As I strode through the streets of Philadelphia on an unreasonably pleasant evening, I thought to myself that perhaps we're in for an early start to spring. It took me until right now, as I began to flesh out my thoughts on Deafheaven's spectacular show at the Union Transfer, to realize how perfect a metaphor the unusual early-March warmth was for the fresh, unexpected direction the band's music had taken on their new album Infinite Granite. While the band's genre identity has remained fluid throughout their entire career, it would be fair to say that the band's home base is rooted in black metal. Throwing nearly all of those elements away on Infinite Granite, released in August of last year, Deafheaven threw their fans a curveball that perfectly painted the black, and has clearly struck a chord within its fanbase.
Upon entry into the venue for the ceremonial merch window-shopping session, I was reminded of how rapid the band's ascension has been. When the band released Sunbather, which became their undeniable breakthrough, there wasn't a music festival on earth that they weren't rumored to be playing. They had riffs that could stand up to those of any of the metal genre's stalwarts, but their post-rock/shoegaze interludes made them accessible enough for fans of a number of different genres to dip their feet into the water with them. As they plunged deeper into experimentation with their sound, more and more people noticed, and the band quietly became one of the biggest names in metal, without passing through many of the rites of passage within the genre. There was never an appearance on a major metal summer touring festival. They were never hand-picked to open for Slipknot, although a co-headliner with Gojira is certainly a feather in the cap. Deafheaven have done things in a way that has set them apart from their peers in metal, and now they've become peerless: a band whose sound, image, and vision are matched by no other artist, regardless of genre.
If the bands chosen to open for Deafheaven on their first major US tour in support of Infinite Granite are any indication, the attention to detail the band puts into its music is equal to the attention paid to crafting an evening of music.
Taking the stage first was Midwife, with a stage setup unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Armed with only a guitar and a pedal board complete with looping instrumentals (reminiscent of the Julien Baker's early days), Midwife's maestro Madeline Johnston took the stage unassumingly, plugged in, and threw on some studio headphones as she locked in for a sprawling set of songs. What's most striking about Midwife's performance is how it's delivered. You'll see some pictures below, and make sure you look at them carefully. You see, Johnston isn't singing into a microphone. That's a telephone. And I'm not talking about a cell phone, either: she's singing into the receiver of an old home telephone, one that she built for this tour. This produced vocals that were more haunting than welcoming to the arriving crowd, but served as an immediate hook that the audience bit into. This is never okay, but in sets that only feature one performer and quiet vocals, some people can get chatty in the crowd. However, that was never the case, as Johnston's crooning and strumming were the sole focus of the attention in the room the entire time she was playing. This was my first exposure to Midwife's music, and I was made an immediate fan. The musical arrangements are so intimate, and the vocal delivery makes you feel like Johnston is confessing her darkest secrets in each song. I'm excited that I was able to get introduced to Midwife, and I'm even more excited to see where this project is headed next.
Another benefit of having Midwife on this tour is that since there's only one person taking the stage, the time between sets is nearly eliminated. That was huge for me, because Holy Fawn was up next, and they are without a doubt one of the best bands I've started listening to over the last couple of years. While I was already interested in seeing Deafheaven, once Holy Fawn was announced as the direct support of the tour, this became a can't-miss show. I saw the band just before the pandemic started on tour with Thrice, and my assumptions that the band's music was going to translate well into a live setting were correct. Fast forward two years, and the band I once compared to Deafheaven (one of the best compliments I can bestow) is now opening for them. Aside from a few mini-tours, this was the first extended trip on the road the band have been on, and the rust has been sufficiently shaken off. Opening with "Candy," a song from the band's EP The Black Moon, released just before their tour with Thrice in 2020, the band's first impression to the crowd was a great one. They then went straight into "Dark Stone," the leadoff track from their debut LP Death Spells. A last-second audible saw the band unveil a new song to the crowd. Titled "Death is a Release" (although I'm not sure if the band was joking when they said the title), it fits perfectly with the rest of the band's catalog, and might even be a little heavier than their previous work. A few more standouts from Death Spells later, and the crowd was cheering loudly as the band unleashed a wall of sound to end their set. There are very few bands that can hold up against Deafheaven's quality, but Holy Fawn's blend of self-described "loud, heavy, pretty noises" gave the crowd a set to remember at Union Transfer.
