GOD DAAMMNN
The last time we caught God Damn live was across two shows in Reading last year - one at a small venue and the other at the festival the next night - on both nights they affirmed the view that they really are one of the exciting 'must-watch' bands on the Rock scene at the moment. The buzz around this band grew so much on the latter part of their last tour they were even hand picked by the Foo Fighters to open a few of their massive shows. Without any hesitation it seems, the band have rode on that wave of momentum and hit us with the new album Everything Ever which they've been quietly working on for some months. The album itself is a frenetic improvement on their previous output, but much like with a lot of their music in the past, you really get the sense that these are tracks written and compiled together with the view of smashing ears to pieces live. With the privilege of being able to listen to this album quite a bit prior to this show, another interesting element which grew out of being at this gig was the chance to watch an audience who hadn't been exposed to them just yet. Needless to say, there was an excitable buzz around the venue immediately following the show... and justifiably so.
First point of interest at the show was the fact that from the off there were three members on stage. God Damn have always functioned as a two piece in the past so naturally you were drawn towards this mysterious looking figure pegged out towards the side of the stage surrounded by synths, keyboards and all manner of other bits and pieces. His contributions didn't end there though, when front man Thom decides he wants to have a wander around the crowd, guitar duties fell to him as well. As far as we know they're still a two-piece entity where recording is concerned, but there is absolutely no doubting that by drafting in an extra member live it has enhanced their performance by quite a bit. They were always a good band live, but they're playing now with a different level of confidence and swagger, as well as generally sounding a lot more tight. The fuzzy, frenetic, elements are still there in abundance, they're just better at it now. It looks like this guy has signed up with the band full time now, and they're better for it.
With this being an album launch show, the new tracks featured heavily in the set, but they also used this opportunity to bash out some older tracks they don't necessarily give the live treatment all that often, Heavy Money garnering the biggest reaction. The crowd at the Boston Music Rooms tonight wasn't big, but those that were there showed the level of passion which could trigger a real elevation over the next year or so.
God Damn have got that confident attitude which screams 'we don't give a fuck if you like it or not' and through flying the flag for scuzzy Garage Rock doused in a Punk DIY approach we're certain that their following will continue to grow should the live shows continue to be this good. A lot of bands who have this attitude fall flat on their arse because they haven't got the music to back them, this isn't a problem here at all.
Check out the gig in pictures below:
Photo Credit: Tolly Robinson