It makes sense that a Gen Z band, born from a culture obsessed with screens, would figure out unique and fun ways to incorporate screens into their live performance. And Durry feel like the quintessential Gen Z band. Formed by brother/sister duo Austin and Taryn, the band broke big thanks to their song “Who’s Laughing Now” blowing up on TikTok, and they’ve since made many fun, inspired music videos that play into pop culture and what’s in the zeitgeist. From Austin’s brave mullet-like haircut to Taryn wearing pajama pants onstage, they have captured the aesthetic of their age in a fully organic way. And seeing them live at the Troubadour last Monday night, they backed up catch, relatable songs with a creative, innovative stage show that actually felt like something new and completely unique to them.
Opening the night was Minneapolis’ Gully Boys – four young women ready to rock and take no prisoners. From the get-go, front woman Kathy Callahan showed off powerful vocal chops that carried a grunge fire back with real passion and emotion. Songs like “Optimist” and “See You See” hit hard but with enough melody to keep me hooked in. Not being familiar with the band’s music, I was surprised when drummer Nadirah McGill took on vocal duties on other songs, and traded off singing with Callahan, creating an interesting dynamic. Even rhythm guitarist Natalie Klemond took on some vocals (although very quietly) on a song. The band were pretty fearless, speaking out against the current state of the world, and calling out anyone who talked shit about their hometown. Stand-out song “Bad Day” carried an extra strut to get the crowd moving, while following songs veered into hardcore punk and hard rock, giving lead guitarist Mariah Mercedes a chance to churn out some heavy riffs. Overall the band impressed me, and I intend to give their new self-titled album a listen.
Six screens were erected on the stage after Gully Boys left, along with a light-up “Durry” sign hanging high. One by one, the screens turned on, showing clips from the original King Kong vs. Godzilla, along with other videos on loop. The kitsch of it all made me smile, helping to create the lighter mood for Durry‘s entrance. The band went right into a couple of their heavy-ish tracks, “Bully” and the topical “Monopoly Money.” Even when going a little harder, Durry‘s music is still consistently catchy, with smart lyrics and hooks that make them easy to sing-along to. And as they played these songs, appropriate visuals and lyrics came up on the screens behind them, elevating the performance.
One of my top tracks of 2023, “Coming of Age” remains as cathartic now as it was then, as the culture of corporate greed and the gig economy has only gotten worse since then. The song hit every right note and was clearly a favorite for the crowd. Following that, the band played “Trauma Queen”, with Taryn taking on a more significant vocal role, as bolts of lightning crossed the screens between her and Austin.
Up until that point, the use of screens had been fun and lively, but not anything I hadn’t seen before from bigger bands with bigger screens. Then Durry made it their own, bringing Super Smash Bros onto the screens, and bringing up two pre-selected players to battle each other. Durry split the room into two sides, one rooting for Ganandorf, and the other (where I was) cheering on Mr. Game & Watch. As the match began, Durry went into their next song, which was perfectly timed to coincide with the match timer. The crowd booed and cheered as the two fighters proceeded to smash each other and knock each other offscreen (sadly my guy lost).
Durry are clearly big movie fans, as one can see from their music videos and the content they have on their screens, and their taste clearly leans retro. So as part of their current tour, they made VHS tapes containing all of their music videos and other content and hid them in record stores in the cities they were touring around the country, but on top of that, they had fans sign-up live in the room to win a copy in a raffle that night. This was a great way to set-up one of their recent singles “This Movie Sucks”, a humorous song addressing more serious issues of disappointment in life.
The personal and political continued to mesh, as Durry played caustic songs like “Worse for Wear” and “I’m Fine (Really)”. Things became more fun again for “idk I just Work here”, with one of those large, inflatable guys with their arms in the air that you normally see at car dealerships popping out at the front of the stage. And just as quickly, the band shifted the vibe, revealing the moving story behind their song “The Long Goodbye” before playing that acoustically. The lyrics of the song, touching on mortality and savoring life, really hit home hearing them live.
Previously a bonus song hidden on their vinyls, the band recently released “Dead Media” on streaming services, and set it up as a reminder that bands like theirs can only really survive with the help of fans like those in the room, buying vinyls (paying the equivalent of 8k streams according to the band) and bringing friends to see indie bands (Durry noted that the room attendance seemed to have doubled since their last show at the venue). They then played that anthemic new song, before playing the song that launched them into a career, “Who’s Laughing Now”. Playing off the fact that the song broke big on social media, Austin wielded a handheld GoPro, and proceeded to film himself and the audience as they performed (with the visuals all appearing on the screens behind them). It was certainly a nice bit of meta commentary on the current world bands live in to promote themselves and their music.
The encore was short but sweet, with the band playing the title track from their debut album, “Suburban Legend”. They got the audience to give them 150% with their energy, before saying their goodbyes. I was very happy with the show; the music was great, the visuals were perfect, and it’s clear this is a band that cares about their fans and helping their fellow artists survive.
While many folks (like me) are struggling in the current gig economy and can’t afford to shell out money for vinyl, you can at least help the group get the 8k or so streams they need to make up for it by listening here. And if their tour is coming to your town, grab a ticket – a fun night awaits.
The Indy Review 