I stood in an alley outside of the Valley Bar, a red neon sign illuminated a group of late teens and early twenty somethings huddled together around two men, Chandler and Noah, both wearing skinny jeans. One fan asked Noah “How did you come up with the name The Hellp?”. He responded explaining that it came to him after he attended church one day in 2016 in what he felt was a moment of divine intervention. He felt that all the great American bands use “the” in their name. “The” often implies a sense of importance in the canon of American Music.

A few days before this show, I had no ticket and was unsure if I would be able to go. A friend suggested that I email the two members of The Hellp, Noah Dillon and Chandler Ransom Lucy to ask for entry into the show. Initially I thought it may not lead anywhere but to my surprise a few hours after I sent the email, I received a reply from Chandler which read

“You’re on the list,
Sent from my iPhone”.

I hopped on a plane to Phoenix and shortly after arrived at the show. I stood in line among the other fans, a girl in shutter shades, a boy in square toed boots who had driven four hours to see them. They attracted a unique crowd of mostly fashionable concert goers including a man who appeared to be about fifty, decked out in leather biker gear and chains. A fan who had lined up earlier in the day recounted to me the members arriving at the venue, Chandler jokingly taunted them about being so early and proceeded to tell them he had a surprise for them. He then reportedly lit a small firework in front of the fans and drove off in the tour van. From the unique crowd and story I had just heard, I could tell I was in for a good night.

I descended the stairs into the dark room which serves as the main performance venue in the Valley Bar and walked straight up to the edge of the stage, as most of the fans already inside were in line to buy one of the t-shirts from the selection they were selling. The small stage featured a stand full of synths, a keyboard, a midi pad, among several other electronic instruments. Shortly after I arrived, the opening act Veronica Everheart began her performance. The local phoenix musician put on a high energy performance combining the sounds of a reverberating guitar with powerful vocals. Two musicians were positioned behind her controlling drum machines and midi pads which culminated into an extremely unique synth/rock/pop performance. 

After Veronica finished, the fans anxiously awaited the band’s arrival to the stage. Red lights washed the stage while the pre-show music played. The venue was filled with various sounds from the Skyrim soundtrack along with several 100 Gecs songs which played almost back to back to each other. A stagehand placed three cans of modelo on stage and shortly after the lights dimmed, with only two L shaped light boxes illuminating the stage. Noah and Chandler stepped onto stage and opened with “Rllynice”. Immediately sounds of thrashing distorted bass filled the venue and the crowd began to move back and forth like a sea. They immediately pumped an incredible energy into the crowd. 

Noah thrashed around on stage, gripping onto the various knobs on his board, distorting his voice with walls of effects and reverb. He interjected the songs with his signature “woo” like the one which can be heard at 2:22 on “Ether”  Chandler simultaneously constructed the drums and synths of each song on his setup, remixing songs on the fly into new versions which sounded even better than some of the studio recordings. They masterfully blended each song into the next, making for an incredibly high energy performance which had the crowd moving for every track. 

At one point in the show, Chandler’s drums suffered a brief technical difficulty which was shortly resolved. During this down time, Noah kept the crowd going by jokingly doing partial acoustic renditions of their songs like “Lord Jesus” and “Ssx”. After this, they had no difficulty returning their contagious energy to the crowd. The fans were extremely engaged, singing almost every song word for word back to the band.

I was in the front row, against the elevated stage which had no barrier between the crowd and the stage. The crowd began to move with such power that me and several other people in the front row began to fall over and had to grip onto the speakers to keep ourselves upright. At the end of the night my knees had even been bruised because of how much they had been repeatedly smashed into the stage. The two concluded their set with fan favorite “Tu Tu Neurotic” which revived the crowd instantly as they jumped and screamed almost every word. The track transitioned into their own rendition of “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. Noah and Chandler finished the song and waved to the audience, exiting the stage. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to have a conversation with Noah and Chandler outside the venue after the show. Several other fans and I conversed with them about topics ranging from Addison Rae to dating apps. Despite their usually brazen online presence, The two were extremely personable, expressing their apologies for the technical difficulties and thanking us for coming. 

I was immediately wowed by what I had just experienced, I had not seen a band in a long time which seemed to be doing something so unique and effective for their live performances. With the nature of their music, The Hellp could easily hop on stage with two cdjs and simply just play instrumental tracks to sing to, but the two seem to be perfectionists who value creating the best performance possible. They were not simply just playing the music like other electronic acts but instead crafting it on stage, transforming it into something truly unique. Being able to recreate their complex songs filled with  booming synths, chopped samples, and distorted vocals is not an easy feat and their ability to do it seamlessly speaks volumes to their talent. The Hellp are something special, a band who seems to be on the cutting edge of their field and are paving the way for the electronic scene. The Hellp are deserving of their “The”.