Gustaf played a packed out Secret Fires night at Zebulon for a show celebrating the life of the Father of Loud Jim Marshall. He founded Marshall Amplification and the company was at Zebulon in a massive display of music power, bringing 6 stacks of amplifiers that were lined up at the back of the stage. If the stage was larger, their might have been 7 stacks as there were some additional amps off in the stage stairwell. Were those amps used during the set? Unfortunately not as I suspect that would be too much power for Zebulon's electrical systems to handle and perhaps the ears of the band and audience.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
This was my third time catching a Gustaf set. The two previous nights were very memorable in good and bittersweet ways. My first time was back in 2019 when they opened up for Feels who was celebrating their sophomore album Post Earth at The Echo. I covered the night for Buzzbands and you can read and see the photos here. Gustaf responded to my Q&As at the time with a humorous and short response (I do call my interviews Quick Hit Interviews for a reason). I'll reprint it below:
Q. How would you describe your sound? A. Audio drag for ego slobs.
Q. For the band and its future, how would you define success? A. Handheld sustainable euphoria.
The next time I saw Gustaf was in 2020 when they helped Kalynn Barnum celebrate her music photo exhibit at The Satellite. Now I did say that seeing Gustaf was both good and bittersweet. This night was definitely bittersweet in a retrospective way. Oh, it was an awesome night of music, let's not dispute that. Broken Baby also played that night. That Los Angeles band is one of my favorites. This night happened in February 2020. I did not know it at the time, but that would be the last time I stepped inside the venue. Within weeks, venues across the city shut down and The Satellite (which I have to say was my favorite venue) never reopened. Gustaf, actually, was the last band I ever saw play the stage at The Satellite. Yes, bittersweet.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
Back to Zebulon, the crowd was definitely hyped for the band. As drummer Melissa Lucciola was setting up her kit prior to the set, there were cheers. The anticipation only rose as time grew closer for the start of the set, with the crowd pressing tightly around the stage. Suddenly, those nearest to the green room entrance started to roar. I'm of average height, but I couldn't see a thing. I'm sure that applied to most everyone else, but everyone got the hint and the whole venue joined the roar.
The band is led by vocalist Lydia Gammill who had fun fiddling with her sunglasses throughout the set. At one point, she would tilt them so that one eye would be visible while the other would remain behind the other darkened lens. At another moment, she'd flip the shades up into her hair. And when the set headed towards the finale, she decided she'd had enough fun with them and tossed them onto the stage. Throughout the spoken word punk vocals, it was also fun watching her sculpture her blond hair.
The band opened up the night with "Statue" from their sophomore album Package Pt. 2 and then followed it up with "Liquid Frown" from their debut album Audio Drag for Ego Slobs (oh wait, way back in 2019 they told me what their debut album title would be). Throughout the set, the band showed no bias towards either album, playing songs from both. Gammill did put claim to the stage from the very beginning, take her microphone stand and pounding it on the stage floor. At other times during the set, she'd take a leap and land with a perfect ten impact that would send the sound waves of her boots hitting the stage outward into the audience. "Liquid Frown" had her playing the flute to open the instrumental portion of the song. At one point, Gammill had to take stock of the Marshall amp stacks, giving it a count.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
Tarra Thiessen on percussion had a full suitcase of toy instruments. That suitcase included a Cafe Bustelo Can that gave some of their songs a most distinct sound such as "Let Me In." Of course, one can't forget the heavily distorted vocals that she provided. She also took on the role of head cheerleader that sent her off into the crowd a couple times, a crowd that quickly engulfed her from sight as the mosh pit crew had the time of their lives.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
Songs such as "Best Behavior" with the lyrics "I needed you to hear. That I hadn't thought of anyone else today. Just you." and "Close" with the lyrics "When you close your eyes. Are you close?" that had Gammill singing with her eyes closed got some of the loudest cheers from the audience.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
Bassist Tine Hill played it cool on stage. One has to think she's the organizer of the band who keeps everyone on schedule. Why would I say that? Well, the band had a 17 song setlist that they had listed out on burlap tote bags (which became fan souvenirs as soon as the set ended). From what I could tell, everyone in the band had the messiest handwriting. Song titles were scratched out. Arrows were pointing here and there. Mid set, Hill held up her tote bag. The setlist was written in perfect upper case writing. The only error perhaps was a misjudgment about how to fit 17 songs on one side of the tote bag, because towards the end of the set she needed to flip the bag over for the final four songs. Let's not forget guitarist Vram Kherlopian. Vram and Tarra are celebrating their second anniversary as a married couple. He played the guitar with joy and shifted his body to the sounds of the art punk music. He probably had the most fun when his wife crossed the stage to join him in mutual band member worship.
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| Gustaf at Zebulon |
The night ended with Thiessen doing magical dances next to Gammill and Lucciola to disappear them from the stage. The final moment of the night was the above mentioned interaction between the married couple.
Setlist: Statue, Liquid Frown, Let Me In, What Does it Mean, Best Behavior, Happiest Thought, Book, Produce, Dog, Dream, Mine, Weighing Me Down, The Motions, Cruel, Starting and Staring, Close, Boom Bah.
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