TO be this good is meant to take ages. I mean, Metallica are one of the best live bands in the world, but then they have had well over a decade on the professional live circuit to hone their art somewhat. The Deftones have only just released their second record. This is scary
The Rock City, like London's Astoria the night before, is undergoing something akin to mass hysteria; crushed bodies move as one, surging instinctively with the primal screams emanating from the stage. However, in London, the Deftones were so tired that Chino was in danger of falling asleep for most of the set; tonight he's running on a full tank and the effect is like turning everything up to 11 ½. The best just got better and that's even scarier.
There's a theory that Chino likes to be touched in a hands on sort of way, which would certainly explain the frontman's lemming-like tendencies for launching himself headlong into the rabid throng, although perhaps not why he chooses to fight his way to the bar mid song and order a round of drinks. Chnio's performance is, for the most part captivating; perpetually in mortal danger of coming a cropper, courtesy of his trousers' near permanent half-mast status, he nonetheless throws himself about the stage with abandon, convulsing like a boa during constriction. Whether writhing on the floor crooning Smiths lyrics (the opening lines of 'Ask') or hanging off a PA stack belting out 'South of Heaven' as the band get it on with an impromptu Slayer jam, if charisma was currency, Chino would be richer than Croesus' accountant.
However, the real star of the Deftones' show is the material itself, or, more specifically, the material aired from 'Around The Fur'. While their debut 'Adrenaline' was a fine example of post-grunge alterna-metal angst done better than most, its successor is a solid gold bomb of mindfucking proportions. 'Dai The Flu"s measured build up of anxiety and rage, like a knot slowly tying itself in your stomach, the sheer dynamic scope of 'Around The Fur' and the exemplary 'Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)"s gloriously discordant textures, as a plaintive a request to get the fuck out as was ever recorded, supplemented by divine backing vocals from Far's Jonah, are worth the admission price alone.
In contrast, Far's melodic, emo-tinged, would-be anthems suffer in comparison, purely because they aren't the Deftones. Nonetheless, Sacramento's other band play with a conviction and honesty that suggests that in time, people will be digging their music for its own merits and not just due to a coolness derived from association. However, if the equally fine Chamberlain's fate is anything to go by, the UK's audiences aren't quite ready for the sensitive approach just yet.
No, Nottingham demanded a damn good thrashing, a release for the pent up frustration at having to wait so long to hail the new messiahs, and they weren't disappointed. A blitzkrieg rendition of Bad Brains' 'Right Brigade' snuggles nicely with the parting shots of the Deftones own raging slabs of feral guitar abuse. 'Headup' and 'Engine No. 9', but while the vibe is a seamless join, the quality's a good few quantum leaps ahead of their heroes'. The time for waiting is over, the Deftones have arrived. (10)
Dan Silver
