Words by Ryan Brown
Photo by Jack Hope
Demob Happy concluded their UK tour with a bang at Newcastle’s The Grove by blending heavy riffs, catchy hooks and a significant amount of suave behaviour on stage.
The opening act for the night was Father Hell, a stage persona adopted by Demob Happy’s touring guitarist who that night performed a double shift. He walked out wearing a bolo tie and draped in a Christian stole to Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in Dm’. Very reminiscent of the band Ghost but armed only with an acoustic guitar, Father Hell delivered a half hour set that started out feeling like a macabre parody before developing into a melancholic spectacle wrapped in some light-hearted nihilism.
Next up was Francis Pig, a London based five-piece whose sound blended gothic rock and new wave. Frontwoman Alana navigated the stage with sharp, jagged movements whilst delivering expressive vocals that were characteristic of a modern day Siouxsie Sioux.
The band’s rhythm section was locked in throughout the show, their repetitious chord progressions provided the perfect sonic foundation for expressive vocal lines and overdrive laden guitar solos. The highlight of their set was a performance of the group’s latest single ‘Sex Talk’, boasting a chanting chorus that became increasingly unhinged until concluding in an apocalyptic burlesque nature. Finally, Demob Happy took to the stage to the tune of John Carpenters ‘Dark Star’. Setting the tone that felt like a Stephen King film, the band jumped straight into ‘Judas Beast’ and the crowd were quick to come to life.
Their synchronicity was unparalleled as each song sounded as though it could have been direct from the studio with the added intensity and embellishments that a live show warrants. As the show progressed, each member of the band was given a moment to shine as ‘Haat De Sank’ concluded with a thundering drum outro and ‘Power Games’ featured a guitar solo drenched in fuzz. Dressed in a partially unbuttoned shirt beneath a leather jacket, frontman Matthew Marcantonio made his role look effortless, performing with a charisma that suggested the music was flowing through him as naturally as his playing.
After sprinkling a few oldies in with tracks from their new album ‘The Grown-Ups are Talking’, Demob Happy concluded the set with their most popular songs. Whilst the crowd had been active for the whole set, the energy in the room reached its peak as the headbanging riff of ‘Autoportrait’ soared through the Grove and the band proved that rock and roll spectacles can still thrive in intimate venues.
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