The beloved indie rock vets were spellbinding in San Diego along with opener They Are Gutting A Body Of Water
On the heels of the release of their dense, excellent new album Frog In Boiling Water (which made our Top 50 Albums of 2024 So Far list), NYC indie rock band DIIV made a tour stop at the Observatory North Park in San Diego to the delight of a packed crowd. The band – comprised of Zachary Cole Smith, Colin Caulfield, Andrew Bailey, and Ben Newman – played a set that heavily featured tracks off that most recent album, as well as several tracks off previous LP Deceiver, and a couple tracks off their first two albums sprinkled in as well.
The vibe was intense, dark, and heavy – with elements of shoegaze, dream pop, and slowcore blending together in heady, hypnotic ways. Smith and Bailey’s dueling guitars shone alongside Caulfield and Newman’s throttling rhythms, as fog machines and blinding strobe lights cultivated a mesmerizing atmosphere. Tracks like “Somber The Drums” and “Brown Paper Bag” had the crowd zoning out in meditative fashion while “Doused” and “Blankenship” had them vibing and thrashing in good measure. Via stunningly surgical musicianship and top notch, telepathic onstage chemistry, DIIV continue to up their performance game with each touring cycle, proving themselves to be one of the best live bands of their generation. If they’re coming through a city near you, it’s a show you cannot miss.
Earlier in the night, Philadelphia’s staticky, experimental, and electronic-tinged shoegaze band They Are Gutting A Body Of Water (affectionately nicknamed TAGABOW, for short) opened with a fiery set of their own – backs to the crowd and all. You can scroll through below for some of the highlights.
All Photos By Jeff Cubbison
DIIV
They Are Gutting A Body Of Water
