We Got Boiled Alive at Lincoln Hall: A Surreal Night With DIIV in Chicago
By Taylor Pate - January 21, 2026
DIIV joined a hard-hitting list of headliners for Tomorrow Never Knows Fest, which celebrates 20 years of Chicago music fans braving four weeks of cold in January. The band, alongside headliners This House is Creaking and ACCESSORY, played for a packed Lincoln Hall crowd on January 17.
American rock band DIIV started off as Zachary Cole Smith’s solo project in 2011 and, over the past 15 years, has developed into the four-piece act with Andrew Bailey, Colin Caulfield, and Ben Newman. Earlier this month, they released their new live album Boiled Alive, the same name as their concert film released early December last year. It is safe to say their live album could not have prepared me for the beautiful experience I had as I moved about the venue.
Photo by Taylor Pate
After This House is Creaking and ACCESSORY absolutely rocked the crowd, a brief intermission followed before DIIV headed for the stage. They started their set with clips from their film Boiled Alive, which were also sprinkled throughout the set in between songs. The opening clip included affirmations along the lines of “I’m of sound mind.” The film could definitely be described as a “hyper-capitalism parody,” which added to the surreal experience of their set. One clip during the set was a bit of a jab at Papa John’s, which the crowd got riled up about.
However, the crowd was generally a lot more relaxed. There was definitely a mix of energy throughout the night, which may be credited to it being an older crowd and a cold night. However, there were pockets of joy, such as a little dance circle to stage right. I couldn’t help but dance along with them.
Photo by Taylor Pate
Photo by Taylor Pate
Yet, I can’t blame the people who simply swayed to the music, as DIIV cultivated such a uniquely immersive experience. It felt similar to that of listening to their 2024 album Frog in Boiling Water, in which the beauty of Smith’s vocals and the band’s instrumentation feels like a dream you struggle to sink into because you can’t ignore the facts of the reality we currently live in. The beautiful orangey-red lights (reminiscent of an oven) and their amazing performance bring you in, and as they play their film, they bring you back out, reminding you of what we are facing. But as Smith states in their song “Reflected,” “The worst of times / Leave them behind / But keep that lump in your throat.” We as an audience can have these moments of joy, but we would be ignorant to act as if there is real escape.
In that respect, DIIV placed us in that pot as if we were the hypothetical frog in boiling water—once fighting to make it out, but eventually accepting its fate and making the most of it in a dreamscape. That’s not meant to be morbid! It truly felt as if I, and most of the audience, were transported to this uncertain reality.
