Hippie Death Cult, Glowing Brain
- Bleeding Priest
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
The Kilowatt
San Francisco, CA
March 19, 2026
Hippie Death Cult and Glowing Brain, two bands I’ve been hearing about for a while but seeing for the first time. They did not disappoint.
The Kilowatt was well attended this sweltering Thursday eve. It was a good mix of different folks from different scenes. I met the couple who put on the Punk Rock Record Swap in Alameda. Good people.
Glowing Brain was first. Their music wasn’t quite what I was expecting. With the name I was prepared to hear something more in the sci-fi prog realm. Not to say there wasn’t a trippy element to a lot of their songs and riffs. But they were way more driving and straight forward than expected.
They were selling a shirt that donned the Motörhead mascot “Snaggletooth”. I can definitely hear the similarities but to just say “they sound like Motörhead” is selling Glowing Brain way short. Amidst all the revved up tempos there’s plenty of unusual and interesting ideas going on with some slower spaced out passages.
The vocals are also a tad on the cosmic tip which makes for a great juxtaposition to the aggressive musical approach. Oddly enough some of their stuff reminded me of early Prong, Forced Fed and before. These guys definitely have their own thing going on and I enjoyed it very much.
Up next was Portland’s Hippie Death Cult. It’s kinda crazy this was my first time seeing them considering how many times Michael Madfes (R.I.P.) had booked them. They completely blew me away how heavy they were. Because of the name I was expecting something way more “jammy” and psychedelic. Those elements were certainly in there but there were plenty of Metal parts driven by kick ass double bass. Again, totally NOT what I was expecting.
Speaking of the drums, the drummer was top notch and a lot fun to watch. He was a total powerhouse with chops to spare. All of the players were great. The bassist/vocalist had a strong, easy to digest singing voice but her scream was something out of this world. She didn’t do it often but when she did it was effective as fuck!
These two bands worked very well together. I would see them again separately or together. I really dig seeing shows at The Kilowatt. I’ve been a loyal patron of this joint since the 90’s. Back when it was originally a live venue. And throughout the 2000’s when it became The Mission’s premier coke bar for a couple of decades.
I’m stoked that it's a live venue again. Word on the street is they’re struggling to stay open. I truly hope that’s not true. I think what Katie and crew have done to that spot is fantastic. In lieu of Thee Parkside closing and The Bottom Of The Hill at the end of the year it would be a major blow to the SF live music scene if The Kilowatt shuttered its doors as well. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen!
–Bleeding Priest
