Okay,
listen. Being the unashamedly crass hacks that we are, it's all too
tempting to draw parallels between the conditions inside tonight's
pressure cooker of a venue and those outside; to make the oh-so-cliched
observation that, while the first, really rather heavy, snows of the
season are tumbling down upon a bitterly cold York city centre, within
these four walls, the atmosphere couldn't be any warmer (and that's not
just because the heating's been cranked up to the max). And yeah, it's
painful just typing that, but you know what? It's bloody true. The sold
out crowd packing themselves into Fibbers treat tonight's headliners
like long-lost family, welcoming the band with open arms, lovingly
embracing each track with their vocal chords and, crucially, hanging on
every word they say.
Dry the River are probably used to all of
this by now; playing sold out shows up and down the country (and across
the oceans, natch) to ever-increasing audiences may make the reverence
on display this evening seem par for the course. The supports may not be
accustomed to such reactions, however; and while the standing ovations
and passionate singalongs may be reserved for later in the evening,
there is, nevertheless, a politely attentive, and appreciative, mood in
the air during both Last Winter Dance Party's half hour of wonderfully
epic alt folk (check out the addictive 'Dawn Chorus' now... free
download on their Facebook!) and the abrasive guitar assaults of
Kingston's brilliant Arcane Roots who almost, almost, upstage their
successors tonight in the intensity stakes. It's certainly refreshing to
be part of a crowd that's genuinely interested in the music as opposed
to chugging down the next pint while chatting idly to one another, and
when this filters through to the support slots too, well, everyone's a
winner.
To be fair to DtR, mind, it's virtually impossible not to
keep your eyes permanently glued to the stage during their suitably
colossal 60 minutes. Naturally, there's the much-touted audio-visual
dichotomy of five relatively scrawny, tattooed-to-fuck former hardcore
kids making such heartwrenchingly tender and beautiful music which, in
itself, is enough to send a dozen or more jaws dropping to the floor
every time Peter opens his mouth and THAT angelic voice comes spilling
out... but that's only part of the story. Fact is, these guys know how
to put on a show, when to let the tunes speak for themselves and when to
let loose and unleash holy hell on their instruments.
So there
are moments of unrelenting beauty: an achingly expansive 'Demons', the
acapella opening to 'Weights and Measures', doused with enough
melancholy to make even the most steadfast among us shed a tear or two,
every solitary second of 'Bible Belt' and, lest we forget, the inspired
decision to close the encore with an acapella rendition of 'Shaker
Hymns'... in the middle of the crowd. And then there are the gargantuan
numbers: the impassioned choruses of 'No Rest', the anthemic 'New
Ceremony' and the piece da resistance, the six minute behemoth that is
'Lion's Den', which builds and builds into a climax of unfathomable
proportions, each member of the band drawing deep to give us every ounce
of energy they can possibly muster. It's a thrilling experience,
leaving lumps the size of golfballs in the throats of every stunned
spectator in the building.
And that's pretty much the go-to
response for tonight's performance. With only 9 songs, no shoes and a
few Maryland cookies (no, we don't know either), Dry the River blow
every expectation out of the water, demonstrating their consummate
skills as musicians but, more importantly than that, delivering
something genuinely emotive and real. The passion, energy and intensity
on display tonight is what live music was made for and it's brilliantly
invigorating. Hats off to DtR then; there's absolutely nothing cold
about this evening's show. Sorry... couldn't resist.
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