DIIV comes ALIVE!
Depressed? Soul-net is the cure.
Article and photos by Roshni Thamatur
On August 30th, at Thalia Hall, DIIV rattled Chicago's shoegaze crowds brains with reverb that drove Zachary Cole Smith's painful lyrics deep into the chests of the audience. Before DIIV stepped on stage they presented a seemingly comical video that was quite possibly only understood by DIIV themselves. In the video, an old man told us: "You are about to embark on a journey and be forever changed," setting the tone for how seriously DIIV did or did not take themselves. Prior to this, they were supported by bands Full Body and Horse Jumper of Love. While Full Body let their music stand for itself, accompanied by few words, Horse Jumper Of Love played an interactive set embracing shouts from the crowd which they answered with thundering guitar riffs.
DIIV started out in Brooklyn in 2011 as a bedroom band that was created in the mind of Smith and came to fruition with his childhood friend Andrew Bailey who helped Smith out on the guitars. At Thalia Hall, Smith and Bailey were accompanied by current members Colin Canfield on bass and keyboard and Ben Newman on the drumkit.
Opening with DIIV’s first song off their newest album “Frog in Boiling Water”, In Amber, we were introduced to the bands ability to give us big grainy sounds on the guitars while also breaking into elegant melodies accompanied by a technically tight yet simple drum by Newman.
Although it appeared there was a rock band on stage there was much more than a simple rock concert going on. On the screen behind the band there were satirical advertisements for mental health, the elderly introducing Brown Paper Bag (the bands newest single), and a wise man preparing us for the ironic journey of wisdom and mysticism we were about to embark on.
The song Soul-net appeared to be DIIV’s champion this concert, their cure all to depression and anxiety. Fittingly, they had an advertisement that introduced this song, their cure to mental illness. The cure, “I’m not afraid, I love my pain, I know we can leave this prison”, as the ending lyric of Soul-Net. A fuzzed out, softly spoken, song fitting as the conclusion to a period of pain and abuse that has so long been embedded in Smith's lyrics.
Seeing DIIV so alive on stage dancing and moving their bodies (sometimes it couldn’t even be called dancing), gave the full effect that Soul-Net aims to convey. Coming out of darkness and embracing the pain felt within it. The life on stage resembled that relief felt in those song lyrics, and it was a heck of a time watching it.
Check out DIIV on Spotify below: