Machine Girl at Showbox SoDo

Opening bands offer you an amazing opportunity to experience an artist that you may otherwise have never found on your radar. While I feel like I’ve recently experienced more audiences not arriving until the main act, this show is a completely different story. As I found my way up to the venue around the start of the first act, the line was still wrapped around the corner of the delicious pre-venue meal, Paseo SoDo. A few people had murmured that the doors hadn’t opened to the public yet, so as a regular of Showbox SoDo does, I made my way across the street to Hooverville.

After finally seeing a fairly consistent movement in the line, I made my way over only to discover it was still wrapped completely behind Paseo. While you might not think you get much out of standing in a line, this is where I discovered from another attendee that our main act of the night, Machine Girl, was going to be guest-DJing after their set at Capitol Hill’s relatively new dance spot, After Life.

Fast-forward to the end of the second act, because while the doors had delayed opening time for a bit, the show did go on as scheduled. After standing in line for the amount of time we all did, many of us were disappointed to find out that we were entering the doors as they were finishing up their last song.

At first impression, Machine Girl might make you feel like you’re being hit with a wall of noise, but as you take it in parts you begin to meld into the full experience with the rest of the crowd. Similar to your favorite punk or heavy metal show, you’re going to get some crowd-surfing, a circle of death, and clothes being thrown across the crowd. But wait, was that your shoe that ended up on the other side of the room? Don’t worry, the crowd is already holding it up shouting, “SHOE, SHOE, SHOE, SHOE!” in an effort to return it back to its owner.

Since you deserve a better description of their music than “wall of noise,” Pitchfork described Machine Girl as “Relentlessly smashing together bits of punk, grindcore, rave, industrial, and more, the Pittsburgh duo’s maximalist music echoes the cruel momentum of the modern world.” Based on what I saw from the crowd, it really felt like everyone was there to release the stress of everyday life. As I made my way to the higher level overlooking the crowd, they looked more like a collective wave of ocean water swaying back and forth during those stormy movie scenes when waves are crashing down on the bow of the ship. Couple this with the very rare sight of the crowd generally keeping phones tucked away as they enjoy everything this show has to offer.

While Machine Girl was started as a solo project by Matt Stephenson, in 2015 Stephenson was joined by Sean Kelly for live drums. For this performance we’re given Stephenson front and center with a microphone, a guitar, and a small mixer to add the iconic voice effects you’ll hear throughout their music. Set behind Stephenson you’ll find Kelly jamming away on drums to one side, and another gig musician supporting on guitar and keys. Stephenson took full advantage of the stage, bouncing back and forth between stage left, stage right, and even joining the crowd front and center on the floor for a few moments of collective singing.

With their latest album released in mid-October titled, MG Ultra being the focus throughout the show, we’re still treated to some classics off previous albums as well such as “Athoth A Go!! Go!!” and “…BECAUSE I’M YOUNG ARROGANT AND HATE EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR”. If you haven’t had a chance, take a deep breath, center your thoughts on the day’s annoyances, and queue up MG Ultra, for yourself. The visit to the rage room is optional.