DIIV / Theatre – live gallery and review from Button Factory Dublin 01.09.2025

Nostalgia’s still not what it used to be!

And yet there is DIIV (pronounced Dive); a band who are genuinely talented and would succeed in any era. If MBV and Radiohead had a kid and New Order were the godparents, the child would look a lot like DIIV. Part of me felt I was in late 1980s Camden Town, Dingwalls. A definite return to shoe gazing. This gig was originally chalked for Vicar Street, but switched to the more ‘intimate’ Button Factory late on, and was sold out. The crowd, arriving in time for many to enjoy the likeable support act Theatre (has nobody used that name in rock and roll’s 75 years?) whose set reinforced the late ‘80s vibe. Cards on the table, I like Theatre. They have a slacker cool on stage and a detached demeanour which comes over as totally unselfconscious. Musically they fall somewhere between ‘Ride’ and ‘Lush’ (for those old enough) and I really like them. Whether they’re ready to hold a headline spot, I’m not sure, but as an opener, they’re great.
And so to the main attraction.

DIIV have released four albums to date, much of tonight’s set was drawn from the most recent ‘Frog In Boiling Water’ although all of its predecessors  ‘Oshin’ (pronounced Ocean), ‘Deceiver’ and ‘Is the Is Are’ are amply represented.  If there’s an overriding emotion (and there is) to DIIV’s recent output, it’s one of ‘resignation’. “We get it, yes, but we can’t change anything so we may as well get on with things” but it’s worth noting that it’s in the nature of irony that we can’t ever be sure where they actually stand.
DIIV are one of those bands that put a lot of thought into their live shows. Tonight they don’t introduce themselves or the songs, preferring instead to run an almost constant backdrop (with and without lyrics). The images are of the everyday variety. It’s that they’re placed out of immediate context and as such are quite effective.  None of this detracts from the bands’ onstage presence.

Unusually, the singer Zachary Cole Smith doesn’t take centre stage. That space is filled by guitarist Andrew Bailey, and illustrates a continuing shift in the power dynamic from Smith to a more democratic overall approach.
Certainly ‘Frog In Boiling Water’ confirms a theme of a sort of creeping collapse and alienation from older certainties. Nowhere is this more apparent than via the video backdrop. With images that are equally clever, witty and provocative such as when they flash a Palestinian symbol or run a clip calling America ‘The Great Satan’. These boys are New Yorkers, after all.

The crowd, emo hipster types, seemed into it. Many have grown up with ‘Oshin’, but responded to newer tracks like ‘Raining on your Pillow’ and ‘Brown Paper Bag’ with equal enthusiasm.
DIIV are a very good band. They make great records and obviously take their craft seriously.  It’s not often that a band take to the stage on a Monday in Dublin with a full house waiting for them. Having only recently stumbled onto DIIV, I really wanted to enjoy them live. I feel they could have rocked-out a bit more for my taste, but perhaps that’s just nitpicking on my part.

That aside, DIIV are the real deal. They’re steadily increasing their reputation here. In a fair world they should be huge. That they’re not, may give a clue to their ‘overriding emotion’.
Just sayin. G.

Theatre photos:

DIVV photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Intro
In Amber
Interlude
Brown Paper Bag
Coinbase Ad
Like before
Under the Sun
Soul-net
Frog in Boiling Water
Take Your Time
Taker
Reflected
Somber the Drums
Between Tides
Blankenship
Acheron
___________________
Raining on Your Pillow
Horsehead
Doused

Photos – David McEneaney @experimentzero
Words – Gerry McCrave