Deafheaven strike night one at The Roxy with captivating and cathartic performance

Last Friday, Deafheaven’s sold out show at The Roxy kicked off strong with their first single “Brought To The Water” off their latest album New Bermuda which was just released this past October. Immediately, the crowd erupted like a volcano spewing hot lava. Only here, the lava was sweaty fans engulfed by the kinetic energy of Deafheaven. The eight-minute song took fans on a ride of emotions, and the audience responded with nothing but adoration for Deafheaven. Singer George Clarke gave 110 percent in his performance, connecting with the fans and often times reaching out to touch their hands or just completely collapsing into them as he leaned forward. Clarke is animated and passionate, which the fans reflected back by mimicking him as he swayed his hands and arms during the instrumental parts of the songs. Like a puppeteer, Clarke’s raw emotion was the strings controlling the crowd.

Throughout the night Deafheaven mainly played cuts off of their new record, along with fan favorites “Come Back” and “Luna”. Deafheaven’s set ended with songs from their critically acclaimed sophomore album Sunbather. They played “Sunbather” and “Dreamhouse” which brought the energy to next level. The room was on fire as half the audience crowd surfed and stage dived while the rest just watched as though they were in deep thought. While Deafheaven is riveting, powerful and full of fierce energy, their music is often times a cathartic experience.

The show ended, the curtains came down, and people started walking out. Unsurprisingly their second night at the Roxy was also sold-out, but people were already chatting about trying to find tickets for the “next night”.

Recap & Photography: Jazz Shademan