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The stage was quickly transformed; with custom mic stands, drum kit and backdrop festooned with fairy lights. Bic, Laurence and David walk on stage with great confidence and get straight down to work. Time for Dark Star. Most of the album 'Twenty-Twenty Sound' was played, interspersed with some new, unknown to me, tracks. 'I Am The Sun' seems to be one of the big the crowd pleasers. This signals the crowd to start jumping around, and worries the security a tad, as there are no barriers up at this gig. Bic pulls away from the mic when launching into the guitar sections, moving around he stage in quick jerky movements, reminiscent in some ways of Ian Curtis. There are quiet tracks too - 'About 3AM' brings on a spooky calming presence to proceedings - until the chorus of course! This is what the music press would call a quiet / loud track in their laziness, but this is done with finesse and passion like no other group. We see the skills of drummer David while playing 'Graceadelica'. He plays the drums with just one hand, whist using the maracas in the other hand to keep time, all the while dread-locked hair flying all over the place. One of the highlights for me was when they played 'Vertigo'. The sound that Laurence makes with the bass guitar has to be heard to be believed, as he rubs the strings up and down making it sound just like he is scratching a vinyl record. This is interspersed with the huge plucking of bass notes. Then the haunting sound of Bic's minimalist vocals, talking in some parts, minimal guitar notes, followed by the guitar crashing in. It slowly builds up to a massive sound. It's an awesome track that teeters between tightrope walking and smashing someone's head with a hob-nailed boot. There are almost no gaps between the songs, as, while the guitars are busy fading, Bic is already tuning at lightning fast speed. I really have never seen anyone fine-tune a guitar this quickly! Back for the encore and the brilliant song 'The Sound Of Awake' leaves the audience gob smacked. The way this song slowly builds up to a bigger and bigger sound, without you really being aware of the volume, until suddenly it hits you between the ears, and takes your brain for a spin around the venue. David then undoes each cymbal and throws them, one by one, into the air, to come down onto the stage in a dramatic crash, all while Bic and Laurence continue with the feedback. Superb! They are truly a band on the way up. I for one can't wait for the next gig. skippy |