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 I...