Die So Fluid/Killing For Company/Dreams Divide

Talking Heads, Southampton

After their last blistering performance at the Joiners in May last year, power trio Die So Fluid return to Southampton as part of their latest UK Tour, the band have attracted a near capacity crowd here at the Talking Heads for what promises to be another great night.

First up we have ‘Dreams Divide’ who are playing their first ever gig here tonight. They are a three piece Gothic Snyth Industrial outfit who list their influences as Kraftwerk, Gary Newman, Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode. The elements of all of their influences are very apparent in their live sound, the two keyboards and drum machine provide ample backing for Mohawk headed lead singer David Crout who delivers his fine vocals in style combined with complimentary female vocals of Gem.

They come across far to cheerful than the usual Goth bands with David’s friendly and possibly little nervous banter with the audience which bridges the gap nicely between songs. I really enjoyed their set which included self penned songs such as ‘Wise’ which is all about religion and an interesting number called ‘Puppet Love’, however I felt that some atmospheric electric guitar with effects could really give another dimension and further compliment their sound.

The second support Killing For Company from South Wales have been making quite a name for themselves recently on the live music circuit, with the release of their excellent debut album ‘Backstabbing for Beginners’ they toured the UK with Welsh rockers The Alarm.

Tonight the 5 piece produce a performance of top quality impressing the audience with their melodic twin guitars and powerfully delivered vocals from front man Greg Jones who gets the audience involved in simple a sing-a-long in number ‘Gone To Far’. The brutally honest song writing from personal accounts is shown off well in songs such as ‘Born Yesterday’ and final number ‘Former Mining Town’. The band leave the stage after a short inspiring 25 minutes set with the audience showing lots of appreciation for this admirable up and coming band.

The dance floor swelled prior to Die So Fluid taking to the stage with lots of people jostling to get a good vantage point, iconic lead singer Grog(Georgina Lisee) walked on to the stage in a black PVC cat suit with feather decorated shoulder pads and high heel boots, looking every bit the rock star that she is, much of the audience spent the first few numbers trying to take pictures with various electronic devices of Grogs impressive attire.

Die So Fluid are original in the sense that the bass guitar almost seems to be the main instrument in the band with Drew Richard’s guitar almost secondary, which is certainly out of the ordinary from most other bands. The band power through a set made up of material from the last two albums with live favourites such as ‘Happy Halloween’ and ‘Raven’ giving the audience something to dance to. Initially Grog struggled through the first few numbers with a few problems with her voice, professionally carrying on with it finally coming back to the former powerful force that we know. The audience reaction is complimented by the band as she says that is by far the best of the tour so far and I am sure that some bands say this to their audiences every night to get them of their side, however ‘Grog’ did say this with some sincerity.

The band left the stage after an hour to massive applause and continuous shouts for more. The band obliged with a two song encore of a new song called ‘What a Heart is For’ (which is available free from the bands website) and the more familiar ‘Not Everybody Get a Happy Ending’, a tremendous ending to an evening the exceeded all expectations.

Setlists

Die So Fluid
Vorvolaka
Happy Halloween
Mercury
Existential Baby
Test Confessional
Figurine
Raven
The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime
Spawn
How Vampires Kiss
Gang of One
What a Heart is For
Not Everybody Gets A Happy Ending