LIVE: MOLCHAT DOMA – Charlotte, NC, USA – February 4, 2025

Venue: The Fillmore Charlotte

City: Charlotte, NC

Dates: February 4, 2025

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (https://www.toddstarphotography.com)

It’s always great when I can unplug from a busy work life and catch a show.  On a clear Tuesday Charlotte, NC night I ventured out to The Fillmore and was ready to check out Molchat Doma and openers Sextile.  Getting into the venue (moved from The Underground due to demand for tickets), I got my bearings and then made my way through a busy crowd that got busier and more packed by the minute before the openers hit the stage.  Like clockwork, Sextile took their places, and the evenings musical journey began.  Working through their setlist and allotted time on stage, the trio entertained the crowd, bringing an energetic show to set the tone for the rest of the evening.  If you get a chance to catch the group opening on this tour or any other, it’s worth the price of admission.

As the venue filled in even more from front to back and side to side, there should have been no doubt that tonight belonged to the trio from Belarus.  The anticipation built as the minutes ticked away and the crowd energy levels started to climb.  The band – Egor Shkutko, Roman Komogortsev, and Pavel Kozlov – brought their musical swirl of what sounded like a sweet blend of updated 80’s style new wave and some post-punk heaviness.  The setlist, culled from their catalog, had a great ebb and flow that was engaging emotionally and energetically that delivered on many levels.  While the lyrics sung in their native tongue escaped me (and I am guessing many of the crowd) there was no denying the delivery was exactly what the audience was expecting and wanting tonight.  The music was a fun combination of synth beats reminiscent of dance floor rhythms that were given underlying heavy bottom end bass lines that perfectly supported the musical component without being too heavy handed.  With an album less than six months old to promote, Belaya Polosa, «Белая Полоса», the setlist tonight was heavier with new material, but at least a couple tracks pulled from each of their last three releases.  The bands use of vocals, guitars, and various synths created an interesting sound that resonated with me and most of the packed venue from first song to last, counterbalancing the deadpan facial expression singer Shkutko maintained throughout the show while Kozov and Komogortsev traded off instruments from song to song.  Throughout their set, the synths and guitars that came together song after song, anchored the tracks while also allowing the sound to cascade and soar at moments and drowning the venue in heavier post-punk vibes during other moments.  It amazed me throughout the evening how engaged the audience was without much prompting or prompting from the three guys on stage.  Full disclosure – going into the show, I knew little of the band and understood even less of their lyrics but walked out of The Fillmore with an appreciation for their music, ethereal energy, and presentation.  I look forward to the next opportunity I get to experience a Molchat Doma show… and it is an experience.

[Show as slideshow]

COMPLETE SET OF MOLCHAT DOMA PHOTOS

COMPLETE SET OF SEXTILE PHOTOS

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Tags: featured

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries