[kj] KILLING JOKE – BIRMINGHAM – LIVE REVIEW (Fighting Boredom)

[Paul]

https://www.fighting-boredom.co.uk/live-review/killing-joke-birmingham-live-review/


*KILLING JOKE – BIRMINGHAM – LIVE REVIEW*
APRIL 7, 2022 ADRIAN BLOXHAM

[image: K_J.jpg]



*Killing Joke – Birmingham Institute – April 2nd 2022‘Killing Joke is very
much music as ritual – raw, uncompromising and precisely-targeted
lyrically; and Dr Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth and Big Paul, founding
fathers of the group and an ongoing influence on both alternative music and
(counter) culture in general, show absolutely no signs of mellowing’. The
original lineup recently released a new EP fittingly titled Lord of Chaos.
Alongside that they are touring, Fighting Boredom were at the Birmingham
show, read what we thought below.*

Big, white church candles are burning on top of the bass amp. An ambient
drone is filling the hall and the attendant gatherers are standing waiting.
It’s full, mainly with the people that have followed them for years, you
can see it in their eyes, a wild gleam, a hint of chaos, a love for the
dance. There’s a sense of belonging as the stage is washed over with a blue
light.

The guitar is handed to Geordie, Youth takes up the bass. Paul sits at the
drums and Jaz stands centre stage with his back to the audience. The noise
rises and they fall straight into Love Like Blood. I think the whole crowd
are singing along. The sound and feeling is of a rock solid band, hard and
fluid, perfect. Jaz moves like a shaman, this crowd is his. The band match
the audience, they look older but no less cool. The song finishes and
Geordie chops out the start of Wardance. The crowd explodes. Hardcore.
Ritualistic and loved. Everyone is singing, the whole of the crowd have
their hands in the air, this is music to march to and they are cracking the
walls with it. The drums and bass are locked so tight it hurts as Youth
sways and moves to the noise. Geordie stands tall, aloof, staring hard
across the room as he makes those sounds reverberate around you. Then
there’s Jaz, the vocals are perfect, he’s totally absorbed it all.

[image: Youth.jpg]  [image: Geordie.jpg]

They glue your eyes to them, there’s no looking away. It’s a huge sound
hitting groove and going with it until they pause to find another. They
play stuttering rock’n’roll and then an epic sound but underneath it all is
a primal beat, an unstoppable force, a power projected from the  band to
the crowd and back again. An overwhelming urge to throw yourself into the
melee and lose it completely.

I Am The Virus starts and the crowd go bonkers again as Jaz stands stock
still staring at them. An aggressive and abrasive sound. It’s a warlike
celebration of music and belonging. Reqium is hymn like and overwhelming.
Slow and majestic, just as relevant now as when it came out forty two years
ago. Forty two years! Just let that sink in for a moment. How many bands
owe these four people a huge debt. How many bands have taken up their
industrial punk core and spread out with it, that’s why they matter, they
were first and on the strength of tonight’s power, they are the best. I
haven’t seen a Killing Joke gathering for around thirty years but I feel
like these are my people.

[image: Jaz.jpg]  [image: Roy.jpg]

The music gets slower and it sounds like the world is caving in. A
soundtrack to the world as it is. The four of them are locked together,
just playing with an almost psychic bond. The guitar sounds exactly as it
should, Geordie not even seeming to break a sweat. They channel chaos and
Armageddon, Jaz has been predicting the end times for years, maybe this
time he means it. He howls at the crowd, his head back and his scarecrow
hair thrown around. Youth grins, he knows what this means. The crowd are
destroying each other, we know how to dance and celebrate this sound. They
take a bow, grinning but are soon back for a brutal final encore. Brilliant.

[More pictures on the website]
<https://www.fighting-boredom.co.uk/live-review/killing-joke-birmingham-live-review/>
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