Root vegetable rattled with the d&band rural revue.
After an explosive premier at Zapata in Stuttgart by the UK’s sonic attack funsters ‘Black Bombers’, it was only fitting that hometown bands ‘bottomless beheaded’ and ‘Walter Subject’ should choose to return the favour with a concert Saturday 15th September at Bombers’ locale, the Landsdown Hall in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
“Everything about the gig was great,” said elated ‘beheaded’ bass man Boris Rehders,” especially the sound.” This is a direct translation from the German “alles die Englanders ist bekloppt.” Walter Subjects’ co-founder and bass player, Christoph ‘Stoffel’ Kluck described the concert as seminal, “The show in Zapata was very successful, the Bombers flew over from England and really let us have it; how could we not return the favour?”
Sound was provided by d&b audiotechnik and, demonstrating a flagrant disregard for their own rule book, flew a V-Series V8 system with a V-SUB bass array on the floor to throw just eleven metres. “I must have had more headroom than a convention of philosophers,” said Oran Burns from the d&b GB Education and Application Support department, who mixed the show on a Digidesign Venue SC48. Burns was assisted by John Taylor from the d&b Education department; Taylor himself opened proceedings with a four song set by his band ‘Louche’ (anyone who knows Taylor will recognise the connotation immediately). Stage monitoring was also provided with d&b loudspeakers.
Putting the over-the-top PA to one side, this was a professional show, Walter and beheaded brought over their regular engineers at their own expense. “All these bands have musicians who work for d&b, either here or in Germany,” explained Burns, “and all of them brought something a little different to the show. For me it was a real pleasure; what else would I have been doing on a Saturday night? Sitting in with the family watching X Factor with a take away curry; it’s a no-brainer, though arguably the gig in Stroud produced more hot air.”
Attending the gig was local celebrity Hamish Guerrini, known as the White Rabbit, he was suitably attired. “It is a curious fact that all four bands that appeared this night have a bass player that works for d&b,” he noted. A man more usually found managing the Rabbit Hole stage at Glastonbury, Guerrini proffered the theory that “This was possibly due to an unhealthy obsession with low end,” but then thought a moment and added playfully, “But it certainly rattled my carrots.” A European tour is now planned for 2013.
