It is around 11 p.m. at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, and anticipation is building. The walls have only just stopped shaking from two thunderous opening bands: Ya’ll, and Left and Right. Bodies are crammed shoulder to shoulder in the performance area, an unbelievably small space for a hard rock performance.
On stage, only two feet from the front of the audience, stands Diarrhea Planet. These Nashville rockers, in spite of — or perhaps thanks to — their eyebrow-raising name, have experienced a tremendous rise in prominence in the past 18 months, including appearances at SXSW and Bonnaroo. In this far more intimate space, audience members, nearly standing on top of the monitors, are instantly immersed in the band’s energy.
Before the show begins, singer and guitarist Jordan Smith’s effects board experiences technical difficulties. The rest of the band takes the opportunity to play with the audience, noodling around on “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” and “Semi-Charmed Life” while the sound equipment is fixed. The band has an incredible ability to engage a crowd. Soon, drumsticks and gleaming guitars in hand, they ready themselves.
“I can already tell you guys are going to be rowdy,” Smith laughs, requesting that open beverages stay away from the front where they might damage the electronics. The audience complies, drummer Casey Weissbuch counts off a song — and thus begins 75 nearly-uninterrupted minutes of musical madness.
The magic of Diarrhea Planet, or at least part of it, is their four-guitar approach to riff-filled, hook-driven songs. On their records, it is not always entirely apparent why the group needs such a large band. Live, one sees firsthand the technical marvel of four people playing intense moving parts over a complicated bass line, all propelled by the wildly fast drumming of Weissbuch. The joyous sound of four guitarists simultaneously fret-tapping must be heard to be believed.
From the moment the first song begins, the front half of the crowd erupts into pandemonium. This is the true spirit of a hard rock show: bodies crammed in a tiny space, moshing and crowd surfing to deafeningly loud music. Members of the opening bands headbang alongside everyone else as Diarrhea Planet unleashes song after blistering song.
The set is fairly diverse, ranging from early “Aloha!”-era cuts like “Ghost With a Boner” to fan favorites “Separations” and “Kids” to the brand new “Platinum Girls.” Every member of the band appears to be having a blast. By the concert’s midpoint, guitarist Evan Bird is standing high atop a stack of amplifiers, as the three members in front play and sing directly into the screaming crowd. Each song bursts with explosive power, both technically tight and mind-blowingly loud.
As the show draws to a close, the band takes a moment to remind the crowd to follow their dreams — if dropping out of college and forming a rock band is what that means, so be it. Another instance of Diarrhea Planet’s outstanding crowd interaction, the advice is warmly received in a room full of undergraduate and graduate students.
Diarrhea Planet is truly an experience. The live performance goes above and beyond their excellent records, and any chance to see them — particularly in such an intimate venue — should not be missed.
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