Death from Above 1979 is one of the bands that rank near the top of my “Missed Opportunities” list. Having read this tragic blog entry back in 2006, I really felt that I had let a chance to see something awesome go by the wayside. Thus, imagine my delight when I saw that they are damn-near headlining Coachella! Ok, “headlining” may be an overstatement, but check out the font size! (Sunday)
Supported by this epic blog entry, it is confirmed that noise mongers Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger have officially reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. However, one problem still remains…
As much as I would love to drop $300 on a DFA ’79 show, I can’t bring myself to do it (and now that Coachella is SOLD OUT, that isn’t an option). So now I’m hoping….nay, PRAYING, that a tour is in order. Even if that were the case, I would have to pray doubly that the twosome wouldn’t simply count Coachella as their San Diego stop.
***SIDENOTE***
To all “my” bands…STOP FUCKING DOING THAT!! As noted above, that is a hefty price to pay, and a significant drive, only to have to whittle the list of 300 bands to six per day. Even if that lineup is out-of-this-world, some of us prefer a more intimate setting to have our minds blow and our eardrums punctured. Not to mention having to endure the additional financial costs of bottled water, carnival food, and overpriced Heineken. THEN there is the physical price paid from the “heat exhaustion by day, hypothermia by night” transition and the near terminal cases of swamp nuts. God help you if you’re stuck “camping” on location, tucked neatly into your 10’ x 10’ grid space, immediately adjacent to the tent of seven, who simultaneously drop acid at 11 pm and proceed to sound off as if Jesus were in their tent giving out high fives and hand jobs. So please….for the love of Jesus and his amazing hand jobs, come play the Casbah.
Since learning of their triumphant return to the stage I have listened to You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine no less than infinity times, sending out karmic vibes to attract the deafening duo and cranking up the volume with each spin. I think my coworkers know all the words by now.
Of the same ilk as the late White Stripes (man, that hurts to say), the pairing produces a disproportionate amount of awesome for the number of limbs involved. If you have not yet heard them, I would recommend purchasing a Life Alert™ prior to doing so. They will. Knock. You. Down. While you’re at it, go ahead and spring for a pace maker. You’ll need one eventually, right.
Laced with heavy hitting tracks like “Blood On Our Hands,” “Romantic Rights,” and “Black History Month” (see Mix Playlist | March 2005), You’re A Woman, I’m a Machine, positive or negative, WILL leave an impression. And if its 35 minutes of skull punching sound doesn’t quench your musical bloodlust, grab the Heads Up! EP, their 14-minute debut; an aural assault originally released in 2002. (NERD ALERT: Give yourself +100 hipster bonus points for recognizing that Crystal Castles sampled the intro from “Dead Womb” in their track “Untrust Us.”)
Check out the album. Check out the EP. And if you can afford it, hit up Coachella. If you do, bring plenty of money, hands jobs from Jesus aren’t free either.
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