DFA 1979: half elephantine low-end thud and half arena rock dance party
Can a smell be velvet? How about rambunctious?
Just before Death From Above 1979 took the stage in Saskatoon on Monday night, someone in the near vicinity of the stage pooed their pants. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant either. Mostly a whiff of hot gas, the unmistakable heat of a blush and then acceptance that you are in the general vicinity of brown dribble and nothing is going to change that.
It was okay – the rest of us were just as excited to see Death From Above 1979 as well.
From the opening piano notes of “Turn It Out” the bass and drum duo turned out a flawless show. With their set containing songs from their latest album, The Physical World – along with a mix of their previous work, Sebastien Grainger and Jesse Keeler grunted, groaned and stamped their way through a set that was half elephantine low-end thud and half arena rock dance party.
Grangier, who looked particularly feisty in a breezy all-white get-up, at one point commented about the people throwing beer cans, eliciting a few boos and stink-eyes from the audience. Whatever – getting hit with a full can of beer is pretty lousy. And the duo stayed for the entirety of the set, along with the obligatory encore.
Who throws a beer anyway? Hopefully not the person who sharted out of pure excitement.
Opening the show, Kingston duo PS I Love You launched into a volley of guitar noise, pedal wizardry, pounded drums and a hint of the sweetest of vocal melodies. Their set, tellingly, got a lot more animated and engaging when singer Paul Saulnier chugged a beer and threw the remainder on the stage all while holding one noisy grotesque note.
Toronto’s Metz hit the stage next. Boasting a whopping three members, the group churned out an impressive set that was a mix of curmudgeonly noise, dexterous hardcore and a toddler’s tantrum. The sound packed a wallop, but someone should really convince them to come back and headline their own set. Just sayin’.
