Amherst, MA screamo legends Orchid finally reunited after 22 years for a brief run of shows that wrapped up with three nights at Brooklyn’s Warsaw (May 9, 10, and 11). The shows began in the band’s Amherst hometown on May 5 at The Drake, and they also played Boston’s Royale and Philly’s First Unitarian Church and Union Transfer before doing the Brooklyn run. Openers varied from show to show, with Dropdead, Loma Prieta, Slow Fire Pistol, NØ MAN, The HIRS Collective, Gel, Uniform, and more joining Orchid throughout the run.
We caught the second Warsaw show (5/10), which began with a set from Philly noise rock band Carnivorous Bells, whose lineup includes former Merchandise guitarist David Vassalotti. The HIRS Collective followed, playing as a four-piece with live drums instead of their more-common two-piece setup with backing tracks. They interspersed their powerful, loud, tightly-executed powerviolence songs with messages about trans and queer rights, Palestine, cops, and more, and a variety of samples (though frontperson and Get Better Records co-owner Jenna Pup said their sampler broke towards the end, which at a minimum meant not hearing Whitney Houston before the final song). They put on a set that nearly stole the show.
Orchid, who were known for playing very short sets back in the day, stretched things out to about half an hour towards the end of their initial run, but these reunion shows have been 28-song sets that clock in at around an hour, giving fans good chunks of all three full-lengths and more. These were also some of the biggest venues they’d ever played, and they sold out very quickly. Needless to say, the demand for Orchid had only grown and grown throughout the two decades that they were gone, and a popular sentiment among so many that attended these shows was disbelief that they either able to check this one off their bucket list or that they were actually seeing and experiencing Orchid live again.
Orchid have one more upcoming appearance scheduled at the moment: Toronto’s Prepare the Ground festival (May 31-June 2) with 40 Watt Sun, Body Void, Burning Love (reunion/final show), Dreamwell, Emma Ruth Rundle, KEN mode, Liturgy, Marissa Nadler, Ragana (performing Desolation’s Flower), Sunrot, Terminal Nation, This Is Hell, Tomb Mold, Vile Creature, and more.
Pictures of Orchid (including one of the setlist) by P Squared continue below, and you can also watch a full-set, fan-shot video of their first show back after the pics.
Orchid @ The Drake in Amherst, MA – 5/5/24 Setlist (via)
Le Desordre, C’est Moi
Aesthetic Dialectic
Lights Out
A Visit From Dr. Goodsex
Destination: Blood!
The Action Index
Don’t Rat Out Your Friends
Loft Party
Framecode
Epilogue of a Car Crash
Invasion U.S.A.
Halving the Bones
Tigers
Weekend at the Fire Academy
Intelligable Audio
36 Day Syndrome
Trail of the Unknown Body
New Ideas in Mathematics
Death of a Modernist
We Love Prison
Eye Gouger
None More Black
She Has a Cold, Cold Heart (played over PA)
Amherst Pandemonium (Part 1)
Amherst Pandemonium (Part 2)
New Jersey vs. Valhalla
Anna Karina
I Am Nietzche
…And the Cat Turned to Smoke
Impersonating Martin Rev (played over PA)