The Canadian duo hit London to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, with Demob Happy providing excellent support!
Of all the rock gods that are no longer with us, we suspect that it is the spirit of Lemmy that hovers over the Forum tonight. Why the Motörhead main man? Probably because both of tonight’s bands are disciples of the filthy bass tone that he invented (or at least perfected), and – as he was – are unafraid to use it in a manner that surely gives the venue’s foundations a good testing.
Newcastle natives Demob Happy play like this is their own show, and that’s understandable for a band with songs as good (and as exotically-titled) as ‘Token Appreciation Society’ and ‘Sweet And Sour America’. Theirs is a punk rock sneer set atop a pile of thunderous low-end riffs and barbed-wire guitars. They’d probably kill me for saying this, but these are damn catchy tunes, too – ones that you almost recognise despite never having heard them before. They’ll be playing a couple of dates at the 100 Club later this year – we won’t miss out and we suggest you don’t either.
However, if Demob Happy sound like they’re flirting with musical madness, Death From Above 1979 have long been in bed with insanity. When they started out in the early 2000s, they were quite the anomaly. Sure, there were guitar-and-drums duos (most notably the White Stripes, and the lesser known – but ace – Winnebago Deal), but a bass-and-drums duo? Could it even work?
Debut album ‘You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine’ was a defiant answer to the doubters, a muscular dance-punk monster that ignited dancefloors wherever it was played, and helped earn the Canadian duo a reputation for incendiary gigs. They’re playing it in full tonight to celebrate its 20th anniversary, and the sense of anticipation is almost tangible. The opening punk rock blast of ‘Turn It Out’ sounds suitably feral, but it is long-time live favourite ‘Romantic Rights’ that whips the crowd into a glorious, bouncing, dancing, booze-spilling mess.
It sets the tone for the rest of the night, and DFA don’t waste a minute as they rip through the likes of ‘Blood On Our Hands’ and ‘Cold War’ like a band who have plenty to prove. They don’t, though; few records from the early 2000s garage-rock scene have aged as well as ‘YAWIAM’, and most likely few of those bands could still sound so fearsome live. They’re largely content to let the music do the talking, but do offer a heartfelt thanks to us, following a rendition of ‘Sexy Results’ that leaves us sweaty and breathless.
There’s a sense that the crowd have spent most of their energy going to nuts to ‘YAWIAM’, but the band aren’t letting us off that easily, reminding us that there are plenty of other gems in their arsenal. Most notably, the Tom Morello-esque riff of ‘Freeze Me’, and the chugging rhythm of set closer ‘Trainwreck 1979’ both get us once again leaping around like demons on hot coals.
So, are Death From Above 1979 our generation’s Motörhead? They’re not quite as prolific, but they’re raw, they’re dirty, they expertly blur the lines between punk and rock n’ roll, they get people moving, and they still sound amazing after more than 20 years together. Guys, Lemmy would be proud of you – and so are we.
Main Photo Credit: ALEX GOSMAN
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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