brian_jonestown_massacre_tee_pee_recordsThe Brian Jonestown Massacre in The Academy, Dublin on 9th July 2014

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 30 years since The Brian Jonestown Massacre were conceived by the ever enigmatic Anton Newcombe and band members that with the exception of two, have all since moved on. The most notable change since then is the evolution of their music from shoegaze to a strange blend of psychedelic rock.

Opening up the show was the hugely talented five piece, The Altered Hours. The vocal mics were down far too low at the start, and then were far too high for other parts of the set due to technical difficulties, but the quality of the band shone through regardless. What really stood out in lieu of the issues was a very well matched rhythm section, dreamy guitars and the contrast of male and female vocals that were excellent when audible. Comparisons with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club spring to mind, but with a certain enticing uniqueness that made The Altered Hours a very suitable opener.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre emerged at 9pm to a wash of red and blue lighting and immediately kicked into the bass driven Whoever You Are from 1997’s, ‘Give It Back!’ The set was slow to pick up but once it did, the band blistered through an impressive 22 songs comprised of mainly older material as well a handful of songs off this year’s release, ‘Revelation’. 

By the time The Devil May Care (Mom And Dad Don’t) kicked in almost half way through the set, the crowd had burst into life. Anemone was one of the highlights of the night, as the floor became a sea of jumping bodies and crowd surfers who screamed along eagerly. The  band smirked at each other in between songs, before quickly kicking into the next song with little to no interaction with the audience for much of the gig.

That Girl Suicide, Not If You Were The Last Dandy on Earth and Oh Lord were met with screams of approval from an audience that were eating out of Antown Newcombe’s hand.

There was no encore, but an extended version of When Jokers Attack . Towards the middle of the set, Newcombe stopped the song to complain about the bassist and the drummer: “It’s like you guys have just completely forgotten how to play this song, what’s up with that?!”. He then proceeded to make them repeat the parts they had played wrong, and never really made it clear if it was staged or not. This incident threw the remainder of the gig a little bit off kilter, sapping the energy that had been generated and leaving much of the audience bewildered. The song ended with a free jam between the musicians and the distribution of alcohol to the crowd, followed by a series of high fives.

Tonight’s show lacked any seriously impressive or surprising moments, and much of the atmosphere was created by the crowd, rather than by the band, which is an issue in itself. To a crowd who were less devoted to the band, the gig would have been boring and uneventful, but for the fans of the band, it was an enjoyable show.