Photos by Alexander Schelldorf

That the United Nations (the band) continues to exist is almost unbelievable. For starters, they were sued by the United Nations (the international organization) over use of the name—a David/Goliath legal battle that makes the one that briefly raged between the Washington football team and the Washington City Paper pale in comparison. (Singer Geoff Rickly delighted in informing Saturday night’s raucous crowd that the UN member instrumental in bringing that lawsuit to the table had been fired last year). Furthermore, the band members don’t just live in other cities—they have commitments to other bands. As such, United Nations hardly plays out—much less tours.

Comprised of members of Thursday, Lovekill, and Pianos Become The Teeth, United Nations delighted in bringing their scathing political commentary and heavy riffing to Rock & Roll Hotel on Saturday. Rickly, a vocalist known more for his pretty timbre and range, showed that his chops included growling like a beast. The ambient music that served as a segue between all of their songs further emphasized the fact that that David Haik’s methodical drumming sounded as much like an assault rifle as any metal band and that all of the guitar riffs were intensely painful. “We all grew up in underground mid-’90s to late ’90s hardcore,” said Rickly before the show. “It’s this one common thing that we all have even though it’s not what any of us are known for.”

The crowd responded in kind to the band’s fervor and a pit developed within three songs that remained until the last gasps of set closer “Music for Changing Parties,” when Lukas Previn threw himself (and his microphone) into the crowd. In between the head banging and making sure the Rock & Roll Hotel security earned their money that night, the crowd was still able to appreciate Rickly’s dry and cutting humor. More than a few snickers emerged when he said things like, “This is a long rock ‘n’ roll epic…sit down grab some popcorn and relax,” before quick bottlerocket “Fuck the Future.”

But in between the garbled lyrics and massive pits, each band made it known under no uncertain terms how glad they were to be playing with the other bands. Loud Boyz singer Kenny Brown referred to the show as Threadfest, and Previn elaborated that this was due to the months-long text thread in which all of the musicians were taking part. Rickly actually put out the Black Clouds record on his imprint Collect Records and before the show, Previn said that he hopes the instrumental band gains a Slint-esque mythology, “Where no one quite knows what’s going on, but that they know it’s something big.” The mutual admiration further spurred both the bands and the crowd.

And while the photos clearly demonstrate as much, the band eschewed wearing Ronald Reagan masks during their set. Not only are there no band members that need protecting behind a non-identity, but as Rickly and Previn commented, the masks aren’t comfortable.

“It’s brutal,” said Previn. “I can palpably feel my face lose weight when we put those things on.”