Mavericks of anti-folk, Andrew Jackson Jihad, kicked off their tour with an energetic and career-spanning performance, in all their jet-lagged glory.
The set was opened with ‘Temple Grandin’, telling listeners to ‘Cut the world in half, I bet that you will go and find a sleeping giant’. Just one example amongst the plethora of weird and esoteric lyrics the band has; some of which need a BA in English to piece together and others just don’t make sense at all. So it’s an odd experience when a room full of people are screaming it at the top of their lungs. Front man, Sean Bonnette, would bring you right back down to Earth by shouting ‘Cheers, ta’ and ‘Spring Break!’ between the first few songs (in an ironic and self-deprecating fashion of course).
The duo decided to wait until they played Berlin (or ‘Dance City, USA’ as bassist, Ben Gallaty, called it) before drawing any conclusions
A disco ball adorns the Deaf Institute ceiling, leaving Bonnette wondering if it was the largest one he’d ever seen. The duo decided to wait until they played Berlin (or ‘Dance City, USA’ as bassist, Ben Gallaty, called it) before drawing any conclusions. This brief, chatty, segment ended with a snippet of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train’ on the keyboard.
Cue Bonnette having to hold on the ‘u’ in ‘huge’ for a noticeable amount of time, as the band stumbled back up the tiny steps onto the stage. The beautiful reality of the live performance.
Bonnette then delivered a beautiful acoustic cover of The Moutain Goat’s ‘Alpha Rat’s Nest’. Then continuing to mesmerise the crowd with renditions of ‘If You Have Love In Your Heart’ and ‘People II 2: Still Peoplin’. Some first night glitches did show near the end of ‘People II 2’. Bonnette was alone on-stage at this point but needed the rest of the band back to hammer out its last few drone-y punk chords. Cue Bonnette having to hold on the ‘u’ in ‘huge’ for a noticeable amount of time, as the band stumbled back up the tiny steps onto the stage. The beautiful reality of the live performance.
Keir Birchall
Keir is listening to: ‘The Seer’ – Swans
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