The tornado sirens began blasting during a torrential downpour about an hour before 100 gecs’ sold out concert at The Pageant Saturday night. Many of the hundreds of Gen Z fans lined up waiting to enter held fast and resigned themselves to being soaked, but the rain did nothing to dampen their spirits.
By the time they made it inside, the crowd was visibly hyped to see a band that allows them to feel safe and secure in being wholly themselves.
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The whirlwind inside the venue started with Long Island’s Machine Girl, an electronic/drums duo that fuses punk, goth, and breakcore into hard, heavy, pulsating sounds that swoop from beneath to shake you to the core.
About four songs into their 30-minute set, producer and vocalist Matt Stephenson paused and said, “I’m gonna say something really controversial.” He went on to talk about how much tornadoes suck, followed by his strong negative opinions on state legislators that are proposing anti-trans bills.
After Machine Girl, 100 gecs began their 90-minute set with a dramatic emergence from behind a huge screen of flashing white lights. Dylan Brady and Laura Les appeared in wizard robes (with Les also clad in a Budweiser T-shirt), and Brady accessorized his with a pointy, yellow, sun-shaped hat for the opening song, “Dumbest Girl Alive.”
They soon dropped the wizard capes, but the duo continued to enchant the young crowd by bringing their authentic, quirky selves and hits such as “stupid horse,” “Doritos & Fritos,” and an acoustic version of “gecgecgec.” Fans sang boldly along with on every verse of every song.
By the time 100 gecs were ready to roll out, the storms had moved on as well, but from the noise and electricity inside the room, you’d never know it.
For more on 100 gecs, check out the St. Louis duo’s interview with SLM. For more photos from the show, visit https://bit.ly/100gecs23cz.
