By Monk and The Dark Queen
These two frères de la terre et en musique are nearing the end of an epic trek celebrating the release of their tenth album of heavy blues as organic as the farming techniques they employ back home in their native Gascony, a run which has taken them from massive stadium fillers in support of Neil Young to small intimate back street clubs such as this one which hosts their first ever visit to this particular wee corner of the rock ‘n’ roll Überverse.
I must admit that if you weren’t a particularly astute and plugged in music fan – or a well-connected music publication – this could have been one of those “blink and you’ve missed it” gigs, as, outside a routine listing on the venue’s what’s on guide, there was absolutely zero publicity in advance. So little in fact that we were joking that, rather like the Belfast debut of fellow Frenchmen Gojira almost two decades ago, we might well be virtually the only people there apart from the bar staff! As it turns out, there is a semi-decent turnout, especially for a rain-sodden Thursday, with the dress uniform for the evening to be flat caps and puffy jackets and most punters having more hair on their chins than their crowns (and that’s only the very few women present!).
The task of opening proceedings falls the relatively unknown Charlie Hammond, who delivers a set of typical acoustic singer-songwriter stuff, with songs about going to the pub, falling in and out of love and the depression of small town living. Fairly routine and unremarkable stuff, it has to be said, but appreciated especially with the few early arrivals who had been enjoyjng a bevy or three in the bar downstairs beforehand.
Arguably the best dressed duo to have played here since The Bonnevilles last raised the roof, our headliners stroll into the opening lick of ‘Less Is More’ as nonchalantly as they walk through the room on their way to the stage, their sound belying the absence of any traditional bottom end.
An early highlight is the reggae/ska infused ‘Cat Farm’, while the double hit of ‘A Man Outstanding In His Field’ and ‘We Win Together I Lose Alone’ is densely dynamic, and ‘For My Family’ delivers an impromptu call and return with the small band of fans gathered in front of the stage.
But, it is at this point that the set starts to descend into into its own demise, and that is the series of speeches delivered between the songs, the monologues ranting equally against governments and the music business (while praising the quality of Iggy Pop’s dick) lasting almost as long as the songs they needlessly interrupt.
When they stick to the music – which sees 11 songs from their ten album catalogue delivered in a set that, in terms of actual musical content, lasts just over an hour – they echo Lizzy and Purple as much as they do the Foos and Soundgarden, while melding elements of rockabilly and backstreet garage punk into a cocktail almost as heady as the spicy tequila mixed in the adjoining bar. Just a pity all that pontificating ruined the momentum… Even the finale of slowly taking apart the already stripped back drumkit is something of an anticlimax. I think I’ll stick to listening to the albums 🙁
- All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Röck.
- All content © Über Röck.
