Last night I saw 65daysofstatic for the third time. This time they appear to have stepped up their choice of venue significantly, playing to a reasonably sized Koko, in Camden. The event wasn't sold out, and as we entered we were two of about 12 people in the building, which wasn't very good.
By the time the first support band 'Nedry' (Nerdy) took the stage there was a bit of a crowd gathered. Nedry had some interesting music, but like too many support bands failed to get a reaction from the crowd. They had a very unusual singer too, an asian female who didn't speak particularly brilliant english.
The second support act, 'Loops Haunt', was much more interesting, providing some good tunes and even a few cheers from a very still crowd. I watched these two acts from the comfort of a leather sofa with a very expensive drink, as is standard in Koko.
In the final wait for 65daysofstatic I blew the rest of my money on one (yep, one) last drink and made my way towards the stage.
Not too long later, the band hit the stage, opening with new track 'Go Complex'. From where we were stood the crowd seemed pretty still for this track and the next couple, so we made a move towards the front of the stage and bundled in with an increasing number of people dancing. By the time it got to 'Crash Tactics' I was absolutely loving it, and it went straight into 'Dance Dance Dance' which was amazing. By this point there was a big group of us dancing at the front. Things kept on going right through to 'Retreat! Retreat!', the highlight of the night, and then the crowd seemed to simmer down a little. This was OK though, as we'd worked up a bit of a sweat, and it was a nice opportunity to watch the band, who apparently never tire.
65daysofstatic are such brilliant performers, which is what makes their live shows so unmissable. Watching any member of the band is completely mesmerizing, and I'm certain they must all be using some kind of drugs. The drummer has the best endurance I've ever seen in a human being, while the rest of the band are just being absolutely mental throughout the set.
The show was great for me because I knew more songs off of the set than I ever have before, which made me feel a lot more comfortable throughout.
However, I couldn't help but feeling all night that the band are better suited to smaller venues, such as Heaven, where the whole thing is more intimate. Koko is really spread out, and every time I looked around me I could see that most of the crowd were standing still. Which just feels strange at an event like this. It must have been weird for the band to see aswell.
With that said, what was going on behind me did not detract from my personal overall experience of the night which was, as usual, incredible.
65daysofstatic remain one of the top live acts in the country, and I'm already excited for my next opportunity to see them again.
★★★★★
