Them Crooked Vultures, O2 Academy Brixton
I have been to many shows at Brixton, but never has queue outside stretched further than last night. It went round the entire venue, good time to have some last pre-gig pints from the off licences we walked past. Inside there was still nothing 100 % confirming their appearance, but asking stewards if it is THEM, the odd chuckle was enough for me. The whole place was buzzing like I haven’t seen for a support act since Soundgarden and Fait No More supported GnR back in 1992.
At 19:45 sharp they walked on stage to thundering noise. This wasn’t the appearance of a support act, that was mental. A fairly obvious setlist (couldn’t really expect anything else from a band so fresh out of the blocks) included
– Elephants
– Dead End Friends
– Gunman
– Mind Eraser
– Calligulove (JPJ switched to keyboard while playing the bass pedals with his feet….somewhat felt like No quarter after a 21st century makeover)
– Daffodils
– New Fang
– Nobody loves me
– Warsaw (the jam at the end of it was mindblowing)
Their sound is brutal at times, yet very subtle musicianship at its core. Dave Grohl is a great frontman, but IMHO he was always better suited behind that drum kit. His obvious love of Bonzo is so evident in his drumming, it borders on hero worship. Josh Homme is highly underrated – a great guitar player who mixed with his at times angelic voice, offers a very intriguing combo for a front man. And him stopping mid-song to tell everybody to go mental and ignoring the strict security by telling them: you work for me, I’ll get your ass fired….was a classic RnR moment. And JPJ is just the same musical genius he has always been. Amazing in everything he does, although with a lot more movement than during his Zep days.
What an immense gig, I really hope this becomes more than a side project. It’s much more exciting than that and there is so much talent in the band it would be a waste to stop there.
Andreas Stocker
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Here’s what i posted on Ledzeppelin.com when I got back home from the gig:
I’ve just got back from seeing Them Crooked Vultures at Brixton. An unbelievable gig.
We had all heard the rumours that they were in the frame to support the Arctic Monkeys at the Brixton Academy tonight (August 26th). Well, I took a gamble and bought a ticket (I paid a bit over the odds, but not too much).
The ticket didn’t mention a support group. The venue signage didn’t say anything either. The mechandise stand only had Arctic Monkeys stuff for sale. The most positive clue was when we got near the front and we could see the set up for a support band …… with a towel draped over the bass drum (obscuring any band image on it). All good signs, but nothing definite yet.
Seconds before the band came on stage the towel was removed to reveal the Them Crooked Vultures logo.
They came, they played, and I’m still buzzing now. They were unbelievably good.
Many Arctic Monkeys fans were not quite sure what they were seeing for a short while. A couple of people behind me kept asking us “Is that really Dave Grohl drumming. Who are the others on stage? Led Zeppelin, Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters …. really?” They were blown away too.
It was only after their set that their tee-shirts appeared at the merchandising stand. I saw half of the Arctic Monkeys set, but they were just outclassed, so I left the venue with a massive grin on my face.
Wow!
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