Murder By Death + Mr Derry + The Ganders @ Bar Academy – 17th July 2008
Beards were very much the order of the day as the three bands took to the stage at the Bar Academy last night.
First up The Ganders. This Brummie 3 piece, with strong blues influences, took to the stage with a high octane set which rocked from beginning to end. They kicked off the powerful half hour with ‘Slipping In’ and continued to rock it throughout. ‘Black Sun’ most definitely being the stand out tune. It’s just a shame there wasn’t more people to witness the boys rock out as the bar was sparsely populated for their set. Oh yeah, and there was some nicely trimmed facial hair on show.
As an aside, thanks have to go out to the bearded ‘Teen Wolf’-like fella who rocked the entire show at the front of the gig. Big respect.
Next up Mr Derry. A lots been made of this band who earlier this year won the Jack Daniel’s Music Final and whom Juliette Lewis describes as “My new favourite f***ing band!”
It’s understandable why they get a lot of attention, combining high tempo riffs with the three way melodic harmonies of the Debbie Harry-esque petit lead singer and her two guitar wielding side kicks. They are also pretty unique in that they have two guitarists and no bass player. It kinda works.
My only criticism of this tight band is that they’ve got their style and they stick to it. I don’t think it would hurt them to slip in a bit more of a varied mix of songs. Once again there was some more fine facial hair on show (not from the lead singer I hasten to add) and once more the Bearded Teen Wolf, now minus his shirt, rocked it out at the front. Sweet.
Murder By Death, the Headline act, who hail all the way from Bloomingdale Indiana, describe themselves as playing “a blend of rocking Americana noir and dramatic post-punk” whatever that might mean. Approaching the end of their European tour and sporting by far and away the best facial hair of the night, the singer burst into a repertoire of songs which were a lot less raucous than the previous two bands, but equally as powerful. Their set was far more eclectic than their predecessors, primarily because Sarah Balliet switched seamlessly between the electronic cello and the keys. Very nice indeed. ‘Comin’ Home’ and ‘Sometimes the Line’ were the favourite tunes of the night.
So there you have it. A more than enjoyable Thursday evening spent in the company of three impressive bands accompanied by some fine beardy action.
Battle of the bands…the Ganders (although it was a close shave).
Battle of the Beards… the Bearded Warrior who continued to rock throughout the entire proceedings. We salute you sir.
Review – Zak Edwards
Photos – Ian Dunn