“Test, test,” slenderbodies frontman said upon taking the stage. The California-based indie pop duo were opening for Massachusetts-bred rock band PVRIS at the Roxy Theatre. The 500-person capacity room was a smaller venue than PVRIS is probably used to as of late, and it was therefore of great importance for slenderbodies to properly warm up a crowd for such an intimate setting.
With breathy vocals and dreamy beats, slenderbodies did just so. Among the handful of songs, they also covered MGMT’s “Electric Feel,” both a testament to the electropop kings and a smart tactic to draw the crowd in. slenderbodies closed their set with a new song: “Not even on the internet!”
Not much later, PVRIS entered the stage to a sea of phones and opened with “Heaven,” the first track on their most recent album All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell. The set was high energy from the start, with the crowd finishing out the chorus alone and frontwoman Lynn Gunn commanding, “Let me see you jump!” The band adorned all black, save for Lynn’s white Playboy tee (a possible ode to her recent feature in the magazine).
PVRIS followed with White Noise favorites “Mirrors,” “St. Patrick” and “Smoke,” with Gunn often encouraging the crowd to put their hands up, not that they really needed the encouragement. At the end of “St. Patrick,” the audience finished the song, singing the last line alone: “I still wait for you, wait for you.” The trio began “Smoke” with a set of moody “oohs” until plunging into the very rock and roll White Noise track.
The next part of the set was a string of songs from All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell. The crowd continued the apparent tradition that evening of jumping during the choruses. By now, an LGBT flag was draped over Gunn’s mic stand, where it stayed whether she was using the stand or not. The AWKHAWNH series of songs was momentarily interrupted by “Holy,” a song that critiques religion. “Come on sing this next part,” Gun instructed for the chorus, to which the crowd did, especially one fan in the back of the room that you could hear over everyone else.
“Thank you so much for being here. Holy shit,” Gunn said as bassist Brian Macdonald and touring drummer Justin Nance exited the stage. Guitarist Alex Babinski remained onstage with Gunn for a stripped down part of the set, Gunn on keys. Partway through “Same Soul,” Gunn paused to check on the crowd: “You guys alright?… Hydrated?… Rested?” “No,” the crowd shouted back unexpectedly in unison. “Same,” Gunn replied, half-joking. “Just checking. Intermission.” The song’s arrangement was simple, vulnerable and that was all washed away with the dimming out of the lights for the band to kick back into full gear.
The band made their way to “My House,” a riotous standout. There was much jumping and the crowd taking lead-in vocals, no less. For one line, Gunn changed the lyrics from “but darling you can’t stay” to “but LA you can’t stay.” As the song finished out, the band got as close to the front of the stage as possible. Even the drummer was up on his feet. Macdonald’s fist punched into the air.
When PVRIS reentered the stage for the encore, “No Mercy,” the crowd rushed the stage by incitement of Gunn. The crowd clustered together so that they only took up half as much space. The final act of dancing finished out with Nance tossing the crowd his sticks and the band high fiving the audience.
PVRIS are known for their black and white aesthetic, paranormal charm and electro-goth sound. Yet somehow the night was the antithesis of what those characteristics might suggest because, amid the dark, heavy sounds are a personable trio that gives their fans back what the fans put out: high energy all night long. The night was a rally of sorts, with the band en route to their first Coachella set. The night was colorful, and not just because of the lights.
PVRIS Setlist:
- Heaven
- Mirrors
- St. Patrick
- Smoke
- Half
- Holy
- You and I
- Same Soul
- What’s Wrong
- Winter
- Separate
- Anyone Else
- My House
Encore
- No Mercy
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi
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