EAGLES OF DEATH METAL + BONES UK – CHALK, BRIGHTON 22.11.21
Over the years I’ve had the privilege of seeing Eagles Of Death Metal at some of the finest major festivals that the UK and America have to offer, but tonight is a far more intimate setting at Brighton’s CHALK, which makes the first of this 12-date 24th anniversary tour all that bit more special.
Unsurprisingly, after the Le Bataclan 13th November 2015 Paris atrocity, entrance tonight requires bag search and metal detectors…with queues mirroring high-season at Heathrow Airport. However, there isn’t a single complaint as the crowd stands patiently in line, eagerly awaiting their turn.
Opening tonight is Bones UK (stylized as BONES UK) – a little later than scheduled as roadies and sound technicians dash about the stage double-checking everything is in full working order for the show ahead – but it’s well worth the wait.
Bones UK, now LA based, hail from Camden Town and have only arrived back on their former home turf yesterday – riding high, they tell us on Jet lag and tequila. That obviously works for them as they set about a half hour of pure genius.
Bones UK can’t be pigeon-holed into a specific genre and instead offer up a unique heady fusion of gritty vocals, classic blues, thrashing guitar and industrial punk rock.
Jumpsuit clad and at once connecting with the audience, Rosie Bones commands attention.
The David Bowie cover ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’ has a fresh industrial vibe and earthy vocals, whilst ‘Beautiful Is Boring’ is a sultry sensual criticism of the media pressure to be beautiful – “scars don’t make us imperfect, they make us beautiful”.
Rosie Bones tells of a man in Camden who criticised them saying that girls can’t play guitar as well as boys – well if tonight is anything to go by, he sure got that one wrong, and he is hopefully still stewing in his error back in London.
‘Pretty Waste’, for which Bones UK received their first, and I’m sure one of many Grammy nominations, closes the set tonight.
Bones UK are:
Rosie Bones – Lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Carmen Vandenberg – lead guitar
Heavy – Drums
Bones UK setlist:
‘Intro’
‘Creature’
‘Choke’
‘Filthy Freaks’
‘I’m Afraid Of Americans’
‘Beautiful Is Boring’
‘Girls Can’t Play Guitar’
‘Pretty Waste’
Eagles Of Death Metal saunter onto the stage to ‘We Are Family’ with frontman Jesse Hughes decked out as a fully caped crusader.
The venue is rammed to the rafters – the audience have reached full hysteria and a mosh pit has started before a single note is played. As the band launch into ‘Shasta Beast’, the mosh pit erupts creating a ripple effect with the whole audience singing and dancing along as one.
EODM are the epitome and celebration of all things American rock and tonight we see them at their best.
The tunes come fast and furious as we are treated to crowd pleasers all the way. ‘Cherry Cola’ keeps the sing-a-long in full flow and ‘Boys Bad News’ with its bulldozer psychobilly beats even has a few security guards swaying and tapping their toes.
So often you look around you at a gig and it’s an absolute sea of mobile phones with the audience live streaming the performance or worse, posting selfies, tonight is not one of those nights, with the focus most definitely on the action on stage. EODM are about the sheer joy of live music, forgetting the outside world and just being totally immersed in the moment. They understand that their greatest asset are their fans, oh, and a whole lot of talent and showmanship thrown into the mix. Tonight is all about having fun…and god knows, we all need some in our lives right now.
Absolute perfect and stellar first night of the tour.
Current line-up:
Jesse Hughes – vocals, guitar, and all-round showman
Jennie Vee – bass, vocals
Joshua Love – guitar
Jorma Vik – Drums
Eagles Of Death Metal setlist:
‘Shasta Beast’
‘Make A Bang’
‘Anything Cept The Truth’
‘Complexity’
‘Silverlake’
‘Heart On’
‘Secret Plans’
‘Cherry Cola’
‘Flames Go Higher’
‘Miss Alissa’
‘Boys Bad News’
‘Whorehoppin’
‘I Love You All The Time’
‘Now I’m A Fool’
‘Moonage Daydream’
(encore)
‘I Like To Move In The Night’
‘Speaking In Tongues’
For more information on the band, visit eaglesofdeathmetal.com
