Live, Manchester Academy, 16/11/07
By Chris Rockson
Guitar straps break, you can go from guitar hero to zero in
seconds.....but NOT if you're the star in the Punk band 'dBd' [
Death By Decibels]...y'know...there are those bands that can talk the talk,
then there's those that can only walk it.....NOT these guys! They do
BOTH as naturally as it comes.......Half way
through a rockin' number and your fuckin' guitar strap decides it's
had enough ...well, for most bands, that means 'hey, let's
stop....then start again..',as well as total humiliation for the
poor axeman....... but 'dBd star in the makin' Gaz, carried
on like it was the most natural thing on earth....'who needs a
strap anyway ???!!!'
I'd turned out on a very cold Manchester evening to witness a
revolution in punk...a melodic, young, brash but with feet firmly
planted on the ground outfit by the name of dBd...Death By decibels
indeed! I went deaf years ago....but I can still pick out the wheat
from the chaff. These guys are going places, trust me. After brief intro's in
the bar, and several Jack Daniel's on the rocks to thaw me out, I
took my regular spot side stage to review their latest support slot
with The Adicts.
The drive into the city was, I believe, the usual Motorway nightmare, but talkin' to the lads in the bar before their show, you wouldn't
know....relaxed, and waiting to rock it out to a filling 'Academy'
hall, these guys know what it's about - hard working, straight
talking, down to earth geezers, with creativity and melody in
abundance....they have the look and boy, do they have the
sound....well, let's see....
Three songs in, and the crowd are warmin' to their blend of Greenday/Stiff
Little Fingers/Ramones/Clash....you name it, it's all there to
hear.....but unlike so many of their contemporaries, there's also
the hint that they can write something you'll be humming on
your way home afterwards......'Something Better' is the shows
starter, and the crowd spring into life, as though they've just been
given shock treatment....quickly followed by a lightning
'Never
Die' and 'Old Ways'. These guys love being up there, you can just
tell...it's all so natural...no fake's here!!
Blasting into 'Self Destruct', which is exactly what the
aforementioned guitar strap decided to do, the lads show us how it's
supposed to be done with 'New Compromise', for me, the star song of
the evening. I'm really liking what I see/hear, and just when I
think it can't get any better, they serve me a 'Tear Gas Bomb' that
reveals their exploits in L.A. a few years back.
From the bar, with
another 'BlackJack' in my hand, I look at the crowd who are loving
every minute of this show and think to myself, 'this is what it's
all about'...a beautifully crafted 'Submission' blows me away with
its 'Buzzcocks' like harmony and chorus, and then it's down to the
finale - 'Song for the Union'......which Joe Strummer himself would
have been proud of.......Oh boy!, I can't take no more!!!
Sometimes in life you get to witness certain bands that you think,
'these guys are going places', you get to see them in their
formative years and just instinctively know they'll be somewhere,
someday............Watch Out World!!
Cheers guys! Chris
http://www.deathbydecibels.co.uk/
©2007 Chris Rockson/PunkGlobe
Magazine
