... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - London Astoria - 7/2/02
4/5
By: Andy Willson
Set-list: 'Richter Scale', 'Mark D Chapman', 'Mistakes and Regrets', 'Gargoyles', 'Homage', 'Fake Eyes', 'Another Morning Stoner', 'Baudelaire', 'Relative Ways', 'Aged Dolls', 'Teenhood'.
There is something intriguing from the word 'go' with this group.
Just think about it for a minute: 'And you will know us by the trail of dead.' What visions are conjured up? After all, will there really be a trail of dead left in their wake as their name promises? Who knows...? You just have to find out for yourself, and that's the beauty of witnessing them live in concert.
Well, statuesque they are not; noisy they definitely are. For four people, they make one hell of a racket. Immediately from the outset of this evening's performance, the crowd is treated to real rock & roll: fifty-five minutes of pure, unadulterated musical bliss. Not only does the band change guitars for every song, they change the line-up as well; one minute, the singer is at the front, the next he is banging away on the drums... And what a spectacle! Jason Reece - who acts as the original drummer - eventually plays lead on one track, managing to break his guitar in the process, gently passing the said article onto an ecstatic member of the crowd... Just imagine explaining that one to strangers on the train-ride home.
Four of the tracks played tonight are from the new album, 'Source Tags and Codes', and are readily accepted by the swirling crowd. However, there were a few from 2000's 'Madonna', which expectedly received the loudest cheers, namely the primal 'Mistakes & Regrets'.
At some point, T.O.D inform the crowd that this will be the last song for the evening and to enjoy it, but - for gig-goers everywhere - we know that they will be back for at least one encore... Surely...?
However, by the time they have finished the number, guitars are splintered, the amps are battered and all that's left of the drum-kit is a solitary microphone. Member Neil Busch returns to the stage to rapturous applause, but only to thank everyone for coming. Damn it.
Still, this band has been around for a while now, and it appears they are finally starting to get the broad-scale recognition they have deserved for a long time. The crowd shuffled out of the Astoria breathless, slightly disappointed there was no more, but thoroughly entertained nonetheless.
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