Few musical acts are as unique as 100 gecs. Composed of Laura Les and Dylan Brady, the hyper-pop duo produce music that transcends multiple genres. Their latest album 10,000 gecs, released on March 17, is a prime example of the group’s sound coming to life. Tracks like “Hollywood Baby” and “Billie Knows Jamie” represent the nu-metal/punk side of 100 gecs while tracks like “Frog on the Floor” displays a sillier side of the band.
10,000 gecs Album Artwork.
100 gecs Plays Avant Gardner in Brooklyn
For their North American tour, 100 gecs headed to Brooklyn, NY to play at Avant Gardner. Out of the two nights they played in Brooklyn I attended the second night which took place on April 29. As it was raining outside, everyone in line was anxious to head inside to dry off while being checked by security. Heading inside the venue reminded me of the Knockdown Center in Queens; a large floor space held by metal beams and bars located on the corners. The warehouse-esque environment felt like a DIY venue with a budget and better security. One downside about venues like this is the lack of space that is available when a show is packed and limited access to outdoor space.
100 gecs Tour Poster at The Great Hall at Avant Gardner in NYC.
Machine Girl Performance
Opening for 100 gecs was electronic duo Machine Girl, a project lead by producer and vocalist Matt Stephenson and drummer Sean Kelly. Best known for the 2014 album Wlfgrl, the New York based duo gave a performance that was one for the ages. Stephenson let out his inner Corey Taylor and growled like his life depended on it.
Outside of Kelly’s incredible drumming, the best part about the performance was Stephenson walking into the crowd with the microphone to perform. Not only did the crowd enjoy this, but Stephenson relished the moment. When Stephenson pretended to play dead during a break in “Batsu Forever,” the crowd was fascinated and concerned about his well-being. Thankfully, he was able to get up and head back on stage like nothing happened.
Machine Girl. | Photo sourced from Spotify.
100 gecs Performance
As soon as the THX opening sound began to roar out of the speakers, it was time for 100 gecs to come to the stage. As they performed their opening song “Dumbest Girl Alive,” the crowd began to form mosh pits. Throughout the show, Les greeted the audience with an autotune filter on the microphone, making it a hilarious experience. Her vocals were spectacular, especially during the performances of “Torture Me” and “Stupide Horse,” both personal favorite tracks. Brady also chimed in during several songs with vocals of his own which were great on top of his stellar synth playing. Speaking of the synth, it was on top of a garbage can. All I could think was that at least the stage setup wasn’t trash.
The background visuals were decent but nothing groundbreaking. For the song “One Million Dollars,” however, having cartoon stock images of money in the background added to the campy vibes of the track. A funny moment that happened during the middle of the show was when Les and Brady were doing an acoustic version of the song “gecgecgec” and they joked that “Wonderwall” by Oasis is what they were about to play.
My favorite part of the performance is when Les called the idea of encores silly and she and Brady did a fake walkout to signal an encore before playing two more songs to end the night. It was the first time in all my years going to concerts that I saw a performer mock the concept of an encore.
100 gecs performing captured by Nina Westervelt via Shutterstock.
Verdict
100 gecs knows how to put on a concert. Their energy along with great showmanship allowed the concert to be alive. Combined with a great opener and a passionate crowd made this experience an entertaining one. If you’re looking to see 100 gecs, they will be traveling to cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Orlando this month.
