Noise has never sounded as good as it did at Lincoln Hall on February 27, 2023. Gilla Band closed out their U.S. tour with a bang, to say the least! They gave us Chicago fans a powerfully deafening experience they will never forget.
That Monday night saw Lincoln Hall completely packed, a place where there is no such thing as a bad spot. The venue is sophisticated and grand, rich with Chicago history. Yet intimate enough that you can be up to the artist’s thighs during their performance. The theme of their concert, and arguably their music, was noise. It is truly quite impressive that they made feedback, beats, and haunting vocals sound so badass live. What makes Gilla Band so special is their ability to take their instruments to uncomfortable places and have them produce sounds they are not meant to produce, and out of that make incredible music.
This is even more impressive when you are able to witness Gilla Band’s psychotic process live in the flesh.
Opening the show was the Brooklyn-based Pure Adult. The experimental experience they put on was thoroughly chaotic and frantic. While the noises produced by guitar and keyboard were enamoring, it was hard not to be hypnotized by the beautiful beats of the rhythm section. Despite not knowing who they were before the show, they put on a spectacular set that kept making my face contort in awe. Simply put, they were just so cool.
From the moment Gilla Band produced the first ungodly sounds from their instruments, there wasn’t a single dull moment following. With each song, the band applied layer after layer of starting and stopping as a way of tension throwing the audience on a roller coaster of noise rock intensity. The crowd was consistently engaged, moshing and singing throughout!
Gilla took to the stage looking sharp. Simply looking at them, you could not imagine the music they were making.
Frontman Dara Kiely owned the stage with the vibe of LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. He belted out impressive vocals as the stage lights complimented his majestic hair and clean outfit. As impressive as it was to see the band effortlessly produce the most haunting sounds of punk and techno-inspired beats, their showmanship was also unparalleled. At one point, bassist Daniel Fox used an empty beer bottle to play his bass!
The guitars vibrated throughout your entire body building to an intense climax. And that point was reached when Gilla Band closed with a cover of “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage.”. As if the crowd couldn’t get any rowdier, the Monday night crowd ignited into an unbridled frenzy.
Gilla Band is truly a unique live experience. It is truly remarkable how the noise they create and the feedback they deliberately let ring out make for incredible music.
Through their experimentation, they’ve created songs that are terrifying, dancy, harsh, and raucous. But make no mistake, they didn’t need any fancy set production or wild stage antics to visually suit headbanging. Gilla Band more than makes up for that with their raw talent and ingenuity.
All photos by Oscar De Leon
