Arief MuhayatsyahFor those of you that are as hesitant as I was minutes before the concert (possibly even straining to remember your Roman numerals), it’s pronounced “dive.”
“The year is 2012,” DIIV frontman Zachary Cole Smith announced before launching into a single off of the band’s first album, “Oshin,” released that very year. You may be familiar with Smith from his previous musical pursuits in the band Beach Fossils, and he’s managed to maintain a similar indie sound with comparably depressing lyrics. DIIV’s shoegazey punk-rock revival style became immediately evident as lead guitarist Andrew Bailey began to lay down the perfect mix of distant and jangly guitar riffs.
Between complaints about the lights being too bright (what kind of musician isn’t used to stage lighting by now?) and the odd comment on American politics, Smith took multiple prolonged breaks between songs to chat with the rest of the band about what to play next. He managed to persevere through a decent number of tracks off of their most recent album from 2016, Is the Is Are, by turning his back to the crowd and facing the drummer for nearly the entire set.
If you could look past the undeniably forced eccentricity (still not sure what my opinion was of the weird night gown-looking shirt that keyboardist/guitarist Colin Caulfield was sporting), it was easy to see each member’s undeniable musical talent.
Local Edmonton band Tropic Harbour kicked off the eventful night at the Starlite Room; they were just mellow enough to start the night off the right way. Tropic Harbour’s newest single, “New Life,” was very comparable to the familiar dream pop sound of their 2016 album Glowing Eyes. Its expansive synth landscapes and punchy guitar filled the decrepit space that is the Starlite Room. As an adage, another Gateway volunteer aptly pointed out that the drummer, Marcus, works at Farrow. So go say hello.
There aren’t many bands with three guitarists. This set-up is usually reserved to give an added layer of complexity and depth that if done right, is completely worth it. But when it’s not, it’s a minor annoyance at best and puzzlingly useless at worst. Vancouver-based group Summering fell somewhere in between. Coming off the dancy and lovable pop of Tropic Harbour, Summering’s set felt like an awkward stonewall. Their tracks were largely expansive with an overly sparse sound that made each song seemingly blend into the next, but not in a great way. Each guitarist added virtually the same part to each song, giving the set an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. Maybe their set would have sounded better next to more similar acts. Who knows. Set schedules will always be a weird part of festivals.
Lastly, Edmonton’s own Provincial Archive took the stage right before DIIV. It may have been the lighting or the fact that we were near the middle/back of the crowd, but the very first thing we noticed was the frontman’s uncanny resemblance to Gus, the main character in the Netflix series LOVE. After the initial jolt of seeing a fictional character in person wore off, it was easy to take in the lively alt-rock of Provincial Archive. They were the perfect amount of excitement that was needed in order to get the crowd riled up for DIIV.
As a recap, DIIV was great, but mildly annoying, Tropic Harbour is an original part of the Edmonton music scene, Summering was surprisingly not good, Gus from Netflix plays mean guitar, and UP+DT is near the top for most fun music festivals in town.
