There’s a bit of a hubbub over Turnstile’s latest LP Glow On. Released in August of 2021, the album quickly hit the radar of music fans old and new, making many “best of” lists and charting all over the place. With their North American “The Turnstile Love Connection Tour” kicking off in San Francisco with a pair of shows at the Regency Ballroom, it was the perfect time to catch the band live and see if all the hype is warranted.
Having somehow failed to have ever given Glow On a spin amidst the incessant brouhaha, the drive over the bridged served as the perfect opportunity to pull it up and see what was afoot for the upcoming evening. Let’s just say that there’s a lot to unpack in Glow On. Melodic with chorus-laden guitars, overdriven hardcore breakdowns, synths and some percussive creativity … one drive over the Bay Bridge was certainly not enough time.
The Regency filled up quickly and despite tickets still for sale at the door, the place was absolutely packed for openers Coco and Clair Clair who received an overly polite response from the crowd but fell in the category of “I don’t get it” for this dude. Next up was Citizen, with a fiery but brief 35-minute set that got the pit churning and had those that arrived early to grab a spot on the rail for Turnstile holding on for dear life in order to keep their spot.
A little Whitney Houston blasting over the PA got the crowd warmed up for Turnstile’s 9:45 entrance at which point all hell broke loose. Vocalist Brendan Yates literally attacked the stage—spinning, jumping and lunging as the band tore into “Holiday” in front of blinding strobes. The energy on the stage matched by the mob that packed the general admission floor, singing and dancing along, the hullabaloo punctuated by the occasional overly priced beers sailing overhead.
Not surprisingly and much to the San Francisco crowd’s glee, Turnstile spent most of the time on the new material. While there was a backing track, the band didn’t go overboard trying to replicate the intricacies of the recordings and instead laid them bare in their essence and absolutely crushed it.
So yeah, Turnstile is onto something and the popularity of Glow On is a testament to making “hardcore” accessible in a way that’s not obvious or cliché. After one night for this first timer, it almost made sense to return for a second night of Turnstile to fully appreciate the pandemonium that had just hit San Francisco.
CITIZEN
Turnstile Setlist:
Holiday
Real Thing
Big Smile
Blackout
Underwater Boi
Don’t Play
Endless
Fazed Out
Drop
Blue by You
Canned Heat
Fly Again
Moon
Alien Love Call
Wild Wrld
7
Gravity
No Surprise
Mystery
T. L. C. (Turnstile Love Connection)