There are a number of live videos of Deafheaven readily available on Youtube that you can watch if you haven't seen them in concert yet. I remember the first one I watched was a performance of "Dream House" at the Pitchfork Music Festival, and it was incredible. I promise you, though, there is nothing like the real thing. Once they took the stage and played a trio of Infinite Granite tracks, the band's left little to no doubt to anyone in attendance that they were one of the best musical acts on this planet, or any other, right now. While "Shellstar" and "In Blur" provided excellent pace to begin the set, those two tracks were clearly there to set up "Great Mass of Color," Granite's first single. While the layered instrumentals on the album are a wonder to behold, the band clearly amped things up to better suit the rowdy crowds they play to each night, and "Great Mass of Color" provided one of the night's biggest roars upon its completion. It may have even been my favorite song they performed of the night, and there were plenty of nominees.
I was intrigued to see what Deafheaven's setlist would look like, given the sonic shift that Infinite Granite brought about. Would this softer tone lead to the exclusion of the band's formative, heavier material? Thankfully, after a brief greeting from George Clarke, the band ripped into a slew of older songs, starting with "Honeycomb" from Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, Granite's predecessor. Perhaps the surprise of this portion of the set--and the entire set at large--was the inclusion of "From The Kettle Onto the Coil," a track released through Adult Swim, of all places. Once the older material was addressed, however, there was a return to the tracks of Infinite Granite, as the band went back into their most recent release by playing the album's second single "The Gnashing," which allowed for guitarists Shiv Mehra and Kerry McCoy to show their plethora of skills, before ending the main set with the album-ender "Mombasa." The final track of Infinite Granite offers one of the few sections where the band channel their more aggressive side, and that outro served as the perfect way to wrap up the main set.
As Clarke returned to inform the crowd that the band were set to play two more songs, the crowd geared up for what may be the two most cathartic songs I've seen played back-to-back since I watched Brand New end a set by playing "Degausser" into "You Won't Know." Up first was "Brought to the Water," the leadoff track from the band's 2015 effort New Bermuda. While there was more headbanging than a bottle of Advil could soothe going on in Union Transfer, there wasn't much of a presence of a mosh pit. However, just as the song was starting, Clarke motioned to the modest pit that had formed, informing them to pick their energy up. This caused a frenzy that lasted throughout the rest of the set, with Clarke intermittently going from stage to barricade to scream with the attendees in the front row. By the time "Brought to the Water" reached its conclusion, there was nothing said in between songs, only a gesture to acknowledge the beginning of what the crowd already knew was coming: Clarke pointed to Kerry McCoy, who began to play the opening riff of "Dream House," the opening track of Sunbather, and perhaps the very song that sent Deafheaven along the trail they've been blazing over the last decade. There was a surge forward, an even bigger pit opening, and the night's first crowd surfers, as Clarke continued switch between his visceral onstage movements and his singing along the barricade.
A moment that happened just before the crashing crescendo of "Dream House" occurred that night in Philadelphia that I think embodies this entire tour, and the impact Deafheaven is making. Just as Kerry McCoy was plucking along before the outro, in a brief moment of rest, Shiv Mehra went over to speak to Ryan Osterman of Holy Fawn, who was just offstage. Holy Fawn's members have been watching Deafheaven from the side of the stage every night, and posting snippets of their performances on their Instagram, so I figured that's what was happening. Appearing to look over to make sure Mehra was ready for the catharsis to come, Clarke spotted Osterman, and invited him onstage. "Come on out, let's do this," Clarke said (or something like that--I can't remember exactly). Osterman, clearly excited, took the microphone from Mehra's stand, as Clarke declared "I'm coming to sing this with you," which was directed at the crowd. Sure enough, the cymbals crashed, the guitars wailed, Osterman began to scream the iconic "Dream House" line "I want to dream," and Clarke was fully parallel to the floor, being passed around the crowd in a frenzy. I knew this was going to be an incredible moment, but once Osterman was brought onstage, it became a moment that will live in infamy in my memory. There Deafheaven were, about to go into perhaps the most iconic two minutes of their already legendary career, and because of the respect they've commanded, a member of their openers is brought onstage to make the moment even more special. It was a beautiful reminder of how music brings people together, and how truly talented artists making heartfelt music can create euphoria in an instant. Deafheaven have become defined by living up to the hype they've created for themselves, and by clearing the bar they keep setting higher and higher. And on a Sunday that felt like spring in Philadelphia, I was reminded that this band is truly limitless.
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