San Francisco’s Substance Fest Was A Three-Night Celebration

Starting things off was the Oakland-based trio Still Ruins. They understood the assignment of performing on Halloween and fittingly had jester makeup on, seemingly inspired by the lyrics of their song “Left Against.” One of only a handful of guitar-based bands performing over the weekend, their set felt inspired and vital, frontman Frankie Soto’s impassioned vocals helping to set the band apart from their contemporaries. Whether it was performing songs from their self-titled EP or new songs like the upcoming single “Our Penance,” the band’s dreamy post-punk sound kept the audience fully captivated and they were the perfect band to open the weekend.

Next was the Los Angeles duo Sleek Teeth. I’ve enjoyed the band’s EP and the handful of singles that they have released since then, but their studio recordings haven’t felt particularly powerful in a way that I wish that they did. But live, Sleek Teeth is a whole different story. Embodying elements of classic electro-industrial bands like Nitzer Ebb and Front 242, there was a power and urgency to their live set that made the audience come alive. They’re the kind of band that deserves the accolades that they’ve been seemingly receiving since day one, and I look forward to seeing the highs that they’re sure to achieve.

On the original flyer for Substance Fest, Pink Stiletto was listed as playing first, but she played third. Unfortunately I feel like she should have opened the night, because her set felt clumsy and unprepared. Whether it was her constant self-deprecating banter between songs that all sounded the same or the two dancers that she had onstage with her who seemingly couldn’t match each other’s choreography, Pink Stiletto’s set was easily the weakest of the day, if not of the entire weekend. I don’t like being overly critical or harsh when I write my reviews, but I was honestly left wondering why it was her onstage and not somebody else more deserving.

What followed was a complete shot of adrenaline. Every night there was one band that could have potentially been the headliner of the day that they performed, and for day one that was A Place To Bury Strangers. Taking the stage wearing lab coats, the trio launched into a blisteringly loud and chaotic set that opened with new song “In The Wind.” Frontman and founder Oliver Ackermann’s guitar screeched and wailed throughout the venue while bassist John Fedowitz held down the low end and drummer Sandra Fedowitz pounded away at breakneck speed.

Halfway through their set the trio found themselves in the middle of the audience, Sandra with just a floor tom and Oliver trading guitar for distorted vocals. Oliver shoved the microphone halfway down his mouth, blood trickling down his chin, while the audience writhed and pulsed around them. It felt less like a concert and more like a ceremonial ritual. The band eventually returned to the stage and finished off their set with a handful of songs, but the feeling that took over me during that section of their set never left me for the rest of the evening.

Next was Geneva Jacuzzi, who opened her set by being paraded around the venue by four men in togas as she sang “Laps Of Luxury,” the imagery reminding me of Elizabeth Taylor in the film Cleopatra. Once she was onstage she was joined by two of the men, who engaged in a perfectly choreographed set that found Roman columns being sexually abused and destroyed in one of the most splendidly campy performances I’ve ever seen. Not to bring her up again, but it felt like what Pink Stiletto tried but failed to achieve during her own set.

Closing out the first day was Detroit duo ADULT., a band that I hadn’t seen in a couple of years but have come to expect greatness from whenever I see them onstage. And their set at Substance Fest did not disappoint. Opening with “Human Wreck,” the band tore through a set that saw them seemingly leaving no stone unturned from their extensive back catalogue. Some songs were performed that hadn’t been for years like “In My Nerves” or “Love Lies,” but they worked perfectly paired with more tried-and-true set staples like “I Am Nothing” and “Today,” as well as new song “None Of It’s Fun.”

Interestingly, for most of the set keyboardist Adam Lee Miller donned an electric bass, using that as his primary instrument while vocalist Nicola Kuperus used her trademark double microphones to lift her vocals throughout the venue. The set ended with a gut-punching version of the Tuxedomoon song “No Tears,” which saw Nicola make her way through the crowd. Once the show ended Nicola reminded everyone, “With all of this shit going on in the world today, this is all we have. Each other.” It was a great ending to the first night of the festival.

The second day started with a performance by Normal Bias. While I think that their self-titled record is definitely worth a listen, something about their live performance was lacking and I found it hard to be truly engaged by them. Maybe they were having an off night or maybe it was just me, but something wasn’t connecting for me.

Fortunately, following them was Bestial Mouths. Lynette Cerezo paced and slunk around the stage like a woman possessed, while her live keyboardist and theremin player Ely of the band Crune helped to bring her dark music to life. Songs like “Slitskin” and “The Knife” felt like crowd favorites, and the fact that her music doesn’t fit into neat genre categories helped to make her set stand out even more. By the end of her performance I doubt that anyone in the crowd wasn’t fully converted to being a Bestial Mouths fan.

Playing third was Night In Athens. The solo project of Tina Boleti had the entire venue jumping and dancing for a good portion of her set. And whether she was performing slower, more melodic songs or faster-paced songs that found her stepping out from behind her keyboards to stand gazing at the crowd at the edge of the stage while shouting into the mic, it was a sight to behold.

The fourth band of the night was Sacred Skin, but unfortunately like Normal Bias at the beginning of the evening I felt a disconnect with their set. It felt as if the band was juggling too many genres that didn’t particularly blend well together, but it could have just been exhaustion setting in on my part since the rest of the crowd was cheering after every single song. Seeing them duet with SRSQ on their song “Insomnia” was a treat and the highlight of their set, but I regret to say that the rest of their performance never reached the highs of seeing them play that song.

