The Night Marchers & Dan Sartain – Camden Underworld 24.11.09
Not your average show tonight. In a move that must have obliterated takings at the bar, Dan Sartain’s fantastic support slot starts off as a solo show before The Night Marchers come on stage one by one to back him and help complete his set.
Then, without missing a beat, they rip into their own songs, playing a typically gutsy show for a crowd who end up pleading for more, but have to settle for the sight of a man eating a banana.
Let’s start with Dan Sartain.
Pale of face and wiry of frame, Sartain was christened on stage as ‘The Alabama Blues Cadaver’, but despite his deathly visage Sartain creates a big sound, with or without a band.
Taking requests from the outset, Sartain had the hairy Underworld crowd eating out of his hand.
The introduction of the Night Marchers as his backing band really cranked things up a gear or two and drew the last remaining barflies to the stage.
Mixing up the setlist from his albums vs The Serpientes and Meet Dan Sartain, there are also a couple of excellent new songs, Atheist’s Funeral (already drooled over here) and a storming version of Perverted Justice, which can be found on the b-side of Dan’s latest 7″ on Big Legal Mess Records.
You can and should buy it here.
With luck, we’ll see a new album from Sartain in 2010.
For the uninitiated, The Night Marchers are the current vehicle for ex-Rocket From The Crypt legend Speedo (John Reis) and features three-quarters of the original Hot Snakes line-up (the last quarter -- Rick Froberg -- can be found fronting Obits).
Debut album See You In Magic has now been toured for over 18 months. The live show takes the shiny edges from the record, scuffs them into crude, gnarled blades, and slashes you in the guts for a solid hour.
The highlights, as ever, are the heavenly jangle of Jump In The Fire, the brutal set-closing one-two of Scene Report and Fisting The Fanbase, and Speedo’s inspired between-song banter.
Again, we get teased with a new song, the chunky Tropical Depression, which bodes well for the new album.
Set finished, the band leaves the stage with only Speedo remaining, chomping on a banana. The crowd screams for more.
“There is no more. Please turn around and go home. Exits are here and here. Go back to your tenement or your mother’s house. This is just me doing some performance art eating a banana, and now that has finished. There are no more bananas left. Really, there is no more. Turn around! (to the sound man) Play some bad techno music, please. Louder! Goodnight!”
Hopefully some footage from the show will find its way online in due course, but for now enjoy The Night Marchers here…
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- King Khan & The Shrines – Live – Cargo, London
- Dan Sartain – Bohemian Grove / Atheist Funeral 7″
- Steve’s Musical Highlights of 2009
- Built To Spill & Dinosaur Jr, Oxford O2 Academy
- Great Lake Swimmers – Camden Jazz Cafe