Django Django FIONA SHEPHERD
SWG3, Glasgow
DJANGO DJANGO were one of the many bands around the country whose touring plans were thwarted by the first flurry of the Beast from the East but they rescheduled with renewed intent to bring the party to this bunker-like warehouse space in an artsy industrial enclave close to the river.
It was the perfect environment in which to commune with their celebratory stew of stomping beats, surf rock guitars, keyboard whooshes and the hypnotic effect of the calming harmony vocals. Those eclectic elements made for a distinctive mix, not unlike a northern Super Furry Animals but more heavily percus- sive, with multiple drumkits in action and the occasional brandishing of the world’s biggest tambourine.
With the addition of swirling patterned projections, these Edinburgh College of Art expats put a 21st century spin on the acid happenings of the late 60s.
But just when it seemed that their set might actually be a non-stop psychedelic club suite spooling to infinity, the foursome took a brief breather – for their benefit as much as the audience’s – in the form of pretty piano pastoral Sundials.
Their latest album, Marble Skies, is a more wistful affair but they retain their playful spirit on stage, summoning a casbah ambience during the instrumental Skies Over Cairo before ramping up the energy again on indie rockabilly favourite Default and the increasingly fevered cosmic twang of Wor. When they returned for the compulsory encore, they stuck to mellower, mantra-like territory right up to the euphoric climax of Silver Rays.