Eagles of Demise Steel
O2 Discussion board, Kentish City, London
4th July 2023

Audacity and beautiful execution: Rock ‘n’ roll’s coolest Californian providing come to Kentish City this Independence Day. Be part of Eagles of Demise Steel as they Zipper Down and thrust their iconic again catalogue into your open mouth.

The notorious opening guitar of the Time Warp murmurs within the background. “It’s astounding…Time is fleeting…Insanity takes its toll…However hear intently….” floats all through the venue as the gang begin realising what they’re listening to. Folks begin singing alongside earlier than palms are on hips, and there are some jumps to the left and a few steps to the precise. The campy glam rock quantity will get us within the temper for the *barely* much less camp look of Eagle of Demise Steel (EODM frontman Jesse Huges (or Father Badass). Sporting skin-tight white trousers and a Union Jack waistcoat, the outfit leaves nothing to the creativeness as he struts round and bulldozes into set opener Received A Lady.

Jesse is a girls’ man. There’s no secret about that. Dedicating your entire assortment of songs tonight to all the ladies within the room, he even claims, ‘each night time is women’ night time at an Eagles of Demise Steel live performance’. He prowls the stage, blowing kisses to anybody he locks eyes with and throws his guitar pics to particular on-lookers within the crowd. It’s plain that Hughes is a rock star. Stage presence and charisma are issues that comes naturally to him, along with his eccentric dance strikes making him the main focus for the set. The flawless band round him are additionally effortlessly cool, with Jennie Vee receiving a roaring applause for her Ace of Areas rendition on the finish of the set.

Enjoying favourites comparable to I Need You So Laborious (Boy’s Dangerous Information) and Silverlake with a wind machine blowing by their hair, Hughes dedicates I Love You All The Time to an area Camden tattoo store elevating cash for Tuesday’s Army– a trigger near his coronary heart. The setlist is a constant deal with of their again catalogue and every monitor is met with excessive reward from the gang. “Don’t neglect to remain hydrated,” Hughes bellows as I flip to my left and see a bunch of drunk guys dry humping eachother, ignoring any request to drink water. By some means, I feel the band will discover that as humorous as I do.

Hughes claims that they’re about to play a canopy of a monitor that they really feel was ‘written for them’. The band then burst into Moonage Daydream, making the gang go wild. I can’t assist however snicker on the audacity to place a declare on a Bowie monitor like that. Nonetheless, the exceptional execution of the efficiency convinces me that this was written for them in some parallel universe. The overflowing confidence coming from Hughes because the band reside out their Bowie fantasy has an especially enticing high quality to it, making them rock ’n’ roll Gods with one of many best frontmen I’ve seen up to now.

Their Pores and skin Tight Boogie angle is infectious, and you may’t assist however dance to the perfected rock from Eagles of Demise Steel. With no current releases, it’s complicated as to why EODM are touring for the time being. Nonetheless, the packed-out room on a Tuesday night time proves that there’s nonetheless a need to occasion with them it doesn’t matter what. It’s obnoxious but stylish, filthy but sultry, and it’s a constant thread of thrusting and hip wiggling completed with the nationwide anthem taking part in us out. Their music hits all the precise spots, and reside it hits these spots simply that little bit higher…

Setlist:

Received a Lady
I Solely Need You
Make A Bang
Something Besides the Reality
Complexity
Silverlake
Coronary heart On
Secret Plans
Cherry Cola
Flames Go Increased
Now I’m A Idiot
Boys Dangerous Information
Whorehoppin
I Love You All The Time
Moonage Daydream
Rock This City
I Prefer to Transfer within the Evening
Talking in Tongues

(P.S. EODM, please play Oh Woman subsequent time I come to a present)

Comply with Eagles Of Demise Steel: web site, Instagram, Twitter & Fb

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Phrases by Jazz Hodge, yow will discover her Louder Than Conflict archive right here.

All photographs © Paul Grace. For extra of Paul’s writing and photographs go to his archive. Paul is on Fb, Twitter, Instagram and his web sites are www.paulgrace-eventphotos.co.uk & www.pgrace.co.uk.