Basement performs at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on Oct. 15, 2018. Photos: Joaquin Cabello

SAN FRANCISCO — On the tail end of the West Coast run of its tour, U.K. melodic hardcore aggressors Basement set the Rickshaw Stop ablaze with energy on Monday night.

Mosh pits broke out immediately as Basement jumped into opening track “Disconnect.” Singer Andrew Fisher narrowly avoided a few tumbling crowd surfers as he belted out,“My prodigal son/ What have you done to make you feel this disconnect?” Throughout the show, Fisher’s vocals ascended above the band’s layers of distortion and destruction to convey surprisingly emotional and heartfelt messages.

Basement didn’t slow down at all. The band played “Be Here Now” and “Stigmata,” off  its new album, Beside Myself, with the kind of urgency one would expect from post-hardcore mainstays. The highlights came toward the end of the show when Basement played a couple of classics off of 2012 album Colourmeinkindness: “Pine” and “Covet.”

The band ended with another fan favorite, “Promise Everything.”

Elder Brother performs at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on Oct. 15, 2018.

Throughout the show, guitarists Alex Henery and Ronan Crix forged crisp and nuanced melodies while bassist Duncan Stewart and drummer James Fisher provided a rich and satisfying rhythm section. Song after song, Basement displayed an airtight instrumentation and a precise use of heavy distortion.  

Fisher’s gritty vocal delivery echoed across the room while the guitars and bass were grinding away at heavy chord progressions and twangy riffs. James Fisher’s drumming filled the room with shimmery crash symbols and fat kick drums while keeping a mind-bending pace.  

Locals Elder Brother, led by Kevin Geyer of The Story So Far, preceded the headliners and also turned up the volume with a variety of songs off their May album, Stay Inside. The band delivered fast-paced, lovelorn destruction to the tune of screaming guitars and thundering bass.  Elder Brother’s melancholy lyrical content contrasted well with the band’s aggressive sonics.

Pllush performs at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco on Oct. 15, 2018.

“If I walk away, who’s gonna carry you home?” sang Geyer, shining especially bright against the band’s consistently melancholy backdrop.

Bay Area band Pllush, which released its most recent album on June 8, started the night off by delivering tight, minimal and melodic dream-pop and shoegaze. The band’s enchanting melodies and effervescent vocal hooks created a uniquely nostalgic sound. Pllush constructed its melodies on top of layers of chorus, reverb and delay, and was able to create a warm soundscape and depth that is not typically seen in lo-fi shoegaze acts.

— Zach James

Follow photographer Joaquin Cabello at Instagram.com/joaquinxcabello.