DD/MM/YYYY are a finely tuned live act.  They were about 45 seconds into the first song of their set when the entire band stopped on a dime to allow Matt King (vocals, drums, keyboards, energy) to ask the engineer to get the lights to stop blinking, as they were very distracting.  It’s a weird way to start a review, but it epitomizes what the band’s live act was about.  Dudes were completely locked in.  It sounded like the stop was planned; everybody locked it up at precisely the same moment, the lights stopped flashing and the quintet was back up to mock speed in a blink.  DD/MM/YYYY are, to a degree, about raucous noise, but they also have the air of a jam band about them.  They’re clearly very talented and they’re all very in touch with what everyone is doing.  The songs are complex, with a ton of moving parts, but the level of synchronicity attained was stunning.

Before the show, I was curious about how the frenetic energy of DD/MM/YYYY’s recorded material would translate live; I’ll be honest and say that I thought Black Square might be as much about studio wizardry as it is about musical chops.  Happily, I can report that the material is, if anything, better live; things were coming fast and hard, and my notes are a bit lacking on song titles, but a clear highlight (and good example of the band’s ability to raise the ante live) was “Infinity Skull Cube.”  The stuttering drum riff and evil keyboard noise were pushed to the max live and the shouted, spiraling vocals were jaw-dropping.  It was another time when the tightness of the band bubbled to the top; the changes and vocal interplay in that song were right on time.  It was a standout song in an impressive set.

The percussion was captivating all night; the band took the stage with a bouquet of drumsticks and exploded one or two on each song.  Matt King had his own snare and cymbal (lit by a beaten up home repair style floodlight clamped to the bottom), but still splashed all over the main kit.  Although the crowd didn’t seem to be picking it up, most of the tracks had a subverted dance beat buried underneath all the sound.  I was sweating by the end and the band looked like they’d just run a marathon.  Other random snippets that stand out:  the band’s easy, idle chatter between songs, notably including a rock/paper/scissors match to determine the next tune, the level of energy and emotion Tomas Del Biasio brought to the proceedings, the seamless musical chair nature of the band and, as above, the dexterity with which the band moved through the often intricate tracks.

DD/MM/YYYY are taking a week or so off, but they’re criss-crossing the nation, bringing the noise to the masses.  Check the dates here and get yourself to a gig.