Does It Offend You, Yeah? - blasting, bold but loveable
Monday, 14 Apr 2008 16:52
Noah and the Whale's debut album is released in June
Walking into the Manchester Academy Club venue, you expect an intimate gig; going to see Does It Offend You, Yeah? I managed to get close and personal to a group of adolescent rocker wannabes that made up most of the band's following.
Having waited about two hours and watched George Pringle and Cut Off Your Hands in support, bands that did not quite satisfy the crowd's musical thirst, when the band of the hour blasted on stage everyone was suitably built up and ready for something raucous – and Does It Offend You Yeah? did not disappoint.
A long build up with Aphex Twin resonances was brought to a head with a loud, boisterous and pumped intro, a great fusion of punk and electro with blasts of laser sounds and plenty of synth.
These guys really don't pull any punches when it comes to blasting out the beats. The drums and guitars were thumped so hard that the audience was immediately sucked in to what seemed like an electrified US grunge rock – Green Day riffs with a Daft Punk edge and vocals to match.
You have to be impressed when a loud band ask for more bass and that's what these guys do for the track Attack of Soft, a song that surprisingly manages to pull off a monster movie-style tune that incorporates heavy guitars and shrill electronic sounds.
Half way through the track, out leaped Morgan, who can only be described as the electro Bez – a crowd pleaser who jumped across the stage and went at it with a cow bell like there was no tomorrow. Saying what he termed as a 'proper hello', he decided to do a spot of stage-diving to match the attempts at crowd surfing that had been going on non-stop since the beginning of the set.
The band performed their new song You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into before launching into their take on the Hollyoaks generation in Let's Make Out, in which the evolved Bez actually sang. It has to be said that this is the weakest song in the ensemble, but played live the repetitive chants of the song's title impressed more than listening to the track at home.
Dawn of the Dead, the group's sing-along song, went down a hit with the, by now, dripping crowd, who were encouraged to light candles, although where they were expected to get their candles from no one knew, so they go their lighters out instead.
Something to be Hit and Heavy Heart followed, proving that intense guitars, massive effects and heavy drumming are a big part of the band's repertoire. Firmly rooted in Nirvana-style rock, the lead singer belted out some explosive vocals building up to a huge climax, just when Rock Star sprung the audience into full tumult.
So loud that it forbids you to think, the new single sucks you in to its raucous energy and throws you around with its explosions, rock riffs and computerised vocals – this is sure to be a big song, the most iconic of the set, hitting the mark with its combination of dance, hard rock and electronica - ending the concert on a massive high.
Returning for the encore, Does It Offend You, Yeah? played Whip It, after telling the audience that Manchester supplies some of the best crowds on tour.
Catching up with generation Y's answer for the Happy Mondays' 'happy man', Morgan, I asked about this claim. He replied that the crowd in Manchester fire up the band, whereas elsewhere it takes effort to build up the atmosphere – a problem that may have been encountered on some of the band's 150 shows that they have played in the last year.
"We're so f***ing tired," he said, going on to add that the welcome they received in Manchester Academy has not been typical of the Does It Offend You, Yeah? experience. The band have had to work to build the hype and reach the number 17 spot in the charts –something that they announced to the audience during the gig.
Any hype that has been built up is deserved. The band's sound is fully developed and excellently executed, with confidence and attitude to boot.
The crowd-pleasing elements of the band let the performance down somewhat, but the naivety of the display speaks to that of the audience, meaning that nothing was lost.
Zephie Begolo