Django Django @ Waterfront, Norwich
A confident Django Django impress at the Waterfront
Well done Django Django for bringing Roller Trio out on tour with them. Very unusual to see what is basically a jazz group (not necessarily as we know it) supporting an indie/art rock band. Roller Trio were excellent; brilliantly percussive with fierce sax and inventive guitar. They get an increasingly warm response from the crowd and reminded me of some of the 70’s fusion bands - even Gong - and that really is a big compliment in my book.
The Django Django I saw at Norwich Arts Centre in 2012, playing their first ever sold out headline show, were a pretty tentative bunch of chaps. Barely a word was spoken and they were clearly still finding their feet in a live setting. The last three years have obviously been well spent because from the minute they arrive on stage my reaction is WOW. Very loud (when isn’t that a good thing at a gig?), dry ice and a squall of electronic noise from which Hail Bop emerged; you really couldn’t have asked for a better opener. Storm followed in a similar pattern, another great song from the debut album played with huge levels of confidence.
It’s somewhat inevitable that songs from the debut were more familiar to the audience but new album Born Under Saturn has been out for a few weeks now and quite honestly the new material sounded just as good. First Light & Reflections were set highlights – no coincidence that both have been released as singles. The latter song also featured Roller Trio’s sax player to great effect. Lead singer and guitarist Vincent Neff has really grown as a frontman, encouraging the crowd to get involved, and keys and synth man Tommy Grace adds the all-important electronic flourishes from behind his bank of equipment. At times it was rave-like! Great strobe lighting and added percussion from Vincent and bassist Jimmy Dixon made for a proper wall of sound. The main set ended with three classics from the debut and if I have one criticism it would be that this was the peak of the evening. The two encores didn’t quite live up to the brilliance of what had just happened, but it really is a minor point.
Django Django are continuing to develop into a truly great band and deserve to have real success with their new album as it has huge commercial potential. Lots more touring, a summer of festival appearances and radio support will see them outgrowing venues the size of the Waterfront in the very near future.
Stuart Preston @StuPres
