Following that five-night stand at the Horseshoe that I completely missed sometime back around '05 the regret mounted and since the band's demise it has weighed heavily on me. The reunion was unexpectedly announced earlier this year and the anticipation of finally seeing Death From Above 1979 has grown steadily. It seemed that it took ages to even announce a Toronto date and then the calendar crawled until finally the beloved hardcore duo were set to play. I do not say beloved lightly either - as evidenced by the sell out of the massive Sound Academy cavern on two consecutive nights. I just couldn't wait and went to the first one show, along with people of every description - from rockers to punks to hipsters, young and old. Every last one of them was in for a treat.
Considering the limited gear required the sound check seemed awfully thorough while crammed in elbow to rib waiting for Jesse and Sebastien to join us, and take us on a trip. Jesse arrived with a joint and puffed it before picking up his weapon - the bass that in some unknown fashion he uses to produce that distinctive DFA noise. Sebastien however was the more engaging of the performers with his mismatched mustache and hair colour, and growling vocals from behind his sideways drum set, moved up to stage edge. From the get-go things were raucous and all those preshow elbows were forgotten as the pit erupted. Five years is a damn long time!
It's a big, huge sound they work out of those instruments of theirs and this loud show did it justice. Despite only the one full length they were not grasping for material as they pounded out track after track, often bridging with feedback and reverb. A full-on sound assault the crowd just ate it up, screaming along to songs we never thought we'd get to hear live ever again. It's difficult to pick out highlights from an hour of power but Pull Out has always been a strong live two minutes, as was a personal favourite in Blood On Our Hands. Black History Month was the only song that plodded along at a more standard pace (opting for a more classic version than moving toward any of the multiple remixes), but frankly it was a welcome breather. The crowd reacted strongly to Romantic Rights and the band played it up while Jesse left his perch to stalk the stage and repeat the refrain. Hard to explain just how or why it was so great, but it was.
Banter was kept to a minimal - attempts at connecting with the hometown crowd by talking about the shitty location of the Docks, and how they had Conan introduce them as from East York (as opposed to Toronto, or Mississauga). There was a point of levity after a particularly incendiary track at the hands of Sebastien where a group started chanting "Bass solo" to which he responded good-naturedly, "Is this a set-up? I've been waiting ten years for this! Every song is a bass solo, what am I competing with?!" Later in the night he screamed lyrics into his bass with great effect.
After some time in the dark shouting our appreciation the duo returned for a three-song encore. It was a stellar show that was a long time in the making and I can only hope that I'll have a chance to see them do it again. Is new material too much to hope for? For the love of anything dear, please. Please.
*
Rather unremarkable openers Dopes were bordering on awful, despite one of their recorded songs being listenable. Bishop Morocco were decidedly better, except maybe when they let that one guy sing, but still not much worth noting.
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