L.S. DUNES leave San Francisco begging for more at Bimbo’s 365 Club

This Wednesday, the 13th of November, a friend and I navigated the tumultuous Bay Area public transport system to attend an L.S. Dunes concert in San Francisco. We’d purchased the tickets a few months earlier so we sort of forgot about the upcoming show until a week before. As we hopped from one train to another, our excitement grew more palpable by the second. 

L.S. Dunes is a post-hardcore “anti-supergroup” formed during the COVID-19 pandemic and its onslaught of global lockdowns. The band features members from emo/metal/alternative rock bands My Chemical Romance, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria, and Circa Survive. The members are scene veterans Anthony Green (lead vocals), Frank Iero (guitar, backing vocals), Tucker Rule (drums), Travis Stever (guitar), and Tim Payne (bass).

They are currently on tour to promote their debut record Past Lives (2022), released just two days before the show. Despite being close friends for the past two decades, many of the members had never been in a band together, save for Rule and Payne (Thursday) and Rule and Iero (The Future Violents). “Dunes” formed out of necessity. In a SPIN Magazine interview this summer, Iero is quoted saying, “The pandemic was just so rough because music is all we know how to do. […] To have that be fucking yanked from you—granted, in the grand scheme of things, it was the least awful thing that happened during the pandemic—but for us, our whole worlds crumbled.” 

To L.S. Dunes, making music as a group of friends was a “lifeline”.

While their official tour commenced on their record release day, November 11th, LSD had already performed at Riot Festival and Aftershock Festival in the fall. This was, it seems, a way for them to brush up on their skills as performers before headlining their solo tour in the fall. They released two lead singles, “Permanent Rebellion” and “2022,” in August and September respectively, before releasing the third single “Bombsquad” in October. 

My friend and I arrived in San Francisco near the Fishmerman’s Wharf painfully early. To say that the weather was frigid would be an understatement. We found refuge from SF’s freezing winds in a small seafood restaurant, where we had dinner and chatted away. Soon, it was time to make our way towards the concert venue, Bimbo’s 365 Club. As we approached the club, we saw the band’s tour bus parked right by the entrance, and the line of excited attendees stretching all the way to the building’s left flank. We had a half hour until the doors opened at 7:00pm. When my friend and I finally made our way inside, we were greeted by the ever growing merch line, manned by none other than Kayleigh Goldsworthy, the night’s opener. Some attendees, including myself, were already well acquainted with Goldsworthy, as she played keyboard and sang back-up in Frank Iero’s most recent solo project Frank Iero and the Future Violents. I sadly didn’t cop any of L.S. Dunes’ merch, which I regret more and more every time I think about it. Goldsworthy’s set began at 8:00pm. Describing herself as the “Xanax of the show before the Dunes come on,” she nonetheless got the crowd loose and ready to dance. At first, I was a bit underwhelmed by Kayleigh who was the sole musician onstage armed only with her Fender guitar. My attitude soon changed after she cracked joke after joke in between songs. Her knack for self deprecating humor really shined through during her time on stage. Her performance, while stripped, was heartfelt and vulnerable. Goldsworthy even got a small moshpit going to one of her songs, which she initiated jokingly. The crowd was visibly warming up to her, so much so that by the end of her set, she got choked up a bit. It was super intimate and I’m so happy to have witnessed her performance. 

L.S. Dunes took the stage shortly after 9:00pm. The members exited backstage one by one to take their respective places in front of the crowd, drowning in the deep red stage lights. The mood instantly shifted to a darker and angstier feel as the band kicked the night with “Bombsquad.” It was electric. First and foremost, I have to gush about Anthony Green. Until very recently, I wasn’t too familiar with his work in Circa Survive and Saosin. I’d heard that he’s an amazing live performer from others online but calling Green an “amazing” performer really sells his craftsmanship short. My god, is he the most perfect frontman ever! I’ve truly never seen someone command a crowd in such a hypnotic way. And his vocals are even more impressive live. As  “Bombsquad” started, he enthusiastically beckoned us closer to the stage. “Come”, he urged. We had no choice but to oblige. 

The energy in the room was insane to say the least. This was the first time I could physically feel the artists feeding off the crowd and vice versa. Maybe it was because of how small Bimbo’s is. We were all pretty much squished together and invading each other’s personal space at all times. Green was holding people’s hands and some concert goers were so close to the stage they were practically sitting on it. Some even got to hand letters, sunglasses and a trans flag to the members. My friend and I were so close that she got to throw a friendship bracelet she made for Iero on stage, a gesture to which he smiled warmly at. Green continued to thrash about the stage while Rule, Stever, Payne, and Iero created musical fusion to accompany him. They are incredibly talented musicians. Watching all of these men, who’d been part of different bands until now, was like reassembling a broken plate: they just somehow fit together. I say somehow because their individual projects are so different from one another that at first, I wasn’t too sure what LSD would sound like. But alas, they make sense as a band. 

