The build up to this show was immense, from the riots in LA at the first show in five years to the hoards of ticket touts outside selling tickets for £180!! More expensive than The Libertines reunion. The atmosphere inside Death from Above 1979’s second reunion show at the HMV Forum was electric. As the backdrop descended revealing a gravestone with the trademark elephant trunk faces of Sebastian Grainger and Jessie F Keeler on the crowd erupted. The lights dimmed and smoked filled the stage and they emerged to kick start with punishing energy the insane reaction from the crowd. Never before have we witnessed the whole crowd move in one tidal wave of mass destruction while people and objects flew over and vanished before making it to the barrier.
With beer flying everywhere Death From Above 1979 were live on stage before a sell out crowd doing what everyone had be waiting for. DFA have awoken a beast as the crowd sing back every word in one mass swaying sweaty nest. Sebastian engaged with the crowd to encourage some ‘match making’ though I think many people’s inhibitions were thrown into the wind as personal space was ultimately invaded, conquered and explored!
The whole experience seeing DFA is monumental, admittedly the live experience is never going to capture how they sound on record but it’s the taking part, the ability to ‘go nuts’ shout and sing along to tracks like ‘Little Girl’, ‘Blood on our hands’, ‘Romantic rights’ and ‘Black History Month’. What made tonight’s show extra special is that they were playing their entire discography, something which Keeler points out normally takes bands a couple of hours but DFA do it in under one.
Witnessing the sound of Keeler’s bass has been a dream fulfilled. To sum it up – One hell of an experience.