gone without the young crowd and the unavoidable feeling of being too old for this crap, it was a pretty perfect Thursday night and I was at home in bed by 10:15PM like the old lady I am. I’ll call that a win.
Line Up:
Venue: Fine Line
Sausage Fest Meter- 5.2 out of 10
Smell-O-Meter – The worst BO I have ever had to endure
Average Age of the Crowd- 11
Crowd Surfers- 2 Counted but I gave up my good vantage point after just a couple of songs so probably missed some
Mosh-ability- 4.2 out of 10
Stage Divers- None
Broken Bones- None
Spotted Flying Through The Air- Clothing; Bodies
Fights- None Witnessed
Pukers- None Witnessed
Passed Out Drunkards- None Witnessed
Idiots Taken Out By Security- None Witnessed
How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-
Tony Velour- 0
100 Gecs- 1
Celebrity Sightings- Har Mar Superstar
Overall Score- 7.3 out of 10
Show on Deck- Iration/ Ballyhoo!/ Iya Terra/ The Ries Brothers
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