ANiMA + Bombers + Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes + Rick Wellings, The Lamp Tavern, Birmingham 01/02/14
Anima The Lamp Tavern, by all accounts; a traditional boozer, was the unlikely host of the first edition of Die Das Der: a new monthly night put on by the Die Das Der collective curating line-ups of alternative and like-minded musicians.
Rick Wellings It was up to Rick Wellings, who most know from fronting The Bombergs, to ease in the night. His usual wit and wry sense of humor was present and correct, as well as some classics from his sets performed with The Bombergs. The highlight came when he sang a part story, part song dedicated to an old flame; a girl named Howard.
Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes Amping up and indeed synthing up proceedings was Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes who sported a new line up but with the same snotty punk-rock attitude. Their enthusiasm for jumping, snarling and flailing around is always immediately infectious.
Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes The shiny new bassist was the most noticeable new addition; a hyperactive ball of energy; bouncin’ and bassin’ both in and out of the crowd. As well as the new line-up, came a smattering of new material that further confirmed their knack for penning tunes that have both a distorted kick and a synthesized lick.
Bombers Next on the bill came a welcome return from Birmingham’s Bombers boasting new material as well as a brand new drummer. Classics from the band’s back catalogue like ‘Drawing’ got the best reaction from the crowd but that’s perhaps because they need a little more time to warm to the new cuts.
Anima The night’s highlight came in the form of ANiMA, a band that I had never seen live before. It was less of a case of gracing the stage for the four piece, it was more of an owning of the stage. Their front man especially was enchantingly unpredictable; his vocal delivery somewhere between a theatrical wail and a crazed shriek.
Anima The sound of ANiMA comes on strong like a cross-breed of AFI and The Smashing Pumpkins, with guitars thrashing as hard as heads. They bring the night to a most triumphant close when front-man Dan Sheridan thwacks his guitar on the ground, smashing it into splinters.
Anima From the moment the guitar shattered, the show took a turn for the hardcore. Ending on a song that could well be from the early back catalogue of Deftones in full throttle mode, the cacophony reaches a peak before silence. Roll on the next Die Das Der. Photographs by Daisy Blecker
