DIIV at The Regent — Photo: Andrew Gomez

LA based trio Tishaki Miyaki opened up for DIIV this past Sunday night at The Regent and got things rolling at a leisurely pace. With Lucy Miyaki on vocals and drums, backed by Rocky Tashaki and Dora Miller on guitar and bass, the trio combines jangle pop with fuzzy female vocals at a sedate and resplendent pace. Also opening for DIIV was garage rock band The Paranoyds who played a lively set amping the crowd for a night of pure musical bliss. They played in their usual sing-shout punk manner with a hint of charm from the female leads Staz, Laila, and Lexi.

When it was time for Brooklyn Based DIIV to take the stage they received a tremendous welcome back to Los Angeles. “Hey guys, we are The DIIV” said lead vocalist Zachary Cole Smith as the band enticed an enthusiastic crowd with a strong set playing mostly old material from their first album Oshin with a splash of sophomore album Is the Is Are.

Before DIIV played “Dopamine” (a song about drugs) Smith was proud to announce that he had been 85 days sober and explained how it’s changed his life and encouraged others to find help if they were in need of any. With that said, it was clear that DIIV has had an attitude adjustment as they ripped through their set with incredible energy from Smith. Also in unusual DIIV fashion, Smith was taking song requests from fans making it a more personalized set for Los Angeles fans who were able to sucker the band into playing “Earthboy” which they had no idea how to play but gave it a shot and still killed it. DIIV 2.0 closed out their blissful set with “Human” from Oshin.

Words & Photography: Andrew Gomez