Friends of Ohia Aster–a member of the transgender community who recently passed away–gathered in the Nile Underground on Saturday, February 24, to honor her memory and help raise awareness about transgender healthcare. The event also helped raise funds for her partner’s ongoing medical expenses.
Dreamy darkwave trio Tanz Der Vampyr opened the night with a setlist that wasn't shy on blasting the crowd with screaming guitars blended into extreme reverbs for a soothing but energized opening. The trio closed their set with a cover of “Bella Lugosi is Dead” by Bauhaus.
Local legends Snailmate took the stage next and proved that they continue to be a force to be reckoned with within the music scene. Making a stop for this benefit show between their relentless touring, Bentley Monet and Kalen Lander delivered the powerhouse performance that fans have come to expect from "The Snailmate Show". Not one to separate themselves from the audience, Lander spent the majority of their allotted time in the crowd truly immersing everybody into the performance before clearing the stage for something…completely different.
Slowing the pace back down with a very personal and heartfelt drag performance from one of Aster’s close friends, Keo the Lion. Being the person who brought them to buy their first dress, their friendship ran very deep, and it showed in their performances.
Gracing the stage with an acoustic guitar, He, Then, brought a fantastically somber folk punk flair to the night. Starting with "Old Scabs" from his freshman release Oblivion before following into "4017 Days"–a newly released song celebrating his own sobriety. Changing it up with an electric guitar, he continued on with a song about losing somebody you've never met with "Warhol ain't got nothing on Warpigs" and getting mental health diagnoses with "Antipsychotics and Red Bull".
Up next, Suppressor exploded onto the stage completely changing things up with an aggressive hardcore sound causing the crowd to immediately break out into moshing and circle pits. Despite the aggressive nature of their genre, Suppressor still preached about the importance of being a good person with “Manifest Destiny,” and just how much the little things can matter with “Happiness.” To close out their set, they treated the crowd to the first ever live performance of "Tribute To Terence Edward Hall," followed by “Bite of ‘83,” a song about the ever popular game Five Nights at Freddy's.
Closing out the night was a local favorite Afterbirth Cartoons. Starting things out deceivingly slow with "Get Away," Alvah followed up by immediately jumping into "Gaslit" to bring the energy back up to where Suppressor left things off. Not letting off of the gas, the trio blasted through new material yet to be released, or even performed yet. Breaking up their set with a "word from their sponsor," Alvah made an announcement for their fictional video game Super Rasputin before playing a cover of “Rasputin” by Boney M., causing the crowd to go wild. Refusing to slow down, they blasted through the rest of their set with hardly any stops between songs, save for another sponsored message for “Reaganaise - America's Mayonnaise” presented by Galatea.
Over $300 was raised in memory of Aster thanks to community members donating artwork for the event's raffle, and Snooty Fox Tattoo generously including a tattoo voucher that was given away during the event.
First set: Tanz Der Vampyr (Prescott, AZ)
Grey Garden
Lilith Wiegenled
Gallow Dance
Bela Lagosi Is Dead
Second set: Snailmate (Phoenix, AZ)
Jumper/Cable
The Snailmate Show
Cold Turkey
Hot Sauce For Blood
Donuts in The Rain
Toll Road
My Weird Gross Body
The Laziest Man in The World
Robe Guy
Trash, Baby
It’s Coming Back!
Third set: Drag Performance by Keo the Lion (Phoenix, AZ)
Fourth Set: He, Then (Phoenix, AZ)
Old Scabs
4,017 Days
Warhol Ain't Got Nothin on Warpigs
Antipsychotics and Red Bull
From LaChaise to Calais
Fifth Set: Suppressor (Phoenix, AZ)
Gutshot
Silent Hill
Public Execution
Manifest Destiny
Happiness
Tribute To Terence Edward Hall
Bite Of ‘83
Sixth Set: Afterbirth Cartoons (Phoenix, AZ)
Get Away
Gaslit
Mantis
Company Dimes
Fever Dream
(Super Rasputin skit)
Rasputin
Three Way (2x time)
DP River Water
(Reaganaise skit)
Silly Fools
Masters of War
PPG
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