Deerhunter @ The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds. 24th May 2009

Yet again Deerhunter hit The Brudenell and yet again they kill it. The place was full and hot as hell; they brought a little Atlanta to Leeds tonight. Playing a set full of Cyrptograms, Florecsent Grey and Microcastles, in-fact it was maybe more waited towards C-grams thinking about it. To kick off they played brand new title track of the new EP Rainwater Cassete Exchange, which they were also selling on ye olde tape which I happened to pick up and put in my top pocket for the rest of the night, I’ve never felt so indie before. The band were tight under the heat and the epic noise-scapes of Cryptograms was really something else, the drums’n’bass get me every time in the Deerhunter live experience they really drive things forward.

The good shit just kept coming with Like New and Octet melting into each other with a brutal blast of sound in the middle. I’m pretty sure either Never Stops or Nothing Ever Happens came next but who knows, to be honest I zoned out and got lost in the sound. Things were chilled out a little in the middle which was well needed because of the heat, the wedges of fuzzed out sound Deerhunter bring really sit well with the hot hot atmosphere though it kind of gave it another edge somehow a clammy heavy edge.

After a few more hits, Bradford called to the audience for requests and they covered a track by someone I can’t think of right now, but I’ll edit it when my brain wakes up, it was the same one they did at ATP the week before apparently… [EDIT] it was Bragging Party by The Amp's!... It was a wicked 60’s infused punky number that suited their sound to a tea. By the time the encore came around Bradford was working the crowd with impressions, voices and general weirdness. Then the Deerhunter jukebox began as the crowed were asked to choose the final three tracks of the night. After some back’n’forth the fantastic Spring Hall Convert was chosen, which delighted me as I really wanted to hear it last time they came to town but alas it wasn’t to be so this was a bit special, it’s always been one of my favourites. I’m struggling to remember the middle track in the encore but it was fuckin’ brilliant and followed by Fluorescent Grey, which built and built before showering us in sound.

Then shit got weird as Bradford came back on to thank us in many strange ways before having some banter with the sound guy, before calling his mum over the soundsystem. Unfortunatly she wasn’t in so it went right to answer phone a nice message was left and things petered out. It’s probably the maddest ending to a gig I’ve seen for a while Bradford cracked me up throughout the night as well as really playing a quality gig, Deerhunter I salute you keep doing your thing.

http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter

http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/

http://www.brudenellsocialclub.co.uk/