Protomartyr Make a Massive Statement at LA's Teragram Ballroom
The rain cleared up as we were walking across the damp street into the intimate Teragram Ballroom located just across the 101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles for several hours of political post-punk to cleanse the souls of the damned. On tonight's bill is local underground rapper and producer Immortal Nightbody and Detroit Rock City’s very own Protomartyr. Please enjoy our full review of the night, as well as a photo gallery display below.
Immortal Nightbody is a Los Angeles native who has been prolifically releasing multiple projects a year since 2020. His heavily political rhymes are backed by booming gothic industrial beats mixed with a stage presence that you cannot get your eyes or ears off of for however long their set goes (I was so enthralled that I didn't even check my phone the whole time they were on). Barely talking to the crowd till towards the end of their set, they played song after song about being a black man and dealing with the politics of this modern world we all live in. By the end of their set the room was packed, happy, and ready to go for the night’s headliners.
Protomartyr at this point should be considered post punk and indie rock legends as they already are in my book. The now Domino Records signees have been educating the world on the ills of living in America's most often overlooked midwestern states since they started releasing records in 2012 with No Passion All Technique. Majorly influencing the contemporary post punk scene around the world and showing the newer generations of bands that post punk is a genre that has a long time before people are scraping the bottom barrel ideas off of it.
They started the night with a handful of songs from their most recent album 2023’s Formal Growth In The Desert (including some beautifully played pedal steel guitar). After wrapping those off and a thunderous applause for their pedal steel player, lead singer Joe Casey stated “All we have left to do now is rock”, and rock they did as they played at least one track off each of their six albums. The band's rhythm section consisting of drummer Alex Leonard and bassist Scott Davidson hold the band together as guitarist Greg Ahee colors the canvas with his echo drenched angular guitars while on top of the whole thing while singer Joe Casey flows through his spoken poetry often getting stuck in repetitive bits that sucks you deeper and deeper into the hole with them until the dam bursts and you feel your body being launched through the cracks. The night came to an early close (weekday shows like this should always end before eleven!!) and the sweaty crowd marched their way out of the show a little lighter through the catharsis.
Review & Photos by: Ben LaCross
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