Death from Above offers intimate show to small crowd
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » I finally got the chance to see Death From Above earlier this week, after waiting about a decade.
I first heard the sounds of Death From Above when I was about 15. A local band did a cover of Death From Above’s 2005 hit “Black History Month,” and I decided to dig a little deeper into this music, which was unlike anything I’d heard before.
It’s likely I used Limewire to download some key tracks, like “Blood on Our Hands” and “Romantic Rights” from the duo’s debut album, because I can fondly remember rocking out to these tunes from the headphones of my second generation iPod Nano.
Over the years, Death From Above kind of slipped off my radar as I was discovering other genres of music, but they always lived in my iTunes library. Then, a few years back, I heard a loud song, “Trainwreck 1979,” on WEQX, and I was more than surprised to hear the DJ annouce this was a new single by Death From Above.
Though I hadn’t given it much thought in the past several years, I was happy to hear they were still making music. — Little did I know, they hadn’t been from about 2006 to 2011, but everyone needs a break sometimes, right? Not long after, it was announced that Awolnation and Death From Above were out on tour and coming to Clifton Park, and I was stoked to see both acts.
That show didn’t happen. Awolnation came and went, and it was a fun concert, but what I was really itching to see was a Death From Above show. On Monday night, I finally had that opportunity. Touring on recent release Outrage! Is Now, Death From Above played a headlining show at Upstate Concert Hall, and you bet I was in that crowd.
Except it wasn’t much of a crowd. It felt more like a moderately attended house party, which I’m sure was disappointing to the person in charge of ticket sales, but it was fine with me. I was just glad it was happening.
Bassist Jesse Keeler had the same attitude. The guys shared that they had an option to cancel the event due to low attendance, but from his perspective, going on tour and not playing a show is “like being at a strip club and facing the back wall.”
So, Death From Above got on stage and played a real causal show for the dozens of fans like myself, who had been waiting a long time to see them live. Forgiving a few technical difficulties, Death From Above’s set sounded great. From the old original flavor songs like “Little Girl” to the new ones off Outrage! Is Now, Death From Above did not disappoint. The performance was loud, energetic and everything I’d wished it would be.
Where some bands would be sour about playing to a near-empty room, Jesse and Sebastien embraced it in just the right way, getting intimate with fans and still giving it their all. They appreciated us showing up, and I, for one, was sure as hell grateful they were there.