A Low Hum Tour #1
Batrider, Die! Die! Die! and Hot Swiss Mistress
24/04/04
Indigo

Coming in late I only caught maybe half of Hot Swiss Mistress. They seem to go for a sonic buildup re: HDU mixed with some Placebo type riff’s. They had moments when I was really interested and impressed but that would wane and disappear. They have a lot of talent and could well evolve into something interesting in the next few months if pushed in the right direction.

Die! Die! Die! took longer to set up than the usual length of their set. the bass player and drummer started up a hypnotic beat. But where was the guitarist? He was pogoing in the crowd…

Once the guitarist had jumped on stage to take up his instrument, all controlled hell broke loose. I don’t know about the lyrics, plain anger or detached cynical observation but whatever they mean, Die! Die! Die! are intense and it would be interesting to find out what fuels that intensity.

Stopping occasionally to write down notes, I would stand and watch the bassist, it was impossible to actually separate when he was playing as bass or as the second guitarist. His impact is shown with Die! Die! Die! in three weeks together have come up with an almost new set. working with the drummer the two, form a formidable team as the drummer himself is such a powerhouse, with so much power and finesse in one package. While this was happening the guitarist had rolled off the stage. Pushed into a a corner by the thrashing crowd, I’m surprised he didn’t get his head kicked in. with that their set was finished bates stole a button off the stage.

Taking stage soon after was Batrider. Apparently, they were a bit rusty on the first leg of the tour, but not that night (the last night of the tour). I looked behind and Indigo was pretty much full by then. After a long hiatus I was looking forward to seeing what Batrider sounded like. With Sarah the lead singer screaming out the songs the crowd swayed and cheered in support. They played some of their newer material. Sounding darker and dirtier than their earlier material, they don’t catch on as well as some of their best early work, yet I will certainly give them some slack as they are still a class outfit, I just have high expectations of them…

Ending with the soaring ballad ‘have your grace’ Batrider left with the crowd clapping and shouting, making the floor shake and rattle with their enthusiasm.