Photos and Review by Emily Gringorten
@emgringo

Alex Giannascoli, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist better known as Alex G (formerly known as Sandy Alex G), brought his captivating and intense show to a sold-out and sweaty Catalyst Club on August 12th, 2024. The band is finishing up an opening run supporting Foo Fighters, with a handful of mostly headline shows sprinkled in. Giannascoli’s music is often described as indie rock with a lo-fi aesthetic, and throughout the course of the show, his artistic range was on full display.

Art rock/shoegaze trio Julie kicked off the night before Giannascoli and his band took the stage around 9 PM. They started with “S.D.O.S” and “Runner” from his 2022 release God Save the Animals. The album, his most recent release, received critical acclaim and was considered by many to be one of the best of the year. Next came “Southern Sky” and fan favorite “Gretel,” both from his 2019 project House of Sugar. Other highlights included “Kicker” and “Walk” from 2015’s Beach Music, and “Miracles.”

Giannascoli’s deadpan humor was on full display, evident from the start when he addressed the crowd as “San Francisco.” Adoring fans, desperate for their personal moment, barraged him with questions and obscure song requests. At one point, he commented with a mocking tone, “What’s with all these dumbass questions? What’s your favorite movie, what’s your favorite color…” Another fan, who I presume was asking if he liked something they’d baked for him, was met with the response, “Of course we didn’t eat those, we thought they were poisoned.” It’s clear his artistic persona aligns with his enigmatic and unconventional music.

What was most intriguing to me was how Giannascoli was able to seamlessly weave between contrasting styles; the set consisted mostly of dreamy and calmly introspective tracks with more experimental picks spliced in between. One example was the chaotic “Brick” from his 2017 release Rocket, with aggressive riffs and almost unhinged screaming vocals.

Eventually, he said, “We’re going to play one more song, leave the stage, and not come back,” before finishing the regular set with “Forgive.” Soon after, the band re-emerged for a seven-song encore, including many fan favorites like “Hope,” “Bobby,” “Gnaw,” and a cover of Third Eye Blind’s “How’s It Going to Be.” They closed with “Sarah” from his 2012 release Trick.

For all the latest Alex G news check out @sandyalexg