Rita Lynch / Daddy Longbones
Posted on 25th February 2011
The Den, Corn St, Bristol.
19th Feb 2011.
Live music is a multi-faceted art form, there are many different skill sets required and many variables that can affect performance, some of these are out of a bands control.
The band themselves need to be a unit, great individually, yet greater than the sum of its parts. Daddy Long Bones are such a band. New drummer Jon Harper adds power to an increasingly impressive rhythm section with Adam Tucker, whose bass-lines roll, not beneath or behind the keyboards and guitar, but through them. Dynamic sensibility appears second nature to a band that really play as a unit and launches the riffs, crunchy pirate rhythms, licks and fills to stadium level.
The ballroom-like high ceiling of The Den lends an almost outdoor feel to the venue, and it is surely a tricky affair to balance the sound in such a cold, cavernous space but DLB have a sound that belongs equally on the festival stage and in the backroom bar.
Their real selling point is of course the songs, which cross several genres and are performed with energy and passion by John Bones (gtr) and Anna Bones (synth/percussion). The pairing is uniquely complimentary and exudes personality whilst maintaining professionalism. They play and sing with authority and evidently live for it. A must see band.
Rita Lynch has punk rock in her blood, yet this is a kind of punk rock that delivers much more than at first listen. The anthemic, snarling combination of single distorted guitar and drums is obvious, the brooding power of Lynch’s vocal delivery is infectious but the real joy is that within all the raw noise lurks a barrage of rootsy influences and unexpected cleverness that makes you respect the songwriting as much as you love the song. With some bands the louder they get, the more they can lose. Sometimes though, the noise holds all the depth of experience and the noise is both rousing and peaceful.
Catch one of these acts and you’ll be happy, catch them both on the same bill and you’re in for a treat.
Apologies to other acts Belladonna and 10 ton tongue who I was unable to watch.
- CLOUDRUNNER
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