One of the first acts to play for both weekend 1 and 2, Bilmuri brought up the energy to an otherwise slow Friday. Humorously named after the comedian, the band consists of Johnny Franck on vocals, Gabi Rose on saxophone and vocals, Reese Maslen on guitar, and Xavier Ware on drums. Seamlessly switching from poppy vocals with soaring saxophone to guttural screams and heavy guitar riffs from their post-hardcore roots, Bilmuri attracted both long-time and new fans to their stage.
Franck’s interactions with the crowd was full of raunchy humor as he introduced songs like “ABSOLUTELYCRANKINGMYMF'INHOG” and “ACOWBOYSHEAVYLOAD” while the audience loved every second of it. Their high saturated and random aesthetic was matched by their stage presence with Franck throwing cuss words around with the enthusiasm of a toddler, only driving the crowd to cheer more.
As pits were already forming in the audience, Bilmuri got to their song “MORE THAN HATE” and called for possibly the only Wall of Death ACL has seen and the crowd knew exactly what to do. The pit opened and closed in on itself as the beat dropped, crowdsurfers flew over heads and Franck’s heartfelt lyrics rose above it all. Rose’s enthusiasm on the saxophone was only contrasted by Maslen’s headbanging and Ware’s intense bass kick beats.
For their final song, “BETTER HELL (Thicc boi),” the stage projection changed from just their band name to a photoshopped American flag with a buff Jar Jar Binks, and Johnny Franck himself in front of it while fighter jets periodically soared across the screen. Franck and Rose’s vocals uplifted the audience, sometimes literally as the last crowdsurfers went over the barricade.
Their set ended with a satisfying finality as Franck called out his talented bandmates and the audience for the enthusiasm brought to their show. Concertgoers walked away out of breath, still smiling. No matter what they came into the set as, everyone walked away a new fan to a fun, rowdy, genre-defying band.
