It’s a rare sight to show up to a show to the Nile Underground early and be greeted by a crowd, but March 14th 2024 was no normal night. Before local opener DEATHDOTGOV took the stage, the room was already packed tight with anticipation building fast. Having recently released a new single “The Observer'', as well as celebrating their birthday, DEATHDOTGOV have continually proven themselves to be a powerhouse with no signs of slowing down. They set the bar high with a fantastically chaotic opening to a night that would only continue to spiral into a display of controlled chaos as the rest of the acts had their stage time - even catching the attention of Carson Pace from The Callous Daoboys who later exclaimed that “it’s not very often that we watch an opening band that we are scared to follow”.
With energy already cranked to 11, The Homeless Gospel Choir opened up their set with a few heartfelt protest songs, and even took a request before getting a little intimate with the audience. Derek Zanetti informed the audience that this would be the last tour under The Homeless Gospel Choir, and he is shifting his focus to producing music under his own name with all recorded instruments played by himself, stating that “the best thing a grown up can do is be in a punk band!” Zanetti finished out the set with a few more protest songs about being an adult, mental health, and never being “normal,” ensuring the energy levels were primed for the explosive injection that was still yet to come.
The Callous Daoboys go to lengths to make sure you know everything is done exactly on their own terms. From shitposting on main, to the absurdly hilarious shirts at their merch table, the Daoboys have found the perfect level of seriously unserious that have granted them their dedicated fanbase. To describe the Daoboys as anything short of a gloriously chaotic yet perfectly calculated display of musicianship is doing a disservice to how hard they work to orchestrate the insanity that is their live set. Once the sextuple took the stage, it was a non-stop mashup of catchy samples that quickly devolved into one exhilaratingly frenzied song after another. In the chaos surrounding them, the guitarists, Maddie Caffrey and Daniel Hodsdon, found a second to lock eyes from across the stage and play a quick round of rock, paper, scissors. Hodsdon then answered vocalist Carson Pace’s request for somebody to “do something stupid” by promptly climbing on top of the rafters in front of him and continuing to play while being supported by the audience members underneath him. Even security was enthralled by the set exclaiming “Daoboys fuckin poured it down tonight!”
Finishing up the night inside of the Underground, ‘68 brought their two man noise rock to show that it’s not always about how many people you have on stage, it’s how loud you can crank it up. Guitarist and vocalist Josh Scogin, along with drummer Nikko Yamada, made up for the minimal instrumental setup with an incredible wall of screens and projectors to accompany their own brand of controlled chaos.
Despite taking place on a Thursday night, the crowd stayed strong from beginning to end, and everybody that stayed through was treated to an unexpected surprise to some, and an anticipated addition to others. Parked immediately next to the Nile Theater was a bus housing thrash band Hemorage, finishing out their entirely DIY’d Death X Southwest tour. Before beginning, the band announced “We’re going to play as many songs as we can tonight. As soon as we’re done playing, one clap. Then we’re gonna keep on going.” Taking full advantage of the fact that paying the fine is almost always cheaper and easier than obtaining the proper permits for a street show, Hemorage has their schedule down to a science. Playing until the police show up, then politely accepting the ticket and shutting down while their fans still have an opportunity to purchase merchandise from inside of the bus. Fortunately, the 5-0 must have been distracted by the offerings of Pi Day, though, as they did not make an appearance despite threats of calling them in by whichever joykill wanted to shut the party down.
DEATHDOTGOV Setlist:
Galleria
Tweak
Froth
Noise
The Observer
Magic Guns
Thy Daily Head
The Homeless Gospel Choir Setlist:
Guilt buffet
Blind faith
Musical Preference
Crazy
Untitled
Depression
Normal
The Callous Daoboys Setlist:
Pushing the Pink envelope
Waco Jesus
Star baby
Violent astrology
Designer shroud of Turin
Flip flops at a funeral
Fake dinosaur bones
A brief article regarding time loops
Blackberry delorean
Hemorage Setlist:
The end
Dying breed
Bloodrage
Imperial roll
For your life
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