Deerhunter - Concorde 2, Brighton - 25/5/09
4/5
By: Keri Kennedy
There's something to be said about a gig where you can see the beach out of the window - shame it's not as bright outside as the California sun-soaked shoegaze that Deerhunter produce.
Bradford Cox makes an awkward yet endearing frontman on the last night of their rescheduled UK tour, playing a continuous loop of tracks from last year's Microcastle and new ep; Rainwater Cassette Exchange - which is available at the merch stall on cassette, brilliant!
The swirling reverb laden 'Never Stops', with its dreamy reversible vocal is a solid brick wall of noise that lifts you to another place, while 'Microcastle's' atmospheric intro gives way to pounding drums and more - is it possible? - reverb that culminates in a bone shaking racket.
The title track from the new EP has hints of tropicalia, the same pounding drums and a Beach Boys-esque vocal, though the mood darkens with the hypnotising 'Flourescent Grey', Cox urgently wailing the looping chorus bringing the show to a haunting end.
Returning to stage with support band The Sian Alice Group, we're treated to a full-on cover of The Stooges 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'. The supergroup squeeze onto the stage, creating a mash-up of feedback while Sian howls in the background barely visible through the dry ice.
Deerhunter surprise tonight with something really special and more than we could have predicted - worth every minute the tinnitus lasts.
Artists in this article: Deerhunter
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