By the time Dunes played the third song of their set, “Grey Veins,” the crowd was a torrent of passion and high voltage energy. Once it ended, the audience erupted into cheers, whistles, and screams. The band was at a standstill, clearly moved by the outpouring of love. At that moment I looked at Green. His hand was clasped by a couple of people in the crowd. Their entwined fingers glowed iridescent, a beacon of light amidst the dim room. It was like they were pulling him down for a group hug. Or, they were pulling him down to the mortal realm, urging him to step down from the pedestal we’d all set him upon as recompense for his tireless contributions to the scene. To me, our preconceptions about what it means to be an artist and what it means to be a spectator inadvertently make us see one another as things to either observe or be observed. That’s not what live music ought to be, though. We are not separate entities. That moment felt like we all were navigating the same emotions. We were all equally sweaty and incandescent with gratitude, support and unwavering love for one another.

Green had tears streaming down his face and a smile so big it lit up the entire room. He, Steven, and Payne humbly bowed their heads, silently thanking us. I looked at Frank Iero, who was right in front of me, and how he was clasping his chest where his heart was and whispering silent “thank yous”. Green eventually managed to thank the crowd, his voice thick with emotion. We cheered on even harder, as hard as we could. This went on for a few more minutes—Anthony thanking us and us screaming even harder to thank him right back. I will never forget that moment. I will never forget the chills running up and down my spine, or the ringing in my ears getting louder after every bout of shouts, or the swell of emotion in my chest that moved me to tears. It was magical. Weirdly enough, I’m grateful I didn’t record that moment. The memory is so much more meaningful without being warped by recorded evidence. It makes me more understanding of elitists who scold people for filming concerts. When I watch old concert videos, it feels like my memories of that show are of me watching the recording, rather than the experience itself. I get it now, though I still will continue to record some concert moments. 

The concert quickly resumed with just as much vigor. I’ll be honest and say that it was mostly a blur. There are only a few key moments I remember after “Grey Veins.” L.S. Dunes are a fantastic band filled with incredibly talented musicians. This was evident when they performed “2022”. I wasn’t that big of a fan of the song after its release. Seeing it performed live completely changed my outlook on the song and its meaning to both the band and the fans. Then, there was obviously “Permanent Rebellion”, the lead single of the album. That song is packed with punch and energy, so seeing it live was definitely a highlight of the show. Another high point during the show was during the last song, “Sleep Cult”. The crowd erupted in a chorus of “shadoop-shooby-doos” on Green’s command. We were all swaying to the music. Goldsworthy even joined LSD on stage and provided beautiful harmonies to accompany Green. He has such a beautiful voice. His ability to scream and switch back to a controlled falsetto is remarkable. This experience was one of a kind. 

Back home in South Africa, I didn’t go to shows much at all, mainly because I had no one to go with, and partly because I wasn’t allowed. Rock music is still very taboo in Black and African communities, so my parents were very iffy about me even listening to the genre. The same went for my friends. I was reduced to watching concert videos online and living vicariously through whoever was filming them. I longed to be there so badly. One of the reasons why I was so excited to move to the Bay Area was because I would finally get to see my heroes. One of my heroes is Frank Iero. I’ve been a fan of him and his music since I was 13 and I’m turning 21 two months from now. I grew up with and through his music. I’ve seen him live before at two My Chemical Romance shows this year, but I was so far away that it didn’t really feel like I had seen him at all. So, watching him from so close at the L.S. Dunes show was life changing. There’s something so incredibly special and underrated about getting to see your favorite artist in such an intimate setting. This is why I think small shows carry so much more meaning than big arena concerts. Dunes, like all artists, makes music to connect with people. Green even gave out a speech thanking the crowd and spoke broadly about San Francisco’s general appreciation for the arts and music. “Just being here—you can feel it in the air that everybody just loves to celebrate live music here. And I feel honored that we get to share that with you. We could do this for you forever. We love you.” I’m so grateful to have been able to conjoin my heart to theirs in what was probably the most elevating musical experience I’ve had so far. I hope it was just as memorable to them as it was to me.

Article and photos by Emmanuelle Mphuthi