65daysofstatic have been around since 2001, and have a reputation for great live performances. They’re prevalent on the electronic-rock scene, having played around 100 gigs a year in the past, with plenty of singles, EPs, albums and soundtracks to listen to on their back catalogue. Their music is eclectic, with heavy basslines, thrumming electronic beats and atmospheric sounds merged to create auditory havoc.
The Boiler Shop is a big, stripped-back venue, the industrial feel a little offset by the towering Christmas tree they've currently got set up in one corner. It’s a pretty sizeable venue as they go (or at least, I've experienced), with the capacity for 1000. Warm digits were the support act first up, and my god they had fun. Drummer Andrews Hodson especially seemed to love every moment of their set, a huge noise of electric guitar underlaid by a strong beat and synth. Give these guys a couple of years, and I reckon they'll have really refined themselves; at the moment they’re a little like a messier version of Public Service Broadcasting. And I'm not sure about Warm Digits' Christmas remix as their closing song. A bold choice, to be sure.
Powerful lighting interspersed with strobes gave the room a futuristic feel
“There is a lot of danger out there, okay?” Screams of excitement echoed through the crowd as 65daysofstatic opened with a personal favourite, ‘Heat Death Infinity Splitter’. Powerful lighting interspersed with strobes gave the room a futuristic feel, which continued throughout the set, ‘Prisms’ naturally following on from their opener. ‘Retreat! Retreat!’ was received particularly well by the audience, although quieter tracks, with raw piano notes cutting through the wall of synth, seemed to be a little under-appreciated by the crowd, who were raring for big tracks like ‘Supermoon’ and ‘Sleepwalk City’, which both were rewarded with a lot of audience noise.
Stephenson's Rocket
Closing with a concept piece based on Robert Stephenson’s Rocket steam engine - a fitting track given the venue, and duly noted by the band. You could see how much 65daysofstatic enjoy playing live, especially in a setting as good as the Boiler Shop, where the sound system just blew me away. From the minute they hit the stage, until they left amongst raucous calls, they were totally in the zone. Although 65daysofstatic have a huge backlog of music, they’re obviously invested in constantly moving forward with their music, especially given their recent forays through computer-generated music to produce Decompositiontheory in November. Great things will keep coming from this band.
