10 years is a long time in music, as it is in anything. When Darwin Deez released their self-titled debut, the world was first being acquainted with a bowl-cut sporting Canadian by the name of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift was still very much a country singer and the majority of the world was blissfully unaware what part rock was or whether or not it was in the house (although that joyful ignorance would be shattered a mere year later).
All of this is to say, basing an entire tour on a ten-year-old album can come with risks. What if the album doesn’t hold up today? What if people have forgotten about or no longer care for the album? Or, what if the band doesn’t have the same enthusiasm when performing it?
Fortunately, none of these questions are ones that Darwin Deez have to worry about as their Nottingham show proved. Their debut still sounds engaging and fresh, there is still a highly appreciative audience for it, and the band clearly still enjoy giving the people what they want.
The creation of a good atmosphere was certainly helped by the support act, the Brighton five-piece Youth Sector. Coming out in a matching ensemble of grey suits and burnt orange shirts, the up and comers electrified the audience with a tense set reminiscent of Talking Heads, Devo and Wire. It could be said that it was the exact kind of sound one would expect from a band where half the members have mullets. Gentle ribbing aside they worked the crowd with deft ease and left the audience eager for the headliner.
Said headliner made the stage dancing to jaunty pop music that only added to the party atmosphere. This is a signature of Darwin Deez and was rather heart-warming although it must be said that the second one mid-way through the set was slightly unnecessary. The set itself was relatively straightforward. The entirety of the album Darwin Deez was played in order with a few extra songs played for the encore so there weren’t any surprises but that didn’t negatively impact the experience as surprises wasn’t the goal of the concert.
The band’s front-man, also called Darwin, did take a brief break to talk to the audience. This was perhaps the most interesting part of the night for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because it showed that perhaps the audience was a little bit too hyped up as they talked over him for most of what was said which was a little bit unfortunate and rude. And secondly, because of what he talked about. He spoke about his jeans and how they were on the verge of falling apart as well as how it has become harder for him to find creativity when writing music. What was interesting is that, while all of this was said light-heartedly it was hard not to notice a vague undercurrent of melancholy in his words.
That all comes into focus when one considers how Darwin has never been quite able to get from under the shadow of his first album; which was an unexpected success to begin with thanks to the wave of indie music that was sweeping the UK at the time of its release. When viewed in this way, what seems to be idle chatter about a pair of jeans suddenly becomes a rather fitting metaphor. What starts out as a fresh and exciting new addition to your wardrobe eventually becomes reliable and perhaps overly familiar until eventually becoming worn out and discarded. It certainly makes one second guess how Darwin views his music and career which is unfortunate because it’s definitely something he should be proud of and he still knows how to put on a hell of a show.
