Live Review: Spear Of Destiny / Derek Forbes And The Dark / Feather Trade – Gorilla, Manchester, UK, 21st September 2019

After an unusually long break from live shows we’re back for a very special night at Gorilla, one that features Spear Of Destiny celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of the breakthrough album “One Eyed Jacks“, of course the current line up is one that is very different to the band that recorded the album, Kirk Brandon is now accompanied by Craig Adams (The Mission / Sisters Of Mercy / Ghost Dance), Adrian Portas (New Model Army / Sex Gang Children), and Phil Martini (The Jim Jones Revue  / Wayward Sons) who join long term keyboard player Steve Allan Jones and Theatre Of Hate‘s Clive Osborne.

But this is not just a tour celebrating the release of an album from way back, the current Spear Of Destiny line up have also re-recorded “One Eyed Jacks” in it’s entirety. As is the case with many alternative and punk bands that were snapped up by major labels the album was detrimentally interfered with by a record label that had no idea how to market the sound of the band, something Kirk Brandon has constantly spoken of over the years since it’s release, so after almost four decades their breakthrough full length is finally getting a release that will mean it can be heard as the band intended.

Due to tonight’s show taking place on a Saturday night in Manchester we’re getting slightly shorter sets as the three bands on tonight’s bill have to be packed into three hours before Gorilla switches over to it’s club night, whilst I’m personally not a fan of early starts and finishes, and especially not of shorter sets, if it means that the venues can stay open then I’m willing to take it on the chin. Before we get to Spear Destiny we have tonight’s support acts, Athens, GA’s Feather Trade, an act that are on this tour at the personal request of Kirk Brandon, and Derek Forbes And The Dark.

Feather Trade enter and make an understated almost apologetic introduction before launching into their thunderous opening track, think Joy Division channelling the Pixies, or maybe the Pixies channelling The Chameleons, either way their first number represents an impressive opening from the only fresh thing on tonight’s menu. Thunderous drumming and heavyweight Peter Hook-esque bass lines dominate their sound, this is overlaid with atmospheric guitar and borderline raw vocals that marks this trio out as one to watch, it also explains why they were chosen as the support act for this tour.

I think it’s important that the established old guard bring the new music to their audience, being mired in the past is never productive and Feather Trade are the very essence of why you should always catch the support act, a superb blend of the dark UK post punk and the energy of American indie. After my six week hiatus from live music after the Rebellion Festival this is exactly what I needed to see, the elements that make up Feather Trade‘s sound are instantly recognisable, but the way those influences have been combined has created something original and compelling.

By now Gorilla is getting packed and increasingly sweaty ahead of the arrival of Derek Forbes And The Dark, for the uninitiated Derek Forbes was the bass player from Simple Minds and whether you appreciate this set will depend greatly on whether you were a fan of that band, personally I was never keen on their material beyond their early independent releases Thankfully there are a few moments from those early years that creep into his set, but for me his inclusion seems somewhat incongruous on tonight’s bill where they are sandwiched between the past and future of post punk.

We caught Kirk Brandon across the city earlier this year at the compact setting of The Star And Garter when he returned to his roots with The Pack, tonight sees him playing a sold out show at the larger setting of Gorilla, and I suspect tonight’s show could have taken place in the grander setting of The Ritz just across the road and it would have still have been a sold out show such is the love for Spear Of Destiny amongst their die hard following, add to this that that that “One Eyed Jacks” is being played in full and anyone who has any love for this band, and was lucky enough to get a ticket, is here tonight.

Ahead of Spear Of Destiny’s appearance you start to get the feeling that  the venue has been oversold, people are perching on the stairs, watching from the corridor and every square inch of the venue is rammed, there is no room to move so the position you have is exactly where you are staying for the rest of the night, and if you do leave for beer, nicotine or just to cool down you won’t get back to your spot without a lot of effort. What’s also obvious is that there is also a sizeable percentage of those present tonight who would not have been born when “One Eyed Jacks” was released, something that indicates that Spear Of Destiny are a band who remain relevant and aren’t solely trading on their glory years 

I find myself wedged at the rear of the venue with a quartet of friendly and fairly drunken die hard Spear Of Destiny fans, talking to this group you realise the sheer level of dedication, that borders on the obsessive, that Kirk Brandon‘s following possesses. The impromptu bonhomie is interrupted by the opening music from the 70s UK tv show The Sweeney and the countdown is on for tonight’s show. Such is the crowd at Gorilla I can see practically nothing but the sound is perfect and the opening track “Rainmaker” signals the faithful to drive themselves to the front, by the time “Young Men” follows there is already an joyous singalong and a frantic pit.

A switch in vantage points sees me relagated to the corridor that leads into Gorilla, the same position I occupied when The Bronx played here, but it doesn’t matter as Spear Of Destiny have the entirety of the beyond capacity crowd in the palm of their hands, when “Liberator” appears early in the set the venue hits melting point. It’s hard to tell from my vantage point but Kirk Brandon looks and sounds rejuvenated compared to his appearance with The Pack earlier this year, the energy and attitude that has been the hallmark of his live appearances in various guides appears to have returned, the same can be said of his band and his die hard fans.

During the final encore, a joyful rendition of “World Service“, that gets a raucous singalong from the crowd, Kirk Brandon descends into the crowd with his microphone, this being Manchester where it is famously said that we do things differently, he is hoisted above the faithful and unexpectedly finds himself crowd surfing until he is deposited back on the stage with his hat jammed firmly, and it must be said comically, over his eyes, as the song ends and the band depart the stage the audience continues to sing the chorus long after the last member of Spear Of Destiny has left the stage.

What struck me tonight, apart from the energy of the crowd and the heat, is that this didn’t feel like a run through of familiar material, the current line up and the joy from the crowd seems to have re-energised Kirk Brandon to the point that the uninitiated could be forgiven for thinking that the band were promoting a new album, which in essence they were as the re-recorded version of “One Eyed Jacks” is now available. Tonight did not feel like a band preaching to the converted, this was the rebirth of a band from almost four decades ago.

Live photography is by Gary Hough, his Instagram account is located here and you can click on any of Gary’s photos to view a slide show of the images

Feather Trade‘s website is here and their Bandcamp is here

Derek Forbes website can be found here

Kirk Brandon‘s website is here