RECAP & PHOTOS: Quicksand & No Joy @ Masquerade Atlanta 9/19/17

Quicksand made their triumphant return to Atlanta on Tuesday, September 19th in Downtown at The Masquerade after closing out last year’s Wrecking Ball ATL Fest with a thunderous exclamation point on what would become one of the last hurrahs of the old mill building at 695 North Avenue. They were flanked by No Joy, a Doomy shoegaze trio from Canada.

No Joy are touring in support of their latest EP, Drool Sucker, which came out this year on Topshelf Records. Their set consisted of a mixture of songs from each of their previous releases, Wait to Pleasure, More Faithful, and Ghost Blonde. The crowd, while obviously waiting on the onslaught that Quicksand would be bringing, gave their full attention and support to them. I find them to be one of the bright lights of the shoegaze genre, often blending more melodic hooks to their often atmospheric sound.

After a brief intermission, the floor really started to fill up. Not just literally, but also with anticipation. This would be Quicksand’s first stand-alone gig in Atlanta in over 20 years. Some of the fans that were not fortunate enough to catch them at Wrecking Ball, or were set so far back in the large crowd of the outdoor stage that it left them longing for a more intimate setting. This was their chance.

Quicksand recently surprised the music community with the announcement of a new album, Interiors, their first in 22 years, out November 10th on Epitaph Records, along with a subsequent tour.

As the lights and house music faded, they dove headfirst into “Fazer” off their album Slip. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy, shouting every lyric right back at Walter Schreifels. The energy would carry them throughout their entire career spanning setlist.

In between songs, Walter remarked that their set at Wrecking Ball Fest was one of the sparks that reignited the band and made them want to create new music. He thanked Atlanta for that. About three quarters of the way though the set, they broke into one of my favorite tracks, “Thorn in my Side” off of Manic Compression. If there was any sense of the crowd feeling fatigued, this brought their energy level well past the breaking point. They ended their set with “Skinny”, another fan favorite. As the crowd dispersed, there were smiles all around. All of them hopeful that Quicksand will continue on their current trajectory and return once again to the city that reignited the spark.

Photos and written by Peter Sigmund, check out more of Peter’s photos of No Joy: