The show was sold out, and the front of the house was a bit toasty. Since the start of the set, a sea of prog-rock fans dropped their black jackets and sweatshirts to make room for more headbanging. A lot of headbanging.
The fainted fan was safely escorted from the front of the venue (we wish them well!), and the bandmembers immediately kicked back on as if it had never stopped, finishing the show like true stoner-rock masters.
And it was loud.
The band — originally from Massachusetts and comprising Nicholas DiSalvo, Jack Donovan, Michael Risberg and Georg Edert — played a one-and-a-half-hour set of psych-rock tracks. Howling Giant and Ruby the Hatchet opened.
We rounded up some of our favorite photos of the night. Enjoy, and rock on.
![](https://media2.westword.com/den/imager/u/blog/16826601/img-3832.jpg?cb=1689711041)
Post-metal rock band Elder headlined a sold-out show at the Bluebird Theater on Tuesday, May 9, with openers Howling Giant and Ruby the Hatchet.
Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek
![](https://media2.westword.com/den/imager/u/blog/16826625/img-3836.jpg?cb=1689711036)
Ruby the Hatchet opened for Elder at the Bluebird Theater on Tuesday, May 9.
Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek
![](https://media1.westword.com/den/imager/u/blog/16826603/img-3842.jpg?cb=1689711041)
Originally from Massachusetts, Elder is made up of Nicholas DiSalvo, Jack Donovan, Michael Risberg and Georg Edert.
Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek
![](https://media2.westword.com/den/imager/u/blog/16826617/img-3994.jpg?cb=1689711041)
On the backdrop, a quote says, "Man must rise above the Earth — to the top of the atmosphere and beyond — for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives."
Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek
![](https://media2.westword.com/den/imager/u/blog/16826607/img-3899.jpg?cb=1689711041)
The band’s newest album, Innate Passage, was recorded and mixed at Cloud’s Hill Studio in Hamburg, Germany, in 2021. Elder's website says it shows the band's ever-expanding musical vocabulary and joy for sonic exploration.
Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek