Hyperpop duo 100 gecs held a show in San Diego for their 10,000 Gecs tour on Nov. 18.
100 gecs is an energetic band formed by members Laura Les and Dylan Brady in 2015. The duo released their first EP “100 gecs” in 2017, but quickly grew in popularity in 2019 when their album “1000 gecs” went viral on TikTok. Since then, the artists have gone on to make remixes of their songs with other popular musicians like Charli XCX, Fall Out Boy and Dorian Electra on their album “1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues.”
The concert was held at The Observatory in North Park, which promised a more intimate experience compared to a setting like Pechanga or Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. There was no shortage of fans outside as a line wrapped around the venue and could be seen from across the street. As soon as the doors opened, ready concertgoers wasted no time securing their spots in the middle of the barricade, claiming their chance to be as close as they could to the performers.
Merchandise for 100 gecs was steadily being sold as fans in fishnets and alligator hats lined up to get celebratory drinks in preparation for the concert. The crowd was representative of the versatility in 100 gecs’ music, as there was no exact style shared amongst them.
100 gecs had two openers for the night. The first was rapper Aaron Cartier who arrived onstage and quickly set up his phone so he could begin performing. Off the bat, Cartier brought immense energy to the crowd as he jumped around the stage and enthusiastically delivered his lyrics.
The crowd jumped up and down with him as he performed while electric blue lights consumed the stage. Cartier even announced his intention to start a recording studio in San Diego, and encouraged anyone who was interested to reach out to his direct messages.
Next up was pop musician Underscores. Underscores continued to hype up the crowd with smooth electronic instrumentals and clean vocals that tied everything together like a neat bow on a birthday gift.
Being familiar to San Diego, the artist asked the crowd if they had ever heard of the Del Mar Fair, and screams of confirmation led into a performance of “Del mar county fair 2008,” a song any pop-loving San Diegan would enjoy. Underscores also performed a hyperpop rendition of Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” which forced concertgoers into reciting every lyric as they collided into one another.
After about 40 minutes, a curtain was pulled up which revealed two large prop speakers and a brick background. The crowd yelled in anticipation and soon after, Les and Brady ran onto the stage.
Both sported wizard-like cloaks — Les’ being purple with yellow stars, and Brady’s being yellow with black music notes. The first song they performed was an unreleased track, currently known as “hey big man.” With heavy rock influences and brash guitar riffs, this song proved that there’s no genre the duo couldn’t conquer and held heavy contrast to their more pop-influenced tracks.
Throughout the night, the band killed it as mosh pit after mosh pit began to form. Les and Brady both gave stellar performances, singing their lyrics as they stomped around the stage and flipped their long blond hair to the beat. The only thing more on brand for them than the cloaks they eventually took off, was their act for “hand crushed by a mallet”—arguably their most popular song—the only track requested from the crowd more than their viral hit “money machine.”
Les and Brady also had a special surprise for concertgoers, when they started to perform their newest single “mememe,” which was also released the same night.
After performing “stupid horse,” “ringtone” and “hollywood baby,” among other songs, the bright purple lights Les and Brady performed under went black as the pair ran off the stage. The abrupt exit made fans confused and angry as they chanted “more gec, more gec, more gec!”
The crowd was more than pleased when less than five minutes later, they ran back on stage with a predictable encore. To end the show, 100 gecs performed “800db cloud,” and fans rejoiced, shouting the lyrics right back to the band. Thanks to screams into the microphone, blaring bass, flashing lights and plenty of unreleased songs, 100 gecs is sure to be welcomed back into San Diego with open arms in the future.
