The anticipation in the room before DIIV stepped on stage was directly correlated to the number of DIIV shirts sported by the band’s diehard fanbase. Kicking off their November tour at ONCE Ballroom, buy DIIV offered a visually sparse but sonically engulfing set that satisfied old and new fans alike.

As far as openers go, for sale Brooklyn based post-punk band Pill were a great companion to the dreamy, meandering guitar rock of DIIV. Pill added an element of raw grittiness while still sharing some of the elements that permeate DIIV’s music. The lines “You wanna touch me where? / No, I’m younger than that” in “Hotline” were rendered much more potent paired with front woman Victoria Torres critique of Donald Trump and his misogyny towards women.

Almost from the start of DIIV’s set, singer Zachary Cole Smith’s banter was hijacked by a couple of drunk hecklers pestering about his involvement in the tangentially related Brooklyn act Beach Fossils. After a uncomfortable few minutes of debate (“I was never really in that band”, Smith defended after the heckler kept requesting Beach Fossils’ “Adversity”), Smith made a proving case for DIIV with a set mostly taken from their newest album, Is the Is Are, as well as a healthy dose of their past hits such as “How Long Have You Known” “Doused”.

During the set, singer Zachary Smith repeatedly mentioned that he intended to have a collage of home videos projected on stage, but unfortunately forgot to bring his projector on tour. The lack of visual stimuli and relatively subdued motions of the band members who generally looked down at their feet added to their air of aloofness. Fortunately, the sparseness allowed the audience to be engulfed in DIIV’s propulsive rhythm and dreamy sprawling guitar parts.

All hecklers and disaffection aside, there was the overwhelming feeling that Smith and DIIV have finally stepped out of Beach Fossils’ ever looming shadow with Is The Is Are and into something uniquely their own.

For photos from the set, check out our photo slideshow below: