Urban Heat Live at The Masquerade in Atlanta With Opener rare DM

Written and Captured By | Raymond Kao

At their very core, Urban Heat is a post-punk band from Austin, Texas, but it would be a shame to just shoehorn them only into that genre. Consisting of frontman Jonathan Horstmann, bassist Paxel Foley, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Naquin, they blend post-punk sounds with goth rock, New Wave, and synth wave. The resulting music belongs in something like Netflix’s “Stranger Things” – dark, powerful, pensive.

They were joined by Rare DM, born Erin Hoagg, a Brooklyn producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. Her outfit is the first thing you notice – a sport coat over a leather button-up, with nothing but a crisscross of leather harnesses for pants. Eventually, she took off both the sport coat and the leather button-up, giving her an appearance of vulnerability and intimacy that is reflected in her music.

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She sings about love, revenge, and heartbreak, all the while dancing and adjusting her sounds live. Her use of vocal reverb and echo stood out most in this live performance, ghostly reminders of experiences past and long forgotten.

Jonathan’s baritone is not something you hear often in the post-punk sphere, but it fits incredibly well rising above Kevin’s synth tracks and Paxel’s bass guitar. It’s a smooth sound that lets him sing about a variety of topics, from mental health to capitalism. He shared a story about the previous times that he’s been in Atlanta and how blessed and grateful he was to see his little community grow each and every time he comes back. He also played some unreleased and soon-to-be released tracks (including a song about vampires!) There was even a surprise appearance by Emily Fredock, pianist for Athens based goth rock band, “Vision Video”, who Urban Heat had just recently toured with in March. She shared the stage to help the band sing “A Simple Love Song”.

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Despite the often heavy lyrics of the songs, Jonathan was often moving on stage, jumping up on the speakers and sharing moments with Paxel and Kevin. Despite all the activity, neither Jonathan’s voice nor energy wavered and the audience was happy to share some of that energy back with him. It’s not hard to see why they’ve been awarded with their numerous accolades and performances this year. Like their song, “Like This”, goes, I hope they “come around and come around like this”.

Photos By | Raymond Kao