Dead Jack
Live (The Saddest Day / Tinnitus / Facelift Wired)
The Wedgewood Rooms had a respectable queue by the time the doors opened, so opening act The Saddest Day had a busy venue by the time they started.
Six-strong and playing screamy nu-metal, there was plenty of energy and movement for the most part, although there were a couple of moments when the pre-gig sugar intake seemed to fail them for a few bars.
The bass and drums were coherent and tight, providing the consistent rhythm that carried the rest of the music. The luxury of having two singers probably didn’t add anything to the sound, but it did allow both to rest in between screaming their guts up during their angsty anthems.
Relying more on big rock songs with incredible drums, hooky guitars, and a really strong vocal, Tinnitus were a band worth hearing. Their songs were good, though not always entirely original. There were some nice melodic moments musically, too.
Their penultimate number was the only song that added noticeable backing vocals. The extra depth this gave their sound should make them consider utilising this technique a little more.
The only other item that could have been more prominent was movement. With the front man tied to the microphone, the bass player and guitarist need to get themselves about a bit more. When the band gets absorbed in the music, the crowd is more likely to follow. Tinnitus are a quality band although, ironically, not the loudest!
Facelift Wired were a mix of gruff vocals and squealy guitars in a sound that, while being rather dated, survived well. There was a huge amount of movement in this set with the bass player working the whole stage.
Having followed on from such a tight drum sound, the rhythm for Facelift Wired did sound loose; although that’s not to say the drums weren’t up to scratch, it was more to do with having the standard set so high by the first two bands. The backing vocals also needed a bit of work.
For the second band in a row, the penultimate song was the strongest and had a much better flow to it than the other tracks in the set. The industrial sounding rhythm on guitar and bass kept the foot tapping throughout.
Dead Jack leaped onto stage and impressed with a strong combination of music and performance. The confidence of cocky front man, Dan Foy, oozed from the stage throughout the set.
The whole band put in the kind of energy normally reserved for the Olympic team and there was a constant series of photo-opportunity moments with guitars flying and feet on monitors.
The only downside in the set was the use of a cover, which was completely unnecessary in such a strong original set, although it was nice to have an occasion where the cover wasn’t the best song of the night – an accolade that would have to go to ‘I Killed Them All’.
This was a massive performance from Dead Jack.
Dead Jack Articles
Written by Fenton on
