Live Review: At The Drive In / Death From Above 1979 / Le Butcherettes – Academy, Manchester, UK, 13th March 2018

We end up arriving midway through Le Butcherettes set due to traffic generated by a midweek Champion’s League football match, which means they are already well into their heavy indie infused, post punk, post industrial, post whatever set, and I’m just glad I got in in time as they are a captivating trio that embrace influences from right across the alternative spectrum. Their enigmatic vocalist, Teri Gender Bender, switches between keyboards and guitar, but regardless she is accompanied by a punishing percussive delivery that is felt in every bone. Le Butcheretttes are a unique hybrid that’s has the feel of a heavyweight Siouxsie And The Banshees with the percussive industrial impact of Nine Inch Nails and the art rock of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with a range of theatrical and garage flourishes that makes them a band very much doing their own thing. The combination of their post everything sound is also delivered with elements of performance art and a bucketful of attitude, which saw me chastised from the stage for making these notes, that made Le Butcherettes unlike anyone else I’ve experienced in the last few years.

 

Death From Above 1979 follow after a hefty dub drenched interval, the duo’s amps are stacked high and they are a different prospect to the theatrical eccentricities of the opening act, this is stripped down alt rock, as with the previous act everything is felt as well as heard which indicates my concerns from previous shows about falling volume levels at the Academy were temporary, as a result it’s thankfully impossible for anyone to have a conversation without bellowing into each other’s ears. Their relentless bass and drum assault is something that captures the spirit of alt rock pioneers but it’s one that’s been stripped down to it purest form, especially as their computerised third member lets them down mid set causing several false starts during their set. For me Death From Above 1979 have a difficult time following the arresting opening set by Le Butcherettes, but they go down a storm with their faithful following who have turned out in large numbers to catch their forty minute set.

 

The academy is absolutely rammed prior to At The Drive In and initially it would seem that tonight is set to be a show worthy of the steep ticket price. At The Drive In‘s return was marked by the release of their album, In•ter a•li•a, last year and followed by the Diamanté EP, which recently received a general release following its original Record Store Day issue in 2017. The lengthy break between bands and the somewhat lacklustre pre set music builds up the crowds frustrations before the lights drop and an atmospheric introduction signals the start to the quintets set. They launch into opening track Arcarsenal that sees pint fly skywards, and a raucous singalong from the faithful, after a brief rebuke for the flying beer their set continues with the relentless feedback ridden intensity of No Wolf Like The Present.

 

After their initial enthusiastic greeting the crowd seems to fall a little flat and thin out, whether this is because Death From Above 1979 have bought a large contingent with them is unclear  but by mid set there are noticeable gaps in the crowd. This is not due to any lack of effort on the part of At The Drive In who are hammering through their set and vocalist, Cedric Bixler, is a continual hyperactive presence abusing the microphone stand like he has a personal vendetta against it. Those that have stayed make up in volume for the absentees, and the faithful down the front seem to deliver an enthusiastic response despite the apathy present around much of the venue. Tonight’s show seemed to have split the audience, which led to subdued atmosphere, personally I rarely leave a show early, especially as I would have expected both bands to appeal to the crowd, but this reflects more on the die hard attitude of Death From Above 1979‘s following rather than on At The Drive In.

 

Tonight was an unusual evening as the venue seemed to be divided into two distinct halves, and as tonight wasn’t cheap it meant some people had paid more than a pound a minute to see Death From Above 1979. Whether this is due to it being midweek, or due to the division in the crowd between Death From Above 1979 and At The Drive In‘s followers or that it was just one of those nights is unclear, but there was an oddly subdued atmosphere around much of the Academy tonight that for me detracted from solid sets by Death From Above 1979 and At The Drive In, and left me with the feeling that the real winners tonight were Le Butcherettes who benefitted from playing to a venue that had filled up early, and due to the fact that they were the only band that were viewed with an open mind by much of the crowd.

 

On a sour note At The Drive In‘s vocalist pushed our photographer’s camera into his face whilst he was shooting the band, as the shot he was taking at the time shows, whether this was intentional or accidental, or a misplaced act of rock ‘n roll bravado, isn’t clear, thankfully no major injury or damage to the camera was caused but it’s something that we haven’t encountered before at any of the festivals or shows that we’ve covered, and it was another factor that left me feeling that, much like tonight’s Champion’s League match, the early predictions were reversed and the international heavyweight managed to steal defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

At The Drive In‘s website can be found here

 

The Punk Site Review of In•ter a•li•a can be read here

 

Death From Above 1979‘s website is here

 

Le Butcherettes online presence is here