Death From Above 1979 at Delmar Hall — St. Louis, MO — 11/07/2017
Canadian duo show off their charm and grit with their unique sound
When watching Death From Above 1979 live, you’ll make no mistake ever again about a two-piece line up, much like when we caught them in Raleigh back in 2015. They are unmistakably unique in their sound but manage to deliver the grit of a modern rock quartet. Opening for Nine Inch Nails 12 years prior, one could say gaining the support of Trent Reznor is a right of passage. St. Louis welcomed the duo from Toronto to the intimate Delmar Hall to witness their magic.
Fellow Canadian indie rockers The Beaches [★★★★] led the way to getting the crowd moving and grooving with their mix of late 70’s rock and new wave. Somehow they managed to channel a sound that proves music can have both luster and backbone. Drawing from inspirations such as Patti Smith and The Strokes, Jordan Miller (vocals) exercised her range on songs like “Money” from 2017’s Late Show, and “Give It Up,” an independent single from last year. Kylie Miller (guitar) and Leandra Earl (keyboards) offered up perfect harmony while cranking out wicked syncopation with Eliza Enman-Daniel (drums). The audience progressively got into the mood and welcomed their grinding, straightforward rock, giving them incentive to see them again when headlining in the foreseeable future.
Despite being a duo, Death From Above 1979 [★★★★★] feel as thought they’re delivering a guerilla style, alternative punk rock fest with their larger than life sound. From the opening note of “Nomad,” from their latest album, Outrage Is Now!, it was apparent that they were serious about pumping out an amazing show, and that they did. The audience were both captivated and engaged. Among them were a group of male fans in the audience who were serious about dancing in what looked like their work clothes. They were definitely did not care, in that single moment, if there were a covers on their TPS reports or not.
Playing a variety of songs from their previous albums and their newest, their unique sound translates very well when you hear the distortions and beats that collide in songs like “Never Swim Alone,” from Outrage Is Now!, and the sexy, grinding but danceable “Trainwreck 1979,” from 2004’s The Physical World. The beginning of their title track to Outrage Is Now! mixes deep, murky electronics with their signature sound. It takes the studio versions to the next level into what feels like a basement show with stadium sounds.
When a pedal that was malfunctioning fixed itself about two thirds the way through the set, and Jesse F. Keeler (bass and keyboards) pronounced, “This is a moment, man! The pedal fixed itself! I’ve had pedal for 20 years and it never died and somehow it came back to life tonight!” The audience never seemed to care that there were technical issues. They continued right on with the set and wrapped up the evening with a gritty and unforgiving “Right On, Frankenstein,” from 2004’s The Physical World. This duo isn’t your average punk rooted band. The best part of about Death From Above 1979 is that they pump out a seriously fun set without taking themselves too seriously at all. They’re as charming as their music is and St. Louis can’t wait to have them back.
