Digital, 7th April
So, here’s the recipe for musical shock and awe: First, blend together one thunderous rhythm section that threatens to lay waste to small towns. Combine with 73 pieces of bizarre machinery, two keyboardists and more wiring than the Beijing telephone exchange. Simmer for about an hour in front of a live audience, and then bring to the boil until everyone is eventually battered into blessed-out grinning oblivion.
Seriously, Holy Fuck are probably the only band whose name accurately reflects your initial reaction to seeing them play. Apart from maybe Wet Wet Wet. Essentially, this Canadian four-piece create indie electro music without computers. It’s just two keyboardists, Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt, and a crazy range of gizmos, Casios, Bontempis, projectors and anything else needed to conjure every electronic sound known to man. This is a band that used to invite fans to bring weird instruments to gigs and then incorporate them into the show. They also have a bassist and drummer that will spank you very, very hard and then send you home crying like a baby. Get too near to the speakers and if you’re lucky you might lose a tooth. Concussion or deafness awaits less fortunate revellers.
What else do you need to know? They have several dancefloor incendiaries and anthemic stomp-alongs that they are more than prepared to use, among them ‘Lovely Allen’, ‘Royal Gregory’, ‘The Pulse’ and ‘Tonebank Jungle’. A sell out crowd at Digital lapped up every moment of it. Support act Free Blood, from New York, put on a staggering, sterling attempt at livening up the early evening crowd, involving dragging people onto the dancefloor and handing the microphone to a dancing crowd member who attempted to sing the rest of the song for them. What a night.
Words by Joe Owen
Photos by Sam Hiscox
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