I think I’m spoiled now, having This Will Destroy You as a “local band” who are sure to play Los Angeles on pretty much any trek around the US they make. Their live shows never seem to disappoint, and in fact are some of the most enjoyable I’ve seen in recent years. Their sets aren’t packed with new material with one or two songs thrown in from early records. Their musicianship is always on point. The sound is fantastic (at times even pant-leg-shaking loud). The visuals (digital projections on a screen behind the drummer) are, you know, whatever. The crowd is always super receptive. Oh, and they’ve always got some dumb new piece of merch that is good for a chuckle. One time they had skate decks for sale, another time they had custom herb grinders.
Saturday night at the Teragram Ballroom was no exception. The first thing I noticed when I approached the merch booth before their set was a “new” seven-inch release for $5 with immediately recognizable cover art. “Kitchen” is a limited-edition picture flexi disc containing one (I imagine) 6-minute, 30-second song. The picture is a serving vessel used at the Los Angeles restaurant Vespertine, where yours truly had the opportunity to dine on his birthday a couple years ago. I wrote about how TWDY scored the soundtrack to the restaurant during my review of the experience. As it turns out, the band has not only captured one of those tracks on this release, but guitarist Jeremy Galindo mentioned that a full Vespertine soundtrack is forthcoming. Very cool. Not as cool as a birthday candle you blow out only to learn it’s also edible (made of chocolate and almond), but still pretty cool!
I stated previously how happy I was with the show. I loved the composition of their setlist, which included five songs from their self-titled album, three from Young Mountain, and one each from Another Language and the two New Others discs. I mean…I could always go for more Another Language, but that would really be nitpicking. I have precious little to complain about when the song choices are this good. That said, “Dustism” was a highlight. And “War Prayer” was probably the highlight of the band’s last show in LA, at the Regent. And I’d kill to hear “Memory Loss” live. Fuck it, they should just do a full tour of just playing Another Language from start to finish.
This Will Destroy You is currently set to play Psycho Las Vegas this summer. More than likely that will be my next chance to see the band live. It’d be awesome if they whipped out some heavier numbers to mark the occasion, but if the songs are anything like this past weekend’s, it’s going to be a rad show. Or, you know, they could play this supposed Vespertine soundtrack in its entirely, while chef Kahn descends from the rafters and prepares a (free, of course) fifteen course meal for all those in attendance. We need more immersive, multi-sensory performances these days. Maybe the next stage of evolution for heavy instrumental rock bands is to tote a chef around with them who can do live cooking demos during the concert.
This Will Destroy You
February 15, 2020
Teragram Ballroom
Los Angeles, CA
Setlist:
01. The Mighty Rio Grande
02. There Are Some Remedies Worse Than The Disease
03. A Three-Legged Workhorse
04. Clubs
05. They Move On Tracks Of Never-Ending Light
06. Dustism
07. Threads
08. Weeping Window
09. Burial On The Presidio Banks
Encore:
01. Quiet
02. The World Is Our ____
