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Diiv Concert Review

Diiv
May 26th, 2016
The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS

Diiv
Despite a heavy storm, a flash flood warning, and a tornado watch, Lawrence “Fucking” Kansas held true to its name as fans of sunny indie rock made their way to The Bottleneck on Thursday night to see Brooklyn four-piece Diiv. The band’s second studio album, “Is The Is Are,” was initially set to drop in 2013, but was postponed following frontman Zachary Cole Smith’s very public heroin bust with singer and girlfriend Sky Ferreira.  The album was finally released in February of this year and the band has been hitting the road in support.
The show was opened up by the loud, entirely female trio The Paranoyds. The LA band that features model/bassist/frontwoman Staz Lindes was lively and loud and got the crowd moving. Their sound, though somewhat intentionally monotonous, was youthful and easy to dance to. The heavy bass set the rhythm and the vocals sort of floated nicely on top. After almost an hour of summer vibrations, the crowd was ready for more.
The Paranoyds
The members of Diiv walked on stage in sweatpants, jeans, and baggy t-shirts – looking very much like Kurt Cobain fans – to an aloof, yet attentive, crowd. They took a few moments for tuning and introduction, then dove into waves of unapologetic dream-pop. The band cycled through a few songs from “Oshin” – their first studio album – and ”Is The Is Are” with bits of banter interspersed. Cole, who doesn’t use his first name, joked about the stereotype that Kansas proved to uphold when, on their way to Lawrence, his phone blared the obnoxious “Severe Weather Alert” noise and vibrated with a message of a tornado warning. Ultimately, they did what we all do and ignored it, at least for a while. They ended up at a gas station, where they were urged into the freezer for 45 minutes with the reassurance that it was the only thing to survive the last storm, but Cole laughed it off and got right back into the set.
After a good 30-minute block, the band asked for a few requests, and played the few that weren’t too sad and slow, as to keep from making the impression that they “suck.” Shortly after, Cole announced,  “We’re just gonna play the songs off our list, fuck you guys. We’re Diiv from New York.” The crowd danced and sang along; it was easy to forget we were still in Kansas, with a storm raging outside, and not out by the Oshin.

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