Protomartyr and Shame Live at the Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles

On a rainy Saturday night in Los Angeles, some people made their way to Downtown for a night of post-punk with Shame and Protomartyr. Around 9:00 p.m., there was a sparse yet interested crowd watching the opening act, Glaare, an L.A.-based female fronted post-punk group. The synth-driven, dark wave sounds and belting vocals of Glaare continued to beckon the crowd to the stage area.

Shame took the stage next around 10:00 p.m., opening with the first song on their latest album, Songs of Praise, “Dust on Trial.” The crowd responded right away to the energy of the fivesome, the center pit area jumped around and playfully moshed. Singer Charlie Steen commanded the stage and the audience, donning a white undershirt and cowboy hat (which he later took both off), he never stopped communicating with the audience and moving around on stage. “We’re a Christian rock band from South London,” he joked. “Come forward, don’t be shy, we’re not gonna bite… come greet the British,” he continued to beckon the crowd toward the stage between songs. During “Concrete,” Steen passed the mic to several audience members to sing the lyric, “I hope that you’re hearing me,” and the fast-paced, punk nature of the song kept the crowd moving throughout.

“This is the first song we wrote… back when we had faith in the music industry,” Steen shared before diving into “One Rizla.” “We do not tolerate any discrimination or abuse… if you [don’t] feel the same, you can get the fuck out!” Steen shared this PSA, to which the crowd cheered. They went into a slower song, “The Lick” and Steen took the opportunity to stage dive and crowd surf for a bit. During “Tasteless” he also gave the mic to the audience as he sang “I like you better when you’re not around,” over and over again.

He invited the crowd to dance during “Friction” to which they followed suit. “This is where we usually play a new song, but we lost our guitar in San Francisco and got kicked out of the venue,” Steen shared, prompting them to play “Angie,” the closing track off their latest album instead. “Two of my fellow band members turned 21 today!” Steen also shared. A small cake was brought out and, after the candles were blown out, Steen grabbed a piece of the cake and fed it to a willing member of the audience. “We might not be in L.A. for a long time,” Steen shared before closing the set with another stage dive. At the end of their set, he shook every hand of the crowd members who reached out, showing really great showmanship.

Protomartyr took the stage around 11:00 p.m. while some atmospheric sounds played for their entrance. They opened with “My Children” off their latest album Relatives In Descent and the crowd filled the Teragram with comfortable room to nod and headbang along. They often transitioned straight into the next songs, not leaving much room to pause or talk, unless the drum mic was malfunctioning in which singer Joe Casey practically performed a stand-up comedy routine. In addition to sharing his take and spoilers from the movie, Hurricane Heist, which the crowd ate up, Casey also shared some funny anecdotes: “This is our last show with Shame… it’s really hard turning 40, and I thought it would be hard to be without Shame, but I feel like Shame is with me every day,” and the crowd laughed. “We have two new songs to bore the shit out of you,” he shared before diving into two back-to-back new songs that did not, in fact, bore the crowd.

The new songs were in the vein of those off Relatives In Descent — repetitive, punk and dark. “This next song’s gonna be terrible, you should just get a drink or go to the bathroom,” Casey joked before diving in to “I Stare at Floors.” Casey had a cushioned stool laden near him with beers for him to easily grab. He casually held his beer in his hand during the remaining songs, and his body movements matched the sound of his voice — low and lethargic.

As the sound guys fixed the drum mic again, Casey had another crack at his standup. “I must say, the drum is the most important part of the band…” before he started talking about Hurricane Heist again, making fun of the fact that they used English actors for Southern accents. During “The Devil in His Youth” a tame mosh pit formed during the fast tempo part. The crowd really got into “Don’t Go to Anacita” as well, jumping around and getting even more involved in the pit. Before the encore, Casey shared “The thing is, I have a terrible cold…” but nonetheless, they finished the set strong as the crowd made the most of the last to songs of the set, bouncing and moving around into the night.

Protomartyr Setlist:

1. My Children
2. I Forgive You
3. Ain’t So Simple
4. Face
5. Win, Always
6. Windsor Hum
7. I Stare At Floors
8. Up The Tower
9. Male Plague
10. What the Wall Said
11. The Devil in His Youth
12. Trust Me Billy
13. Principalities
14. A Private Understanding
15. Here Is the Thing
16. Come and See
17. Don’t Go to Anacita
18. Half Sister

Encore:

1. Why does it Shake?
2. Scum, Rise!