deathstars live

The Cemetery Girls bravely came straight on to play on this balmy summer evening gig in central Glasgow, no sound check, none of this ‘checking my guitars in tune’ stuff, and they paid the price for doing that. To call their starting sound abysmal is to leave no suitable term to describe what it morphed into with the hamfisted attempts from the sound man to elicit a form of balance to guitars, drums and vocals. It’s hard to say if they were any good or not, because you just couldn’t hear them properly. I would like to see them again, but only to see what they sound like with a decent mix.

After a short break, Swiss band Sybreed came on with their own unique blend of new wave industrial metal. They went down well, although they too had sound troubles. They have a big sound, full of in-your-face energy and attitude, and were, I have to say, a welcome change from the somewhat insipid openers. 6 songs later, and they left the stage somewhat sweatier than they found it.

Then it was Deathstars. The Deathstars can be accused of many things. Being camp, over the top, loud, tightly rehearsed and choreographed (yes, really). All these would be fair. They could never be justly accused of failing to give a good performance. They really did put on a good show, just like they did last time I saw them at Bloodstock 2006. The band have relaxed a bit more since then, interacting more with the crowd than I remember, or maybe that’s because it was a smaller audience.

Anyway, ninety minutes of stage time, one bra thrown on stage, one hat nicked (Whiplasher didn’t appear to be to pleased about that), and a lot of well played, tight industrial glam metal played and glitter everywhere on stage.

My major criticism is that the structure of many of the songs was similar, and there seemed to be a recurrent vocal line that was used in many of the songs. The crowd didn’t care, responding appropriately when commanded to ‘scream now’.

Whiplasher establishes a rapport with his audience (victims?, slaves?) that he commands, and he and the band clearly enjoy their evening.

Closing finale was a nice touch when Sybreed came back on stage to mix with the headline act, indicating that they are having a grand time on tour. The fans enjoyed it too, and, while I wouldn’t describe myself as a fan, I did as well.

by Alan Thomson