LIVE FROM THE PIT: I Don't Know How But They Found Me and Balancing Act

When thinking of Salt Lake City, Utah, its thriving alternative music scene may not exactly be the first thing that comes to mind. But as electronic rock band I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (popularly, and conveniently, shortened to IDKHOW) hit the UK for the first time in almost three years, and their first time in Birmingham in more than five, to tour their second album, 'GLOOM DIVISION', it's a stark reminder of some of the absolutely incredible music coming from the often underrepresented city. 

We kicked the night off with Balancing Act, a four piece band hailing from both Manchester and London, and the only support act for this tour. Despite being a relatively new band, Balancing Act absolutely smashed their set, and had clearly already built up an active fan base as audience members throughout the venue, including the barricade, could be seen wearing their merch. They played an energetic seven song set with 'She Plays The Theremin' being a clear standout and crowd favourite.

IDKHOW opened their headline set with 'SPKOTHDVL', a bass heavy track off their latest album, and from the moment frontman and bassist Dallon Weekes stepped out on stage, playing the intro bass licks of the song, the energy in the room became absolutely palpable. You could tell there were people in the audience who’d been waiting years for this. While the band is technically Weekes' solo project, it's undeniable that the current live lineup of Anthony Purpura (Guitar), Isaac Paul (Guitar) and Ronnie Strauss (Drums) are absolutely crucial to making the band function as a unit.

If there’s one thing Dallon Weekes can do, it’s completely and utterly command a crowd. A highlight of the concert was during the performance of "A Letter", a song originally belonging to one of Dallon's previous bands, The Brobecks. Weekes directed the audience in a two-part harmony to accompany his vocals during the song, resulting in a gorgeous sound across the entire venue. Later in the set, during the song ‘Visitation of the Ghost’ (another Brobecks cover), Dallon split the audience in half and walked up and down the center of the room, doing so without any fans trying to reach out and touch him.

The band encored with ‘Nobody Likes The Opening Band’, a tongue in cheek song from their first album ‘Razzmatazz’ that was written Kai Roberts, vocalist of Balancing Act, was even brought out to sing a new verse about nobody liking the headlining band, which was met with a lot of amusement from the audience. This was followed by a final Brobecks cover, ‘Boring’, a much mellower and slower song than the majority of the night’s setlist. It was a fitting choice for a final song and made the last few moments of the gig feel incredibly intimate, leaving the night on a high yet almost bittersweet note, as who knows when IDKHOW will tour the UK again? We can only hope it’ll be soon.

Words and Photos: Izzy Scott