Girl at the Rock Shows

I honestly don’t remember when Thursday night’s show was announced, but I know that I’ve been looking forward to it for months. My introduction to Paleface Swiss was when they opened for The Ghost Inside at The Fillmore last April. It was love at first breakdown. Paleface Swiss’ sound was the closest thing to old-school Slipknot that I had ever heard, and, for an Iowa girl, it was music to my ears. On top of that, their performance was brutal in all the right ways. I became utterly obsessed, so when Thursday night came around and I finally had a chance to experience this band’s strength again, I honestly couldn’t contain my excitement.

I didn’t want to sit through openers. I just wanted Paleface Swiss. At least, that’s what I thought, and that was my mentality as I walked into a sold-out Varsity Theater on Thursday night. That’s when Nasty kicked into their opening set. Much like the first time I saw Paleface Swiss, I was absolutely stunned. Hailing from Germany and Belgium, Nasty is a hardcore band with beatdown tendencies. Their sound was intense, but their energy somehow overpowered their sound in a way. Although the first band was in a stacked three-bill lineup, Nasty had the audience pushing and shoving their way through the short opening set. Within the first couple of songs, we already had our first few crowd surfers of the night, and by the end of Nasty’s set, it was an almost constant stream of people coming over the barricade. It was a heck of an opening set, and now, just like last year when I instantly started stalking calendars for a return from Paleface Swiss, I find myself obsessing over Nasty’s calendar for another chance to witness their brutal genius live again.

Stick To Your Guns, the next band to storm the Varsity Theater stage were like the dads of this tour in a way. STYG has been around since 2003 and, for a minute, were the kings of the hardcore punk scene. Okay, maybe that’s not true, but it was for me and a handful of others. STYG have grinded their way through the world for over two decades, sharing their intense and aggressive music with all of those who would listen, but, for some reason, this band stayed fairly under the radar. They never quite got the notoriety they deserved, what with their perfectly curated music and stellar stage performances. Vocalist Jesse Barnett talked a bit about this and how, just when things were starting to feel stale in the STYG camp, Paleface Swiss had reached out to them about joining in on this tour. It breathed a sense of life into the classic band and, as Jesse said, turned STYG into a bit of a zombie-like band with the way this tour was bringing them back from the dead.

Although STYG only had about forty minutes on stage, they didn’t let a single moment pass them by. They powered through an eleven-song set that showed all sides of this band, including a surprisingly sensitive one. There was a moment after playing “Keep Planting Flowers,” when you got to see this band get ultra-personal. This song alone is more than enough to stop what you’re doing and cry a little bit (it’s truly a gorgeous song with lyrics that remind you that you aren’t alone and that “you were never invisible to me”) but to hear Jesse take a moment and acknowledge that things are hard for everyone right now and that this band is there for you if you need it was one of those moments that gave me chills. It was beautiful, and it was pure, and the way it contrasted with the aggressive nature of their set made this moment dazzle even more. Although STYG’s brutality and aggressive assault on the ears was flawless throughout the set, it was this moment that will stick with me for a long time.

In the grand scheme of things, Paleface Swiss is a bit of a new band. They formed in Zurich in 2017 under the name of ‘Paleface.’ I’m not sure what happened, but after a name change to ‘Paleface Swiss’ in 2023, everything started to happen for this band. Their third studio album, ‘Cursed’ came out at the beginning of this year and has been a staple of mine ever since. It became clear on Thursday night that I am not the only one listening to this album and the previous releases from this band on repeat because the second the band took the stage and opened their set with “Hatred,” it was pure and perfect chaos.

As I mentioned, Paleface Swiss’ sound reminds me of old-school Slipknot. It gives me “Eeyore” vibes, which, if you know, you know. It’s perfectly curated chaos that dabbles into the world of insanity but never quite leaps into being out of control. It’s intense and abrasive- the kind of music that makes you feel everything and nothing all at the same time. I’ll be honest, it’s not for everyone. It’s screaming, and it’s loud. It’s music that, had I been playing when growing up, my step-mom would have surely come to me with a look of concern, asking me, “Why are you so angry?” It’s truly perfect, and there’s something about the uniqueness that this band brings to this age-old sound that makes it stand out. I wish I could expand on this a bit, but the truth is, I can’t. You ever hear something and it just speaks to more than your ears, it speaks to your soul? That’s Paleface Swiss.

On top of their sound was their stage presence and the way the audience responded to it. It was pure power, but it came off as genuine, not cocky. I loved that, although this band had completely sold out the venue, they genuinely still cared about what was going on around me. Just a couple of songs in, there were a lot of flashlights on in one section of the crowd. This can typically be a sign to security that someone is in trouble. Vocalist Marc “Zelli” Zellweger caught onto this and quickly hushed the rest of the band to ensure everyone in the audience was okay. I’m not sure what was happening in the audience, but it seemed to be a false alarm, and the show went on.

After a few more songs, Marc took a second to mention that a phone had been tossed on stage. He mentioned that that phone would be available for pick-up from security after the show. He then went on and urged people to put their phones away. He said the things I always tell people– you’re not going to watch these videos ever again. Just be in the moment. Just enjoy the show. Although this is a sentiment often shared from stages, there was something so beautiful about it coming from Marc. Here’s an up-and-coming band that could use some of the attention that live videos and photos would give them, but this band cares more about the fans’ experience. Maybe I’m reading into this a bit too much. This moment shouldn’t have hit me as hard as it did when there were bodies and limbs flying every which way, but it was one of those things that really solidified my love for this band.

Thursday night was intense. Although I steered clear of the pit due to having my camera in hand and that costing more than my car is worth, I know that a lot of people woke up with bumps and bruises this morning, and something about that is so satisfying. Shows are great, and being able to chill at a show with a cold drink in hand while the music takes you over is awesome, but sometimes you need one where you have to be on your A-game as far as watching those around you. There’s something exciting and thrilling about a show like Thursday night, where the music is great and the crowd is insane. It was just what I needed.

Line Up:

Nasty

Stick To Your Guns

Paleface Swiss

Venue: Varsity Theater

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 25

Crowd Surfers- Lost count at 36

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 11 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- 1 nose stuffed with tissue

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Bodies

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 1

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Nasty – 0

Stick To Your Guns – 5

Paleface Swiss – 2

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Usurp Synapse / Missouri Executive Order 44 / whenthedustsettles / Pointless Animal

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