Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
– LOS ANGELES – The Midwest emo band Cursive pulled into The Regent Theater to celebrate the release of their 10th LP “Devourer” . . . hold that music description.
The band mocked that description of their sound, admitting that maybe one of their songs had an emo flavor to it, but other than that, their press release describes their music as the “blurring of lines between indie rock and post-hardcore.”
As for the LP title, lead singer Tim Kasher has said, “”I am obsessive about consuming the arts. Music, film, literature. I’ve come to recognize that I devour all of these art forms then, in turn, create my own versions of these things and spew them out onto the world. It’s positive; you’re part of an ecosystem. But I quickly recognized that the term, ‘Devourer,’ may also embody something gnarly, sinister. Maybe a better word for it is imperialism. But it’s in many different forms. It’s not just the political. It’s personal imperialism and the imperialism of relationships, the way we imperialize one another, even ourselves.”
That personal introspection and the political insights cross generations. On this particular night at The Regent Theater, a number of young people were pressed close to the stage, listening with great intent or pogo dancing to a ’90s rock band playing a setlist that included some songs that, as Kasher mentioned, were written before some in the audience were born. The band joked about their age as it was mentioned that they play “adult” music, not “kids” music.
Their song “Up and Away” had people singing the lyrics and jumping for joy. Patrick Newberry on keys and trumpet could be seen playing both at the same time during songs such as the introspective song “From the Hips.” Cellist Megan Siebe went punk rock even while sitting throughout the set. For their new song “Dark Star,” the soft glow of golden stage lights draped the band.
As in regards to that Midwest emo tag, the band felt that their song “Downhill Racers” is the cause. “The Casualty” had the headbanging crowd involved. Throughout the set, a projection was flashing the Devourer album cover art across the back of the stage. It looked like a nuclear bomb was constantly exploding and spreading red radiation towards the audience.
After playing the triumphant sounding “Staying Alive,” the band took a brief break before coming back to conclude the set with three final encore songs. The final encore “Art Is Hard” stood out from their post-hardcore rock music. The ending drifted ever so slightly into big band jazz territory – one could imagine seeing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers toe tapping at lightning speed.
One thing that was noticed: there were a lot of photographers in the audience. The band posted on Instagram that they were looking for photographers to shoot the show. The photographers were more than thrilled to have gotten an email telling them that they could bring their cameras into the venue. That’s a pretty cool move by the band, putting out a call for photographers. Gotta love bands who love photographers.
Their comment of the night: Don’t f*cking normalize hate.
Opening up the night was Pile, powered by the heavy beats of the bass and bass drum. It got the head banging going throughout the set though when they slowed it down for a song, they got some of their largest cheers. Their last song was dedicated to “The Soft Hands of Stephen Miller.” (Stephen Miller the political advisor). The song opens with, “From a long line of translucent lizards comes our boy Stephen.”
Cursive Setlist: Bloodbather, The Radiator Hums, The Sun and Moon, Up and Away, Rookie, Mothership, Mothership, Do You Read Me?, The Recluse, It’s Gonna Hurt, A Gentleman Caller, From the Hips, Opening the Hymnal / Babies, Dark Star, Downhill Racers, The Casualty, Staying Alive. Encore: Dorothy at Forty, Botch Job, Art Is Hard.
Pile Setlist: Deep Clay, Loops, Loosened, Baby Boy, Opening, Rope’s Length, Scaling Walls, Nude With A Suitcase, Fingers, The Soft Hands of Stephen Miller
