Protomartyr at Thalia Hall

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to see Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr play live at Thalia Hall. I was first introduced to this band by a friend about a year ago, and since then, I have been a huge fan. After seeing them live, I only love them more.

Chalk drawing of The Agent Intellect cover in Thalia Hall's lobby

Protomartyr’s sound and aesthetic are fairly unique. In many ways they are essentially a goth band, with gloomy, austere soundscapes and lyrics that confront the dark edges of religion, love, and philosophy. But they don’t have the synthy drive or the theatricality of traditional goth. Some people are surprised to hear a group like this coming out of Detroit, but to me it makes perfect sense. While goth music arose from and has thrived in England, Protomartyr communicates the gothic of the urban Midwest, stark and heavy and plain. 

The show was amazing. They were touring to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their breakout album, The Agent Intellect, and accordingly, they played it in its entirety. The first thing I noticed when they started to play was how heavy they were. On the record, The Agent Intellect is gloomy, punkish goth rock, but live, it sounded pummeling. The drums felt savage and relentless, the guitar sounded apocalyptic, and above all, lead singer Joe Casey delivered an incredibly powerful vocal performance. He was mesmerizing to watch. While most of the band is in their thirties, Casey was already thirty-seven years old when Protomartyr formed, now more than a decade ago; on stage, he saunters around with a mournful weight, dressed like an out-of-work lawyer, with a drink in one hand and a microphone in another. His lyrics are the heart and soul of the band, and a huge part of what drew me to them in the first place. They are frightening, confrontational, and beautiful, melding poetic beauty with shocking straightforwardness.

Songs like “Dope Cloud”, “Why Does it Shake?”, and “The Devil in His Youth” all sounded great, but for me, the highlight of this set was the band's performance of “Pontiac ‘87”. Throughout this show, it felt like the crowd went wildest not at the heaviest moments, but at the most emotional. “Pontiac ‘87” is a genuinely beautiful song about disillusionment with religion and perhaps disillusionment with any kind of higher reality in the face of human shortcomings. During the climax of this song, as Casey repeated the lyrics, there’s no use being sad about it/ what’s the point in crying about it, I threw myself into the mosh pit and heard a chorus of voices chanting along with me. It was amazing. 

After The Agent Intellect, the band played a selection of other stuff, and the songs they chose were perfect. “What the Wall Said” from Under Color of Official Right made me feel like I was floating, and “Processed by the Boys”, a song that I’d never really been able to get into before, was absolutely incredible live.

All in all, this was one of my favorite shows I’ve ever been to. Thank you to Protomartyr, Thalia Hall, and UIC Radio for giving me this opportunity. And if you don’t know Protomartyr, and you’re into gothic rock, post punk, or rock music in general, I’d definitely recommend checking them out!