DEAF HAVANA // LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH
After a short hiatus Deaf Havana are back with a brand new album The Present is a Foreign Land. To celebrate them being back with full force, Deaf Havana rocked out tonight in Edinburgh’s The Liquid Rooms, with support from The LaFontaines.
★★★★★ (5/5)
DEAF HAVANA PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S LIQUID ROOMS
PHOTOCREDIT: STUART STOTT
Opening things up for the evening, we were treated to a blistering set from The La Fontaines who provided an exceptionally energetic supporting slot, taking full advantage of the Liquid Room’s big stage the three-piece alt-rock band from Motherwell, Scotland, launched through their set with some serious conviction. Across the fairly extensive show, there featured a mixture of tracks from their previous album 2017’s Common Problems with some exciting new material from their latest album Junior.
The dynamic displayed between the band members was really quite unique, with Drummer Jamie Keenan delivering some blisteringly corse vocals on many of the tracks. Not to be outdone by his bandmates, lead singer Kerr Okan threw himself about the stage and kept the energy at a pretty dizzying high. I was really quite captivated by their command for attention and stage presence, doing a great job to say, the crowd was thoroughly warmed up for the main event which in many cases can be such a difficult balance to strike.
Within just one song, frontman Kerr Okan had the crowd acting as if it was the encore. Revved up and ready to go within one beat, bodies were grooving along, hands were swaying and lyrics being belted out as he clambered his way over the barrier to join the crowd in a singalong. There’s no denying he’s a fantastic frontman and the overall anthem/stadium vibe of their performance is stunning.
With the driving rhythm of guitarist/producer Darren McCaughey alongside Kerr’s staccato rapping seemed to be aimed at every audience member, dragging the crowd along with him in his vitriolic diatribe on issues from Brexit to the economy…whether they wanted to be or not….
Deaf Havana have been together for the best part of a decade and rose through the ranks to become a well known name in the alt-rock scene. Back in the day, they dominated the U.K and festival scene. They have recently released a brand new album – ‘The Present is a Foreign Land’. Kerrang stated the Norfolk brothers – James and Matt Veck- Gilodi were ‘finally starting to sound like themselves again…’ In 2021, the brothers decided to stay as a duo as the other two members of their band departed. They had a bassist and drummer join them for this tour who were quite frankly epic.
They began with the first two songs from their new album – ‘Pocari Sweat’ and ‘19dreams’…James Veck-Gilodi’s vocals were as stunning as ever. Great control, rasp and emotive singing throughout the gig. The control of his voice is wild….from a sweet gentle tune to a rich, raspy and rocky roar he nails it every time, of course with the backing of his brother.
The audience stayed subdued for the first few songs but gradually got going….while the atmosphere hasn’t been totally electric in the sense of limbs flying about everywhere, there are a fair deal of hands raised high and voices at full volume.
The crowd was just as thrilled to see them back on stage as they were to play, in small moments throughout the night James and Matt had giant grins on their faces watching the crowd in awe. They weren’t alone for this show, they had a full band, not their old line up, but just as good, maybe even better.
My personal highlight of the gig was when the acoustic guitar came out. They sang one of my ultimate Deaf Havana songs ‘Nevermind’…. Passionate, filled with raw grit and meticulous harmonies.
I was really impressed with how slick the guitar changes were and we were never left without live music for very long and I will say they managed to cram in a lot of tunes into this gig which was more than appreciated by all who attended.
The new tracks heard, were classic Deaf Havana but pumped up, it shows the passion they have for music isn’t going away anytime soon. Noticeably it’s written through lockdown, this is their way of working through the hard times, and for the fans to help them through theirs.
However, before the main band of there evening we were treated to a blistering set from The La Fontaines who provided an exceptionally energetic supporting slot, taking full advantage of the Liquid Room’s big stage the three-piece alt-rock band from Motherwell, Scotland, launched through their set with some serious conviction. Across the fairly extensive show, there featured a mixture of tracks from their previous album 2017’s Common Problems with some exciting new material from their latest album Junior.
The dynamic displayed between the band members was really quite unique, with Drummer Jamie Keenan delivering some blisteringly corse vocals on many of the tracks. Not to be outdone by his bandmates, lead singer Kerr Okan threw himself about the stage and kept the energy at a pretty dizzying high. I was really quite captivated by their command for attention and stage presence, doing a great job to say, the crowd was thoroughly warmed up for the main event which in many cases can be such a difficult balance to strike.
Within just one song, frontman Kerr Okan had the crowd acting as if it was the encore. Revved up and ready to go within one beat, bodies were grooving along, hands were swaying and lyrics being belted out as he clambered his way over the barrier to join the crowd in a singalong. There’s no denying he’s a fantastic frontman and the overall anthem/stadium vibe of their performance is stunning.
With the driving rhythm of guitarist/producer Darren McCaughey alongside Kerr’s staccato rapping seemed to be aimed at every audience member, dragging the crowd along with him in his vitriolic diatribe on issues from Brexit to the economy…whether they wanted to be or not….
