DEATH GRIPS LIVE

September 14, 2016 ~ The Observatory, Santa Ana

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Magicfingers:

You know how all of us from the younger generations are always asking our parents and grandparents if they ever got to see The Beatles live in concert? Or the Rolling Stones, or Zeppelin, or Elvis? I am convinced in around 60 years, our very own grandchildren will ask us if we ever had the chance to see Death Grips perform.

Death Grips live was an experience like no other. I’ve never been so happy to find myself questioning whether the sound I was hearing was even music. Death Grips is its own genre of music, there are just a couple of other genres that are slightly comparable, but none that would properly encompass this group. I truly believe what these guys are creating is a new step forward in music. It could very well be the music of the future.

When I first found my place in the venue, I was a little surprised that there was no opening band. But after the show was over, I completely understood. There is no band that could open for Death Grips. There is no way to prepare a crowd for what they are about to experience at a Death Grips concert. There is also no way anyone could follow them, and I pity any musicians who have ever had to do that. They deserve to close out every stage they set foot on.

The crowd was surprisingly diverse. Some of the people looked like they definitely belonged, but there were a large amount of people who looked like people you would never expect to be into this type of music. Part of the reason I think this group is really going places is because it became evidently clear to me that they have discovered a way to deeply connect with people on a new level.

The show started with a synthesizer rising slowly but steadily, building in volume and intensity for what was either a 3 or 30 minutes. Hard to say which. It brought the heart rate up in every one of the people who stood waiting in the sold-out venue. The release of tension when the music began was other-worldly.

The music itself was mind blowing. It gave me the sense of full intensity and complete relaxation at the same time. The energy flowed but never waivered. The songs were shortened, or extended at times but always transitioned into each other seamlessly. Every change was unexpectedly delightful. There wasn't a moment of silence.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the music was the fact that they had created sounds at such a fast tempo, that I wasn’t completely sure at times if I was hearing a bunch of extremely quick rapid-fire notes or if I was hearing one long continuous droning note. I’m pretty sure that their drummer, Zach Hill is actually a robot. No way any human being can move that fast for that long.

I could almost never make out any of the words from vocalist MC Ride, yet he was still able to perfectly convey emotions and feelings that were easy to connect with and understand. Between him, Zach Hill and the third member of the group, producer Andy Morin, the physicality of the performance was awe-inspiring. The music and motion of their bodies become one synchronized expression.

They almost never directly interacted with the crowd but still felt present in the moment. The crowd itself was absolutely insane. There wasn't a single person who wasn’t moving their body in one way or another. The building came to life. The energy was steady from beginning to end.

This event was a form of human expression that was unlike anything I had previously experienced. I left the venue feeling unexpectedly motivated and inspired.

If you have never seen Death Grips live, you actually need to add this to your bucket list right now. Preferably get to it as soon as possible.

??/10

(We need a different scale for this one.)

Photo by: Aleksandr Zykov

Spread Melody Maker Cross the Block:

IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES IT GOES…

Death Grips is the revolution.  There are no musical acts that sound anything like them.  On September 14, I learned that no one puts on a show like they do too.

Magic Fingers and I had the pleasure of seeing Death Grips at my personal favorite venue, The Observatory in Santa Ana.  Fairly relaxed security, always a great mix of people at the shows, absolutely fantastic sound system, there’s not much to dislike about the place.

We walk into the dimly blue-lit venue and already the show has started.  No, Death Grips wasn’t on stage yet, and no there was not an opening band.  There wasn’t even music playing in the background.  There was just a synth playing the Shepard tone.  For anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s basically an illusion to the ear that sounds like a pitch is ascending forever when it is not.  Check out an example here:

Now imagine that for about 30 minutes.  An incredible amount of subconscious suspense starts to build up inside you until you have an intense desire to fuck shit up and you NEED Death Grips to come out.  And when they did come out, holy shit.

The lights go out and MC Ride, Andy Morin, and Zach Hill take their positions on stage.  Death Grips have an amazing kind of stage presence, even though they said zero words to the audience the whole show or even really acknowledged the crowd’s existence.  All three of them don’t seem human on stage.   The motions that MC Ride make are permanently imprinted in my brain, especially their opening song “Whatever I Want” from Government Plates.  Zach Hill’s drumming is just fucking ridiculous.  It’s a mystery how a man could play drums with the intensity that Hill is able to with very, very little rest for an hour and twenty minutes.  Andy Morin seemed like some mad scientist being electrocuted constantly while operating his machine.  Together, they put on one of the most intense, high energy performances that exists right now.

Even though Death Grips were putting on an intense performance, the crowd had no problem keeping up.  The second Death Grips started playing, bodies and fists started flying, people were jumping, and people were singing every lyric to every song.  Death Grips fans don’t fuck around.  In fact, the crowd was almost as fun to watch as Death Grips was.  It’s because the music provokes something in you – something primal.  I must admit, when “Giving Bad People Good Ideas” came on, I went apeshit.

Death Grips were able to pummel through 25 songs.  Several songs were getting their live debut as well, including many tracks off their latest album Bottomless Pit.  There was a total 0 minutes and 0 seconds of break time between songs.  Some songs they drew out drastically, and some they used to medley into the next song, but there was never silence from all three band members.  They were playing at such a non-stop rate, it would be hard to know at times when they stopped one song and started another.

One last note on their stage presence.  Usually when a band doesn’t engage with the crowd, it’s considered poor showmanship.  This was an exception.  The “don’t give a shit” attitude is carried out impeccably by them to the point it would be weirder if they did acknowledge the crowd’s existence.  There was no opener and they did not give an encore.  I’ve never gone to a concert where an encore wasn’t given, and I never thought I would be so ok about it.  Once again, it would have seemed weirder if they would have come out for an encore than not coming out.

This show will stay with me for a long time.  It was the kind of show that made me feel a very specific sort of way, and kept that feeling for a couple days after the show.  I didn’t just go to a concert.  I went to a Death Grips show.

9.8/10

I don't think there are any videos of them performing live that do their shows justice. So enjoy their latest music video (which is really intriguing) for the track "Eh".

Here's a link to their website. Go check shit out.

http://thirdworlds.net/index.php

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Header Photo by: Montecruz Foto