Panchiko lit up House of Blues on Tuesday, April 28, with the first performance of a two-show run in Chicago. The mostly young audience was waiting to hear older hits like “D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L” and newer hits like “All They Wanted,” but even the less popular songs left an impression on the audience.
Panchiko disbanded in 2000 but was rediscovered in 2016 through a 4Chan post. A user had found one of their old CDs, but was unable to find any other details about the band other than their name.
Since then, Panchiko felt the immense internet pressure to get back together around 2020. Due to gaining more listens and blowing up again, the group got back together in 2020 to continue making music and touring. They have been touring their older music on and off, with a couple new albums since then. This whole 4Chan craze caused them to resurface from almost zero listeners then to 2.8 million monthly Spotify listeners today.
One fan who discovered Panchiko through the 4Chan post was Ian Hernandez-Maya, who found the story and fell in love with the electronic tone of their music.
“Live I think they pretty much sound the same, it sounds authentic,” Hernandez-Maya said. “They did say they didn’t use backing tracks so I thought it sounded pretty accurate to their master tracks.”
The energy throughout the night only grew. Fans had their phones out almost every song, looking to get a video or photo of the moment they were in. The grungy environment of House of Blues, mixed with Panchiko’s shoegaze-type beat, created an atmosphere that was a hit for concertgoers.
Despite the crowd being younger, many had been following the band for about two years, such as Sara Perez, who came with her boyfriend.
“There’s a couple little things you hear live that aren’t online,” Perez said. “Music just feels raw and more intimate when it’s live than through just a platform.”
Some fans even drove from Michigan to see the performance like Zakaria Bassuny, who came with his three cousins.
“I really loved finding people that I could relate to,” Bassuny said. “For example, I found this guy that had a hat from a manga series I really liked. I also found this girl that liked the same exact songs as me. So I would say my favorite part of it is just meeting new people.”
When the band’s hit “D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L” came on, the crowd became electric, singing every lyric, recording every moment, and dancing their way through the rest of the set.
Concert goers enjoyed all of the antics that the band displayed that night, like when Andrew Wright, who is the guitarist and keyboardist, decided to take his shoes off and put them on his keyboard.
Shulamite Tsai, another concertgoer from Michigan, arrived two hours early to get to the very front of the crowd, deeming the experience worthwhile.
“This was the best concert I’ve been to so far. And even though they didn’t play ‘The Eyes’ or ‘Ibad’ I had an amazing time,” Tsai said.
Panchiko will be continuing their U.S. stretch of the tour until May 14 in California before heading to Europe in the fall to finish out the rest of their 2026 tour.
Related Stories:
- The power of writing and performing: Anna Shoemaker opens for Mallrat
- Basement-born, park-grown: Grant Slam proves it’s here to stay
- ‘Here It Goes Again’: OK Go at Riviera Theatre
Support Student Journalism!
The DePaulia is DePaul University’s award-winning, editorially independent student newspaper. Since 1923, student journalists have produced high-quality, on-the-ground reporting that informs our campus and city.
We rely on reader support to keep doing what we do. Donations are tax deductible through DePaul's giving page.
