To call Nothing‘s tour current European tour ‘gruelling’ would be the understatement of the year; tonight’s show in Birmingham is one of 35 dates for the Philadelphia band, of which the first 24 are on consecutive nights across 11 countries.
Local lads Half Asleep are a good match as support tonight, their reverb-drenched sound coming over as a more upbeat Pale Saints and going down nicely with the audience. One to watch.
The stage in the basement room of the wonderful Rainbow venue, (one of a number of excellent venues in the space of a few yards in Digbeth), is pretty much at ground level and for many the first they know of Nothing’s arrival is when they begin checking their instruments. They quickly head into ‘Fever Queen’, the first track from this year’s impeccable Tired Of Tomorrow album. The song is slow but mightily loud, the low ceiling of the venue adding to the sonic assault that the band lovingly produce.
The pace is immediately picked up with ‘Vertigo Flowers’, one of many tracks on the new album that has a real commercial edge, seemingly without even trying. A fabulously raw version of one of the tracks from their 2014 split 12″ single with kindred spirits Whirr is served up next and is a real treat, before an airing for the band’s most tender track; the lovely ‘The Dead Are Dumb’ could almost belong on the Cocteau Twins‘ album Head Over Heels.
Frontman Domenic Palermo is a truly engaging character and his amusing on-stage observations are quite at odds with the serious nature of the songs: he mentions the band playing London tomorrow and quips that he expected the crowd to boo at the mention of that city (they actually cheer) and then invites the audience to gesticulate towards the tour manager, who is sitting at the back minding his own business. His half-smile suggests that this isn’t the first time it has happened. “We have two tour managers and I hate them both”, states Palermo kindly.
The set is understandably Tired Of Tomorrow-heavy but an incendiary ‘Get Well’ from debut album Guilty Of Everything is gratefully received by the crowd before ‘Eaten By Worms’ shows the bleaker, earthier side of the band’s music, more In Utero-era Nirvana than the somewhat obvious shoe-gaze tag that the band are sometimes saddled with.
Nothing’s excellent 2016 Record Store Day single ‘ACD (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder)’ sounds like a hit and is the arguably the most anthemic song the band have produced so far – it is saved for the penultimate track before ‘Curse Of The Sun’ sends the crowd home happy, with ears that will be potentially be ringing until sometime around Bonfire Night.
On this form, citizens of Europe would be well-advised to catch Nothing in a nearby town. They will be along soon, wherever you are!
