On November 8th, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the Montreal instrumental post-rock group, took the stage at Salt Shed to play their biggest Chicago show yet. Godspeed You! has made a legendary career of playing immaculately constructed drones that resemble classical pieces with a sense of doom. Godspeed has always centered its sound around being as apocalyptic as possible, focusing thematically on the prison complex, failures of industrialism/capitalism, and atrocities of world government. Their 2024 album No Title as of 13 February 28,340 Dead focuses their doom energy around spreading awareness of what the civilians in Palestine are experiencing. On this latest album, GY!BE sounds as fresh as ever constructing the instrumental doom around an urgent issue and releasing an important piece of music that is worth a thousand words without speaking any.
I had seen Godspeed twice before, once at Thalia Hall which was off of their 2021 album G_D’s Pee At State’s End, and then at 2023’s edition of Riot Fest. The 2024 Salt Shed show had the biggest showing of the three shows, and election-related dread likely contributed to the packed turnout.
Alan Sparhawk, former member of the legendary indie outfit Low, opened the show, and Godspeed took the stage at 9:00pm sharp. The band included three guitarists, an upright bass player, two drummers, a violin player, and a keyboardist. They started off with their 2021 song “Hope Drone.”
The lead musician in the band, Efrim Menuck, was the main guitarist powering their drones. Efrim’s guitar fills every room he plays in with beauty and grace but also with the progressive feeling of dread and doom that the band is known for. Efrim and crew’s ability to balance the beauty with the apocalyptic is unlike any other band and a testament to the talent of the seven musicians.
Godspeed’s setlist continued with songs from their newest album like “Raindrops Cast In Lead” and “Pale Spectator,” two 10+ minute songs that capture the unspeakable horror of overseas atrocities with a somber reckoning. “Raindrops Cast in Lead” sounds like a dying machine coming to its last breath, a thematic rhythm Godspeed is consistent with. The songs off of their new record fit well into their setlists, delivering a new excitement to their musical range with brand-new beautiful arrangements. Godspeed ended their set with a special shoutout to their 1999 EP Slow Riot For Zero Kanada with the songs “Moya” and “BBF3.”
As a longtime Godspeed vinyl collector, I was really excited to see the songs from this EP played live as the vinyl for Slow Riot is one of my favorites. The EP is a great starting point into the band’s intimidating discography, delivering two beautiful and heart-wrenching tracks in only 20 minutes. BBF3 was amazing to hear live as its sample comes from a street interview with an American obsessed with his gun collection and discussing his issues with the judicial court system. BBF3 is haunting as it leads into soaring guitar sections.
Godspeed’s meditative music delivered a moment of reprieve for many at the Salt Shed.