...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at the TheklaSocial, Bristol
With Support From Action Plan and Forget Cassettes
Sunday, 18th February 2007
Meg Rowell caught the show...
There's a distinct buzz in the air as I walk into the TheklaSocial tonight, and as I'm soon to discover, that buzz is for a very special band indeed.
Kicking off the night, however, we're treated to a healthy slice of pure punk-rock gnarlyness from Chelmsford four-piece Action Plan and an intriguing, if slightly over-fussy, set from Tennessean art-rockers Forget Cassettes.
But forget starters. Everyone in this room is here for the main course; a big fat plate full of the mighty, and I mean mighty, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. These guys rock, and not in any kind of whimsical British way either. These are all-out, all-American, heavyweight rock-stars.
Exploding onto the stage, Conrad Keely and co begin what is possibly one of the best and most exciting live shows I've ever seen. The pure passion and force exuding from these guys is magic in itself to watch, but it's the energy and excitement that they manage to create, that really shakes you to the core.
I won't pretend that I've ever been a huge ...Trail Of Dead fan - an admirer from afar is about as close as I've ever got - but tonight well and truly sells me from the word go. Their epically irate songs melt into one another, as seamlessly as their instrument and line-up changes, as they barely pause for breath between running around the stage, crowd surfing, screaming down the various microphones and sweating blood, tears and anything else they can possibly expel at this stage.
If you've never heard ...Trail Of Dead before, the impression you're probably getting is one of a grisly hard-rock band, mindlessly destroying the stage and harassing the crowd in a frenzy of debauched depravity. In fact, ...Trail Of Dead are no such thing. They are enigmatic, intelligent and their music is achingly beautiful.
Swapping between vocals, guitars and percussion, Conrad Keely and Kevin Allen are possibly two of the finest frontmen around; they bawl their lyrics like deranged children, knowing exactly when to pull back from, or support, the other. When Allen takes hold of a tambourine, it gets the rhythmic beating of its life, and Keely can barely keep his mic stand, or himself, on stage.
The crowd are electric. Hanging from the ceiling, and on every word the band utter, they become an extension of the stage - keeping Allen afloat in his crowd surfs, catching Keely and his mic every time they lurch forward.
What really hits you, whilst watching these lads go at it tooth and nail, is that these are five, pretty young, guys, making the kind of music that The Pixies or Sonic Youth used to, who don't appear to have any kind of image or leaning towards trend, and are managing to perform some of the most vibrant and energetic music around. They say that rock is dead, but tonight, it's well and truly alive, and it's hitting this audience like a lightening bolt
It's not often that a band can win you over so much on first sight, that you'd be willing to fight their corner in any number of pub quarrels, but tonight, ...Trail Of Dead have managed to do just that. I am now, officially, a fan. And a big one at that.
...Trail Of Dead are on tour in the UK until the 25th February 2007.
To see the rest of the tour dates, and to buy tickets, click here.
