It’s Tuesday, July 22, and Nothing are about to play a sold-out show at The Metro in Chicago. Posters of hometown heroes, The Smashing Pumpkins, line the walls along with just about everyone else you can think of who has previously played here. I met up with Nothing guitarist/tour manager Cam Smith, and he escorted me backstage.
Guitarist Doyle Martin is taking a nap, and the rest of the guys are relaxing in the green room. It’s just about time for soundcheck.
Nothing are experts at building a huge sound and being able to see them soundcheck some of their tracks from 2020’s The Great Dismal is epic, to say the least. After soundcheck, I grab a few portraits of the band and talk with Nothing’s founding member, vocalist/guitarist Nicky Palermo. He showed me around and we talked about his early days starting the band in Philadelphia and not conforming to music industry standards. He’s a nice guy. In fact, all the guys in Nothing are friendly and easy to work with. A real pleasure to hang out with.
It’s just about showtime, and Palermo has crafted “the world’s biggest setlist,” which is on the inside of a large pizza box. The guys take the stage, and glitched-out projections illuminate the members. The sound is huge, and the crowd is transfixed. The band plows through a nine-song set ending with “Eaten by Worms.” At this point, Palermo launches his guitar into the crowd and ends the song, singing into the crowd from the barricade. He throws “the world’s biggest setlist” into the audience, saying, “It’s a fight to the death for whoever gets it!”
