Polyphia bring delicious, noodle-y riffs to the Uptown

With support from DOMi x JD Beck.

October 18, 2023

Jeffrey Allee, Hana Kim,

Polyphia. // photo by Jeffrey Allee

Polyphia
with DOMi & JD Beck
Uptown Theater
Monday, October 16

Instrumental prog-rock band Polyphia and their openers DOMi x JD Beck brought walls of unique sound to the Uptown Theatre on Monday, October 16 as part of their tour for their new album Remember You Will Die. With an electric set of jazzy, hip-hop infused riffs, the groups made the nearly sold-out show a night to remember for all.

DOMi x JD Beck started the night with their eclectic keyboard/drumset duo, playing upbeat, original compositions like “Not Tight,” which DOMi jokes is “about your mom,” a masterful medley of songs from MF DOOM’s Madvillainy, and cover of Weather Report’s “Havona.”

After the duo warmed the crowd up a bit, the headliners came on to a pitch-black stage. Tim Henson, Scott LePage, Clay Gober and Clay Aeschliman lit up the stage both figuratively and literally, with Aeschliman’s drumset surrounded by a cage of lights and each of the guitarists’ mini-stages equally flooded with color.

The quartet moved the entire crowd without a single word — none of the boys even had a microphone on stage to speak to the crowd. Using only the power of their music and a few gestures, Polyphia was able to completely soothe, hype up, and enthrall the crowd, even being able to set up a wall of death before their final song of the night.

A key part of Polyphia’s enchanting stage presence is the pure skill on display; Henson deftly switches between a clean tone on a nylon-stringed guitar and his signature distorted tone on another guitar during “Chimera.” Meanwhile, LePage shines in contrast with his heavier, metal-leaning solos on “Neurotica.” The wall of light and sound that Polyphia brought to the Uptown made the night one to remember for everyone attending.

All photos by Jeffrey Allee

Polyphia

Polyphia setlist
Loud
Reverie
The Audacity
Goose
40oz
Chimera
O.D.
Icronic
Champagne
The Worst
All Falls Apart
Crush/Culture Shock
So Strange
Neurotica
ABC
Euphoria
—
Genesis
Playing God
G.O.A.T.