Very few bands deserve to be awarded the accolade “true innovators” but Killing Joke are undoubtedly one of them. Having formed in 1978 during punk rock’s second wave, they’ve witnessed (and some would say invented) a whole stream of scenes come and go. Having spent the past four decades operating on their own terms, tonight’s 40th anniversary celebration feels like more than just your average birthday bash.
First of all though, a few words about this evening’s schedule. Whilst fully understanding the financial instability caused by the current economic climate, and therefore the need for venues to fully utilise what they have in order to obtain as much revenue as possible, the stage time afforded tonight’s openers Deadcuts is little short of a joke. With doors already opening at the obscenely early time of 18:30, while many ticket holders are still coming home from work, putting the first band on five minutes later and therefore have them perform to an audience of precisely no one isn’t really fair on them, or indeed those who’ve paid to see the full bill. Yes, it may state a door time on the ticket and yes, more and more venues are now exercising their right to impose a 10pm live music curfew time so they can re-open for more lucrative club nights half an hour later, but that doesn’t mean that should be at the expense of the artists themselves or the punters being denied the opportunity to see the opening act.
So it goes without saying that Gigwise, along with the majority of the 2000-strong audience here to see the opening night of the UK leg of this 40th anniversary shindig, is sadly en route during Deadcuts’ performance. Bristol psychedelic grunge outfit Turbowolf fair slightly better, their sludgy stoned groove hitting the spot with those taking prime position near the front.
However, it’s never the easiest of tasks for any band supporting a national institution as Killing Joke have undoubtedly become. After Turbowolf finish their set, the four members of Killing Joke - singer Jaz Coleman in his now customary (and customised) boiler suit, the inimitable Martin ‘Youth’ Glover on bass, Kevin ‘Geordie’ Walker on guitar and drummer Paul Ferguson - take the stage. Recognised as one of the most innovative bands to emerge from these shores, their music has continued to defy categorisation right from the moment debut single ‘Turn To Red’ (sadly missing tonight) landed unsuspectingly in the autumn of 1979. Fusing elements of funk, dub reggae, metal and psychedelic space rock to an ethos born out of punk’s visceral fury, their appetite to confound has never waned throughout each of the band’s 15 albums to date.
One of the reasons their legacy has remained intact can be laid at their continued quest to create new music that’s both challenging and invigorating. Where many of their peers gave up the ghost for the nostalgia circuit years ago, Killing Joke’s pursuit to make the next record more innovative than its predecessor goes on. Indeed, many commentators argue the band’s last three long players – 2010’s Absolute Dissent, 2012’s MMXII and 2015’s Pylon to be their best to date. So it’s no surprise the four songs played off those albums are as equally well received as the ones aired from the band’s early days that dominate tonight’s performance.
Their 15-song set, book-ended by ‘Unspeakable’ from second album, What’s This For…!, and early B-side ‘Pssyche’, is an exercise in tenacity, ingenuity and delivery. Coleman’s incendiary rants introduce ‘Eighties’, a song whose main riff was pilfered by Nirvana for ‘Come As You Are’, and there’s a rare outing for ‘Loose Cannon’ off 2003’s eponymous album. It’s a masterclass that doesn’t relent at any point from start to finish, culminating in an encore that finds their biggest selling single, ‘Love Like Blood’, rubbing shoulders with the lesser known but no less powerful ‘Pandemonium’. Once more, Killing Joke demonstrate why they’ve been at the top of their game for so long, with no signs of abating any time soon.
Here’s to the big 5-0.
