[kj] 10 reasons why Killing Joke are the best live band out there right now! ( John Robb)

[Paul]

https://louderthanwar.com/10-reasons-why-killing-joke-are-the-best-live-band-out-there-right-now/

10 reasons why Killing Joke are the best live band out there right now!
*Written by John Robb*8 November, 2018

[image: KJ Live.jpeg]

*As the Killing Joke tour nears its end and we prepare for the official LTW
live review from the London show at the Roundhouse on Nov 17th John Robb
returns from their stunning Manchester gig to preview the upcoming tour
climax and pinpoint ten reasons why the current live Killing Joke show
could be the best live band in the world right now!*

photo by Phil Newall

On nights like this Killing Joke are the greatest rock band in the world –
that’s if they are to be trapped by the word rock. Sure enough there is the
power of the precision of rock and its bombastic volume but there is also
the deep undertow of dub, the relentless groove of funk, the brooding
dynamics of sweeping classical and the dark magus of their very own voodoo
which fills the room.

Much has been said about Killing Joke on this tour and much of it is true.

This truly is a band at they very top of their game.

There is an avalanche of mesmerising power about their music that captures
all their phases from the dirty disco and dub of their initial releases to
the intense end of times sermons of the current trilogy of apocalypse now
albums that seriously fuck your head in the best possible ways.

This is a unique band at the top of their game.

There are a clutch of shows left on this tour.

You must go.

Ten reasons why Killing Joke are at the top of the game right now!

*1. Death Disco*

Killing Joke were always about the groove. No matter how deep the noise and
intensity got you could always dance to it. They always had that heavy
unrelenting power but with an undertow you could move to. The heaviest
disco band in the world? The true masters of punk funk?

The enormous groove of songs like Wardance is timeless, that primal groove
from Geordie’s guitar counterpointed by the funk bass and those drums made
them the greatest death disco band ever.

*2. The intensity of Killing Joke is legendary*

Even at the back of the hall you can see the whites of Jaz Colemans eyes.
This is no showbiz shaman throwing shapes – this is the real deal. An
imperious, wild intensity full of the filth and disgust of intelligence
trapped Ina dumbed down world. Coleman’s body shivers as he does his
medicine man shuffle across the stage. It’s hypnotic stuff and you can feel
the power of this ghost dance and the band’s total belief.

*3. Jazz Hands*

Jaz Coleman’s hands look enormous as they carve arcs out of the gig murk.
They dominate the stage like huge goalies gloves lining up for a penalty.
They look enormous and they seem to hold all the huge music in their palms.
They are, of course, conductors hands and the surf on the sound of the band
as the hypnotise the faithful – fleshy digits that are the conduit for the
band to the audience and back again.

*4. The dark magus*

There have been a few Killing Joke line ups – many of them have been great
in their own right of course – who can deny the monster bass of the late
and great Raven but there is something chemical about these four, that when
they get on stage together their disparate personalities gel into a mighty
force. That’s not just compared to their other line ups but to any other
band. Few can capture this odd and captivating atmosphere like Killing
Joke. This is a unique band and that chemical aura that sounds them helps
to define such mystical musical words like ‘chemical’.

*5. The Gathering*

Jaz Coleman calls gigs ‘gatherings’ and the fierce spirit in the room
tonight is testament to the unique community that follows the band. Killing
Joke are like a few other bands from that period like, maybe the
Stranglers, that demand this kind of devotion – these micro worlds are more
like strange religious orders with dark visions than mere pop groups.
People will wait years for their dose of the dark and tonight are rewarded
with one of the greatest Killing Joke shows ever.

*6. Paul Ferguson*

It’s an astonishing display of drums tonight from the quiet man of Killing
Joke. Of course there was power and we expect the power. It may be an
unreasonable expectation of course from a man who is nearly 60 and perhaps
we should care for his joints and skeletal frame as he pounds away for 90
minutes and we do take that for granted.The power is not all there is
though – there is an amazing finesse to what he does, counter rhythms, off
kilter rhythms, tribal rhythms,the perfect groove of funk in a rhythm
overload that combines snappy hi hat action, those thermal toms and the
relentless kick drum. It’s a drumming masterclass.

*7. Youth*

With a huge pile of non matching amps piled up behind him, Youth is
channeling the spirit of Lee Scratch Perry, War and Lemmy into his bass.
It’s a sonic rumble in the bottom end jungle as he faces sideways across
the stage you can feel his joy as he locks into the eternal dark groove
that is the heart of Killing Joke. Youth brought the disco to the band from
his pre punk teenage years and the art of party into the dark space of the
ensemble. This is crucial. Killing Joke were always a band that you could
dance to. The apocalyptic sermons needed the blast furnace groove and Youth
has always been there to make sure that part of the equation was provided.
His unique stage presence and colourful attire (which even toned down
tonight still seems to glow) also stands out a mile in a room full of black
– a dayglo feel good character who also embraces the heavyweight agenda of
the band geo politically,culturally and magic wise glowing in a
monochromatic apocalypse movie.

*8. Jaz*

For many years Jaz was treated by the press as some kind of madman shooting
at the passerby about the end of times and the impending apocalypse .
Unfortunately for the planet it turned out he was the only sane person in
the building and was right all the time. Switching from the Jaz-growl to
his croon, the white face painted Coleman is in great voice on this tour
locking into the ensemble as another component in what is very much a band.
His role remains the communicator, the conductor and the boiler suited
shaman bringing the fierce force of the beyond into the narrow world of
music.

*9. Geordie*

Stoic and impenetrable the guitar player stands there deceptively still as
his hands wreak carnage with those Gibson ES Series guitars that switch
from the distinctive sustain drones, the shards of corrugated riffs and the
dark arpeggios. It’s a unique and powerful sound. Much copied but never
equalled. Especially in post grunge American rock where is became the
staple. The sound is impenetrable you can’t dissect it into any one
constituent part. Its like scraping rust from huge sheets of metal like the
gigantic pieces created by the sculptor Richard Serrawhose work is the
closest comparison I can think of or it sounds like the end of times but
it’s never noise whilst it delivers a whole host of chiming melodies in its
melodic carnage with a deft lightness of touch as well as so many clever
rhythms .

*10. Time to hit the road more…*

This world tour has been blowing minds.

We have all been following it on facebook waiting for it to snake its way
towards us. It’s time for Killing Joke to take themselves as seriously as
their fans do and tour a bit more often. Of course absence makes the heart
grow fonder and all that but we need this mercurial dose of dark alchemy
more than every few years. We appreciate they do have day jobs – Youth has
to keep his production line of million selling productions goings, Paul has
his heavy duty wrought iron jewellery to make and Jaz wanders the world
creating orchestral pieces whilst Geordie is locked in his Prague flat
creating those corrosive riffs but these dark and dangerous times need the
perfect soundtrack and we demand an annual dose of this magik.

That’s all.



*Remaining tour dates  – Tickets <https://www.killingjoke.co.uk/tour>*

*9 Nov  – Birmingham*

*10 Nov – Bristol*

* 11 Nov – Southampton*

* 13 Nov – Cambridge*

*14 Nov – Norwich*

*16 Nov – Oxford*

*17 Nov –  London Roundhouse*
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