Photos by Michelle Gao
Viral TikTok sound bites of artists like Snow Strippers, fakemink, The Hellp, and bassvictim gave way to the subsequent rise of electroclash and indie-sleaze-revival artists. Preceded by sets from Denimontaro, Isla Den, and Patch +, the electronic duo Suzy Sheer kicked off their fall tour headlining a show at the historic Kilowatt bar in San Francisco.
With the venue still dressed for Halloween a week after the holiday, the show promptly began at 8pm. Situated behind the mic and backed by heavy-hitting beats from the booth, the opener’s distorted vocals resonated within the intimate venue, drawing in a small crowd below the stage. Because no clear lineup was advertised, I was unsure of who was onstage. After speaking (or yelling, rather) with attendees around me, I learned that we were all equally enjoying his set despite being equally perplexed. His electropop and experimental sounds struggled to keep the audience’s attention, however, and the novelty of his set soon fizzled out. I doubt the waning engagement from the crowd was due to any lack of artistry or musicality on his part, though. Denimontaro—a promising newbie with four released singles—set the scene for the rest of the night and joined the audience.
The duo, Isla Den, followed Denimontaro and unexpectedly opened with familiar tunes like “Beauty and a Beat” by Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber, and later “Clarity” by Zedd. Isla Den continued with dreamy, echo-y, and ambient trance-like songs, setting themselves apart and contrasting nicely with the rest of the lineup’s quick-tempoed and upbeat sounds.
Patch +, another duo, featured both artists on the microphone with a third member in the stand behind them. They performed songs consisting of melodramatic vocals layered over percussive and synth-forward beats, as well as the occasional acoustic guitar. Their set kept the energy up and was much more lyrical than the others.
Everyone I had spoken to had made it out to the Mission to see Suzy Sheer, and with the crowd adequately boozed up from the cheap drinks (cheap relative to San Francisco), anticipation was high. The duo was arranging their synthesizers to oppose/face each other. They seemed to be fiddling with their setup for what felt like hours. Nearing midnight, Suzy Sheer came onstage as the last set of the night. Finally, with lights low and energy high, Suzy Sheer broke the anticipation with “Born Slippy (Nuxx)” by Underworld, perhaps a reference to Underworld’s unforgettable performance at San Francisco’s Portola Festival a few months prior. They followed with hit songs like “Blissed,” “GTHRMX,” and “Chain.” The song I was most looking forward to, “Chain,” is one of the few songs from Suzy Sheer you can sing along to since it includes a sample of Adrienne Lenker’s “half return.” I lost it when those distorted vocals came on, and so did everyone else—the whole crowd was jumping by this point. Suzy Sheer’s energetic set left a buzz in the atmosphere and was a very appropriate way to cap off an evening of experimental electropop sounds. With the audience filing out into the street on a typically chilly San Francisco night, many were spotted conversing with one another and embarking on their next adventure for the night.
The rise of Suzy Sheer and other artists of the same genre, as a result of social media, was incredibly evident at the event. Hordes of early 20-somethings dressed in Rick Owens adjacent clothing and waxed bootcut jeans filled the bar. Moreover, the two frat-flickers in front of me began pleading with Suzy Sheer to “play ‘Easter Pink’!” I don’t mean this in a bad way, though. It’s actually refreshing to see alternative youth culture return to the Kilowatt and the Mission as a whole.
Elaborating on the aforementioned historic part of Kilowatt bar, it opened as a punk/rock/indie venue in the mid-1990s (as described on their website), and transitioned into a sports bar as the demographics of the area changed during the rise of tech in Silicon Valley and the dot.com bubble boom in the late '90s. The Mission was once a predominantly Latine community of artists and immigrant working-class families like my own, but became infested with yuppie gentrifiers at the turn of the century. The character and neighborhood personality of the Mission was never lost, however, just buried. Kilowatt’s recent change of ownership brought live music back to 16th Street and is drawing the youth back to the Mission. Suzy Sheer’s set fit into this redemption arc narrative; it successfully brought a crowd of alternative young adults to a part of San Francisco that was not exactly catered to them a decade prior. The real star of the show, Kilowatt bar, boasts relatability and localism, a rarity in the 21st-century San Francisco landscape.
Now, if you look close enough, the stageside dartboards and firehouse spiral stairs still echo the history of an era gone by.
