The Brian Jonestown Bloodbath | Les Large Byrd
O2 Institute, Birmingham
Tuesday 18th February 2025
Celluloid anti-hero and psychedelic vessel Anton Newcombe brings his menagerie again to Birmingham as a part of their greatest UK tour but. Crutches, kung fu preventing and a nasty case of the sniffles abound. Sam Lambeth evaluations.
Sweden has a powerful and distinctive pedigree relating to rock music, with bands from that area having the distinctly Nordic mix of fervent storage and highly effective melancholy. And in Les Large Byrd’s Joakim Åhlund, his place within the pantheon is assured – the Swedish stalwart was as soon as a part of erstwhile noughties darlings Caesars, whose music Jerk It Out soundtracked 1,000,000 soccer video games. Tonight, although, is all in regards to the current. Åhlund and co are the right amuse bouche earlier than the BJM, for his or her muscular grooves and vivid soundscapes have the identical bell-bottomed allure of Anton Newcombe’s brigade.
Les Large Byrd are genial firm and spend their set casting their eye over the attendees – a surprisingly eclectic assortment of shaggy, unkempt scholar varieties and extra nattier dressed elders. The band are awestruck after they uncover members of cult Birmingham band Pram are hovering across the entrance row, and an viewers member hunched over crutches is handled like a hero coming back from the conflict. “Wave your crutches within the air, such as you simply don’t care,” Åhlund laughs. Once they go away the stage, they’ve received the group greater than warmed up for what’s to come back.
The Brian Jonestown Bloodbath ought to actually undertake Phil Collins’ Towards All Odds as their walk-on theme. They don’t have one, in fact – they merely saunter on, with the one rock star trope being that the majority of them are donning sun shades – however the San Francisco band’s story is considered one of defiance, survival and shock…shock that they’re not solely nonetheless right here, however are seemingly greater than ever. In any case, it’s nicely documented that the BJM’s model of volatility might need made them a provocative reside act, but in addition one that would collapse into the sort of brawling that even ‘80s soccer followers would baulk at.
The mercurial Newcombe, then, is a person who could have seemingly misplaced the battle however undoubtedly gained the conflict. When rockumentary DiG! – set for a Twentieth-anniversary cinema launch very quickly – catapulted The Brian Jonestown Bloodbath into the general public consciousness, Newcombe was unfairly written off as a self-saboteur eternally cocking his snoot to the person. However whereas his contemporaries floundered amid main label fallouts and fleeting developments, Newcombe owns his again catalogue, a warehouse load of classic guitars and the final snort.
And with reference to developments, the BJM have escaped them. There’s one thing gloriously anachronistic about their look and sound, but in addition one thing timeless. Newcombe wears his influences on his sleeve, and the melange of The Byrds’ metallic jangle, the shoegaze of Trip and a Stones-esque swagger has given the band the sensation of all the time being out of time, however by no means out of style.
It helps that in Newcombe they’ve a number one pressure that all the time seems to be like an icon from a bygone age. Wearing regulation denim and a splendidly ostentatious fedora, immediately catchy riffs tumble from his guitar with easy ease. The glossy Pish is considered one of them, constructed round a relentless, hypnotic arpeggio. Much more enveloping is Anemone, a smoky and mysterious slow-burner that provides all seven members an opportunity to enterprise right into a mesmerising psych wig out.
It’s clear that Newcombe and the BJM are adept at creating grooves. That Woman Suicide is a main instance, a Velvet Underground-style stomper that’s fuelled by a chugging guitar riff earlier than ascending into an explosive, lyricless refrain. Nonetheless is sombre and reflective, propelled by a classic strum and the sort of wood devices you used to seek out in a field throughout music courses in main faculty. Do Rainbows Have Ends is a tangled internet of glistening chords, surging bass and sprinkles of tambourine. There are exceptions to the rule, too – Vacuum Boots and When Jokers Assault are swaggering rockers that look to the ‘60s with real authenticity versus slavish devotion.
All of the whereas, the seven-piece band are a well-oiled machine – any followers hoping to see a sitar get smashed or an viewers member be pummelled shall be leaving the gig dissatisfied. Actually, the one factor that Newcombe is wrestling with is a persistent case of the flu. He’s a taciturn presence within the nook of the stage, however does sometimes shake off the aloofness to say a fast thanks or reveal an odd story of wolf ladies and burning castles (perhaps it’s the chilly medication kicking in).
Newcombe is happier letting the remainder of the band have the eye, and the centre of the stage is none aside from Newcombe’s long-time foil and BJM percussionist Joel Gion, a surprisingly stoic determine that beats the tambourine with the look of a person who’s seeing whether or not his bus is coming. A prized raconteur – his current memoir Within the Jingle Jangle Jungle is a must-read – Gion will get in anecdote about unintentionally hitching up on the O2 Academy (“what number of O2s do you guys want?”) and seeing two drunks descend right into a slovenly kung fu battle. And in a neat instance of closing the loop, Åhlund returns to the stage – this time carrying sun shades, as a part of the strict gown code – for a barnstorming Vad Hände Med Dem?
Ending with two classics from their 1997 opus Give It Again within the form of Servo and Tremendous-Sonic, each songs supply the band extra alternatives to lock into one other swath of trebly, groovy goodness. Their longevity could also be stunning, however 35 years into their profession, The Brian Jonestown Bloodbath have lengthy swapped chaos for conference – and are reaping the rewards. For a band with bloodbath of their identify, nothing is slaughtered tonight.
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All phrases by Sam Lambeth. Sam is a journalist and musician. Extra of his work for Louder Than Conflict is offered on his archive. You will discover his music on Spotify.
All pictures by Paul Reynolds. He could be discovered on Instagram.
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