Girl at the Rock Shows

I’ve seen a lot of cool live music over the years. Some of it is love at first note, and other acts take me some time to warm up to. Some are acts that feel familiar, and others take me to a completely new world. Thursday night at Zhora Darling hit on the latter of both of those statements, but it ended up being an absolutely amazing night full of foreign sounds but familiar feelings.

Before I start talking about the three acts I saw, let me say that this was far from my normal cup of tea and, because of that, I’m not sure I have all the right words to describe this show. To me, this was a noise show or at least noise-adjacent. There were moments with a groove, but much of the music felt more like pure chaos than traditional music. Was it a noise show? Probably not. I really wish my friend who used to live deep in that world were with me so they could tell me how to classify what I was hearing and watching, but at the end of the day, does that even matter? I may not have the exact right words to describe the styles of the three acts, but I know damn well that I felt a million things throughout the night and, for me, that’s what matters. Long story short, don’t crucify me if I use the wrong verbiage.

The darkness that took over Zhora Darling on Thursday night, as Insula Iscariot took the stage, was as deafening as the sounds that instantly began pumping through the speakers. I thought I had this act figured out within the first few seconds of their set. It was industrial, gothic, dungeon-like beats with this mysterious, almost creepy, vocal tone. It was cool, but was it enough to really hook me? Have no fear, just when I thought I had them figured out, everything changed, and the once subtle vocals turned to primal screams. The set from Insula Iscariot seemed to teeter between these two worlds. One was dark, musty, and spider-filled, with the other being pure rage-induced chaos. I love how this act could thrust me into either of these worlds in just seconds, and I also loved that, although the contrasts were stark and dramatic, there was never a moment during their set when I felt whiplash. Instead, I could feel a wide array of emotions leaving my body and getting lost in the ethos. I wish I could explain this more, but it was a feeling that I don’t have the words for, and one that persisted through the show.

Following Insula Iscariot was Lunacy. Although there was definitely chaos behind Lunacy’s set, much like what I had gotten from Insula Iscariot, there was something a bit more laid back about the chaos. It was darker and much more atmospheric, rather than metallic and primal. The vocals of Lunacy almost felt like chanting, adding to the heavy atmosphere they were creating with all the trinkets they were messing around with throughout the set. It wasn’t just the music that seemed to take over the intimate venue; it was the vibe of this act, and I couldn’t shake it. It was eerie and instantly reminded me a bit of my experience at the Witch Club Satan show a couple of weeks ago. There was something almost threatening about the shadowed figure on stage who wore a black, full-face mask to obscure their identity. It was severe, and it was as if this figure on stage was daring you to look away, daring you not to give your entire heart over to them through the soundwaves pumping through the room. At the same time, there was something comforting about it. Like during the opening act, I found myself feeling more emotions than I thought I would at this random-for-me show. I didn’t know anyone else in the audience, so I should have felt ashamed and like I needed to keep those emotions hidden, but there was something about Lunacy’s aura that made it okay for me to feel, okay for me to get lost, okay for me to forget where I was and fall into the dark soundscapes.

Maybe I had gotten through all of my emotions with Lunacy’s set, or maybe the music of the headlining act, Trace Amount, just didn’t hit me entirely the same way; it still absolutely hit me like a ton of bricks. Instead of feeling immense emotion throughout Trace Amount’s set, I could feel myself walking a tightrope between feeling everything and nothing at all. Watching Trace Amount perform was cathartic to say the least. Watching Brandon Gallagher (the real name behind Trace Amount) scream into the microphone as lights flashed all around him was a powerful visual. It wasn’t a new one to me. I’m used to seeing bands use strobes and being used to a lot of yelling, but there was something so freaking raw about the way Brandon was doing it, and I feel like that really translated into the music perfectly. Sure, some of the sounds didn’t make sense to me. There were moments where I couldn’t find a beat and definitely tracks that I felt didn’t have structure, but, at the same time, I was falling for every passing beat and note because of the intensity of it all and how it made me feel. The music was gritty, it was dark, but it was also a beautifully transparent presentation of the human experience and all of the rage, frustration, and pain that comes with it.

Like so many other nights, I had no clue what I was getting into when it came to Thursday night’s show, so I had zero expectations. That said, I did not expect to be hit as hard as I was by the three acts I saw. Amazing things will happen if you get a bit out of your comfort zone and just let yourself fall into a new world. Trust me.

Line Up:

Insula Iscariot

Lunacy

Trace Amount

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 27

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

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

Insula Iscariot – 0

Lunacy – 0

Trace Amount – 0

Show on Deck – Birthday Suits / Panel / ME ME ME

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