The penultimate act of the night was Pixel Grip, a band I had been looking forward to seeing for months. Singer Rita Lukea and keyboardist Jonathon Found came on stage to open their set with the atmospheric “Crows Feast,” the opening song on their latest album Percepticide: The Death Of Reality. It was not indicative of what was to follow, for as soon as drummer Tyler Ommen join them on stage for the rest of the set, the band showed off their unique brand of EBM and industrial music.

Every song built off of the last until the entire venue felt like it had been turned into a dance club. Pixel Grip is the kind of band where you could play any of their songs over a PA and everyone around you is going to get on their feet and move. This was proven during the last song, “ALPHAPUSSY,” when Rita brought a group of women on stage to sing and dance with the band. Pixel Grip has been gaining notoriety ever since the release of their last album, with shows on their tour selling out over and over again, and I can’t wait to see them get their due.

Headlining the second day was TR/ST, performing his debut self-titled album. Joined onstage by a live drummer and keyboardist, most of the songs from his debut are still regularly performed at nearly every show that he plays. Staple “Gloryhole” opened the show, with TR/ST himself, Robert Alfons, rushing onstage in time for the vocals to start. The crowd erupted, and with the second night of Substance Fest being the one evening that sold out, the applause was quite loud indeed.

Of course it was great to see some of TR/ST’s signature songs like “Bulbform” and “Dressed For Space,” but for me the highlights were the lesser-performed songs from the album, “F.T.F.” and “This Ready Flesh” especially being the two songs where I can’t understand why they’re not performed more often. The only time that Alfons paused his panther-like movements across the stage was to sit down for a piano-vased version of “Heaven,” which was another highlight of the set for me. Once all of the songs from his debut were performed, Alfons and his band capped off the show with two new songs that sound like they’re going to continue the legacy of TR/ST being one of the most vital and essential current electronic acts.

The final day opened with Bay Area solo artist SKOTO. Whereas one could hear ’80s influences throughout most of the bands that had played over the last couple of days, SKOTO’s influences seem to also come from the 1990s, with Prodigy-inspired beats underlying cutting songs like “Scrap Metal” and “Body.” Punctuated by a Roland TB-303 that provided squelching basslines to all of the songs, SKOTO absolutely owned the stage. I had seen her perform a few nights before in Oakland, and the difference between the two performances were like night and day. At Substance Fest, SKOTO was confident and had the audience in the palm of her hand, and if there’s one thing you take away from this entire article it should be to listen to her album Murder Music.

Playing second was the trio Topographies. Much like what I said about Pink Stiletto, I don’t like to write negatively about bands or artists that I see, but if there was one generic band on the entirety of the weekend’s lineup, it was Topographies. I don’t expect every single band to be reinventing the wheel, but when all of your songs are derivative of one another to the point where it just sounds like one thirty-minute long song with atmospheric guitars, eighth-note basslines, and a vocal style that completely rips off Robert Smith, I’m not going to be invested after the sixth minute. Sorry.

Originally Martin Dupont was scheduled to play higher up on the lineup, but the French new wave legends played third in the evening. Fronted by original member Alain Seghir, the quartet opened with one of the group’s signature songs, “Just Because.” What followed was a set that left no stone unturned in the band’s discography. Despite playing third, Martin Dupont performed for nearly an hour, much to the delight of seemingly everyone in attendance.

Having recently released their first new album of entirely new material in over thirty years, You Smile When It Hurts, a couple songs from the album were included in the setlist. However, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, they fit in perfectly next to classics like “He Saw The Light” or “No Hands,” Seghir’s voice sounding nearly identical to how it did on the band’s classic albums. The set highlights were of course “Inside Out,” the band’s signature song, but also for me was the forlorn love song “Love On My Side.” Closing their set with the goofy and tongue-in-cheek “Doron Doron,” Martin Dupont’s set was easily my favorite of the third night.

Up next was Void Vision, who was added to the lineup at the last minute after Automelodi was unable to perform. The solo project of Shari Vari, she helmed her set behind an armada of keyboards and synthesizers, treating the festival attendees to her unique take on darkwave. Despite the fact that Void Vision hasn’t released any new material in over a decade, there were more than a few new songs performed and they all fit in perfectly next to her more familiar material. I can’t wait to hear the final recorded versions of songs like “Body Says” and “Greener Skies.”

As the evening was starting to wind down, the duo Xeno & Oaklander took the stage. Based out of New York, Sean McBride and Liz Wendelbo were able to faithfully recreate the nearly entirely analog sound of their music in a live setting. While their music may not be as danceable or club-ready as some of the other bands that had played over the weekend, their set was a pleasurable calm before the storm that would be the final live performance of Substance Fest. Liz Wendelbo’s voice sound just as captivating and ethereal live as it does on the band’s studio recordings, and they’re a band I’m glad to have finally been able to see live.

And finally, Substance Fest came to an end with TR/ST returning to the stage to perform his sophomore album Joyland. Unlike TR/ST’s self-titled debut, nearly every song on his second album had been all but ignored live ever since the tour for it over a decade ago. For as exciting as it was to see TR/ST perform his first album, I was even more excited to see these songs brought back to the stage for the first time in over ten years.

And for the second night in a row, TR/ST did not disappoint. Much like the lesser-performed songs from his first album, I found the songs that have been virtually ignored for years from Joyland to be songs that would fit perfectly in any TR/ST set. “Four Gut,” “Icabod,” and “Geryon” especially stuck out, and Alfons seemed to be in a fantastic mood dusting these songs off. It was a perfect way to end the evening, and Substance Fest as a whole.

Writing this, of course I remember the musicians and the sets that they played and how they made me feel. But also what I remember is seeing my friends at Substance Fest, whether they were only there for one day or for the entirety of the weekend, as well as the strangers that were there that I saw evening after evening. Was the music fantastic? Yes. But it was the sense of community that made every evening feel truly special.