Having never been to a house show before, I was stoked to finally attend a local one because two of my favorite bands were playing- Elvis Depressedly and Sorority Noise. Toasted Plastic and Crying were also on the bill, and fantastically impressive. However, Depressedly was who I was there for in the first place, and knowing that Mat, the brain behind it all, had considered stopping the project, I wanted to catch ’em before they’re gone.
The trio arrived late, getting stuck in traffic and traversing quite a bit of distance. When they came in and started setting up, I got more and more excited. There’s just something about their music that’s so genuinely deep and creepy feeling, but also comforting and nostalgic.
“Inside You” is one of my favorite tracks off of “Holo Pleasures”, and I was so excited that they played it live. It felt so raw and I liked it a lot more than the original recorded version. Watching Mat, you could notice his focus and his voice was fantastic and the lyrics really resonated. For me, Elvis Depressedly always felt like a persona, not a person. Seeing it right in front of me made it feel so incredibly real and solidified my love for them.
With a few guitar troubles, Mat became even more human. “I just had my first ever guitar lesson a few weeks ago,” he said, attempting to tune the instrument a few songs in. These weren’t polished acts, they were fumbling attempts, but no one cared. There was a sense of comfort in it all, because no one cared if you messed up, ‘cos everyone was friends. It was great.
The last tune they played was “Micky yr a fuck up”, sped up and changed a bit, but still fantastic. I felt so lucky to be a part of this show, and being in this room watching a musician that I genuinely adore felt surreal. The set as a whole was so genuine, without any gimmicks or tricks.
Elvis Depressedly is just phenomenal. They exceeded my expectations and made me proud to be a fan. Mickey, yr not a fuck up.