On record, Model/Actriz can come across as a strictly heavy post-punk band with their buzzsaw riffs and clanging beats, but to see the band live is to see an act that not only enlivens their records, but puts them on a whole new level. Entering the stage in dramatic fashion, lead singer Cole Haden swept the crowd up in their flare for the extreme, voguing around the stage and striking poses with their microphone chord as if they were leading us all through a seance for the dance gods. The band's songs always have a pulsating bass line, but when they hit the stage, things transform from edgy punk to all out industrial rave music and the entire room felt the energy come alive. "Vespers," the opening track from the band's most recent album Pirouettes, kicked off the set and established the dark tones of the night. While Haden was electric with their performance, the rest of the band stayed relatively still, their striking and dissonant tones doing the majority of the work while they raised the volume to epic heights to enhance the intensity of the show. "Mosquito" saw the crowd really start to engage and bring on the dance vibes that would go harder and harder as the night progressed and when the band hit us with "Diva," the lines between dance party and mosh pit started to blur and soon the majority of the floor was moving along with the motion of the music and the room gelled with excitement. Haden made several costume changes going from hoodie to ashy sleeveless hooded shirt, to a rather sheer white veil between each lap through the crowd. Hitting us with ballroom behavior, Haden worked the crowd both from the stage and the pit and spent nearly as much time dancing and shaking from within the audience as he did on stage. It was an all out performance that had grit, stamina, and a lot of flash. Strobing lights cut with the jagged guitar lines and the sharpened drumming gave everyone the steadfast beat they needed to strike poses and thrash along with the crowd. "Doves" was another monster of a jam, but when they reached back to dig out "Crossing Guard" from their debut album, people went into a bit of a frenzy. "Which do you like better Pirourette or Crossing Guard?" Haden asked the crowd at one point before receiving universal praise for both. "Well good because that's what we're working with here" he retorted back. After what had already felt like a vibrant and visceral performance, "Cinderella" hit and it felt like the whole crowd was ready to combust. The pit ragged harder than ever and the band even felt a bit louder as they stoked the flames of everyone in attendance who was collectively ready to let out all of the rage that had been building all night. Letting loose was a satisfying release and the entire crowd was in it together, collectively agreeing that the band was in top form and delivering exactly what everyone in attendance needed.
Set list:
02 "Mosquito"
03 "Diva"
04 "Poppy"
05 "Amaranth"
06 "Doves"
07 "Audience"
08 "Departures"
09 "Crossing Guard"
10 "Slate"
11 "Acid Rain"
12 "Cinderella"
13 "New Face"
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