There was no messing around for LA grind hop impresarios The Glitch Mob as they kicked off a headlining tour Saturday night in Chicago. The three man electronic destruction crew said it was the first time they’d really played their way through their upcoming debut album Drink the Sea in front of a crowd, but with coordinated outfits, crafty video projections and matching stations featuring drums, synths and touchscreen JazzMutant Lemurs for each band member there was nothing tenuous or uncertain in the way they coaxed enough electronic noise and bass to suck every bit of air from a sweaty, sold out Double Door, leaving the packed crowd no choice but to dance or bounce along.

In their recorded versions, the tracks on the band’s first album show bits of restraint, but live it was more about the energy of heavy rhythms and the brute force of overdriven noises they pulled from guitar or bass, tweaked forth from synths, thumped out on the drums or more often than not tapped through their touchscreens. This wasn’t a night of intricacies or nuance so much as a celebration of sound’s most visceral capabilities and more often than not it worked. The samples of guest vocalist Swan did get drowned out by the bass when they played “Between Two Points” but beyond that the overwhelming volume worked to showcase the fire behind the inappropriately named “Fistful of Silence” or the electro-rooted “We Swarm”. Things didn’t let up from the time The Glitch Mob turned on all their machines until the power was cut after their riotous two song encore.

If these shows aren’t already sold out, here’s where you can catch the band on the rest of their tour.

May 4 – Toronto, ON @ Wrong Bar
May 5 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
May 7 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
May 8 – Baltimore, MD @ Bourbon Street Ballroom
May 9 – Richmond, VA @ Hat Factory
May 10 – Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street Club
May 12 – Asheville, NC @ Club 828
May 13 – Knoxville, TN @ Valarium
May 14 – Nashville, TN @ Limelight
May 15 – Athens, GA @ New Earth Music Hall
May 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
May 18 – Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
May 20 – New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
May 21 – Houston, TX @ Rich’s
May 22 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
May 23 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
May 25 – Oklahoma City, OK @ City Walk
May 27 – St. Louis, MO @ 2720
May 28 – Kansas City, MO @ Conspiracy Room
May 29 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
May 30 : Ocean County, CA @ Lightning In A Bottle Festival
Jun 02 – Victoria, BC @ Sugar
Jun 03 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
Jun 04 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Jun 05 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
Jun 06 – Arcata, CA @ Arcata Theatre
Jun 09 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst
Jun 11 : Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
Jun 12 – San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore Auditorium

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