Live Shows: Gossip Collar, Identical Palms, and Ex-Hyena, Koto Asian Fusion, Salem, MA 5/31/25

I'm the kind of person that will take any excuse to go visit Salem, MA. I love everything about the city, from the history to the kitsch factor to the macabre tourism aspect. Luckily, Witch City has been growing its live music scene, so Saturday night I had a perfect excuse to head in to see Gossip Collar and Ex-Hyena at Koto, and got to discover Identical Palms.

Ex-Hyena opened the show with their darkwave style. Seeing electronic music live isn't always my favorite since so much of it can be pre-programmed, but Ex-Hyena always put on a great show since it's actually done live. They were also the most mellow of the three artists performing, so it helped ease the crowd from finishing up their crab rangoons to watching live music, and Koto slowly filled up during their set. Their new single "Vanishing Edge" was a highlight of their set and helped get the crowd more into dancing at a show mode. Plus, seeing darkwave in Salem just feels right.

I was unfamiliar with Identical Palms before Saturday night, but they quickly won me over. Another killer band from Lowell, they played a set of dark post-punk with an oddly mainstream feel. They kind of sounded like a more modern and rock based version of Echo & The Bunnymen, and continued the dark vibe of the night. The singer (whose name I can't seem to find) is one of the most captivating frontpeople I've seen in such a small venue in a long time. It helped the band exude a natural charisma that sucked in the entire crowd, many of which seemed to have made the trip primarily to see them. If you love dark and somewhat laid back goth tinged post-punk, check out their new-ish album Beyond the Dark.

I first discovered Gossip Collar opening for the Davila 666, Las Nubes, and Ladrones show last fall, and I became a fan of theirs in the first ten seconds of their set. This was my first time seeing them since October, and they did not disappoint. They play a version of post-punk heavy on the punk side. Their live show is intense with the entire band seeming like the songs are about to break free and they're fighting to keep everything under control. It's such a high energy set while still keeping the dark vibe of the night going, and even the most puritanical audience members finally had to break out at least some dance moves. Live Gossip Collar is kind of like if Joy Division and The B-52's decided to jam together, so we're obviously going to be fans.