[kj] Killing Joke- 40th Anniversary at Roundhouse-17/11/2018. (Fat White Old Blokes)

[Paul]

https://fatwhiteoldblokes.com/2018/11/19/killing-joke-40th-anniversary-at-roundhouse-17-11-2018/

*Killing Joke- 40th Anniversary at Roundhouse-17/11/2018.*

By fatwhiteoldblokes
<https://fatwhiteoldblokes.com/author/fatwhiteoldblokes/>
Posted on November 19, 2018

[image: killing-joke.jpg]

Back at the Roundhouse for the 40th anniversary of “Killing Joke’s” birth.
Never seen them before so interested to observe them after a long and
checked history

Support was provided by one of my faves of the last couple of years
“Phobophobes”. I think they were drafted in last minute just for this last
London show. They looked slightly nervous in the large space and were met
by an indifferent if not slightly hostile crowd who were clearly there for
only one thing.

They rattled through a number of the favourites from the album and did
actually get the crowd a little warmed up by the end of their set. At times
they had four guitarists playing and the sound has clearly become more
layered and nuanced over time.

The reliance on the swirling keyboards of Chris OC has been replaced by a
more guitar heavy sound, although difficult to know if that was intentional
or due to the sound mix on the evening.

The drummer worked particularly hard to give them as big a sound as
possible in the voluminous Roundhouse. Honour was acquitted I think but it
was probably not their favourite set ever.

Second support was” Turbowolf”, who live reminded me a bit of “Royal
Blood”, possibly due to the fact that they seemed to have lost their bass
player somewhere (the band did comment on this but did not provide an
answer) With two vocalists sharing duties during the set they are a
traditional rock act with nods to more flamboyant showmen like Freddie
Mercury or visually the frontman reminds me of Eugene Hutz from “Gogol
Bordello”, but slightly more sartorial. They tried to rally the audience
and again got some reaction but it wasn’t going to be seen as a triumph.

The audience does deserve some comment. It was a Fat white old bloke
dominated audience fixed firmly in the eighties. In fact the audience had
not weathered as well as “Killing Joke” themselves. It was significantly
follicly challenged and numerous people seemed to be dependent on walking
sticks and not just as a fashion statement.

9.15 and the headliners hit the stage. Jaz Coleman has changed his persona
over the years and in black boiler suit emblazoned with a large white
symbol on the back, was channelling Alice Cooper with black eye make up and
shoulder length black hair.

I’m assuming they have mellowed over the years but they lay down the
backing tracks with metronomic precision but still with a level of
freshness, considering the older songs are 40 years old. Jaz introduced the
rest of the band, the original line up of Geordie, Youth and Paul Ferguson
thanking them for their support on the tour. He introduced a number of the
songs with apocalyptic anecdotes about the power of the deep state and the
ineffectual nature of western democracy.

All of this stage craft has clearly been honed over many years but they do
retain an edge. They remind me for some reason of a previous incarnation of
“The Prodigy”. They are in many ways musically flirting with various forms
of dance music to my ears. Even songs such as “80’s” have riffs which
played at speed are eminently danceable. As I haven’t followed them since I
bought the first album back in the early 1980’s perhaps my views are
incorrect or just a statement of the obvious for the more discerning.

The sound they produce is clearly of its time and if you look at reviews of
subsequent albums critics can generally find only a couple of decent songs
amongst the musical meanderings. One review found the second side of their
eponymous first album wanting in this respect to their taste.

On the night they have enough material to deliver a high energy quality
performance. After the first song I was questioning why I was there but the
next 70 minutes went quickly as I got into the zone. Having been a long
week I did leave before the end and the inevitable rendition of “Wardance”
which is probably the most famous and evocative of their songs. Pricey
ticket so unlikely to see them again but they controlled the room and worth
seeing if you can.
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