Adult DVD blow the roof off Scala with a manic sold out show that enlists Kiosk and Group A.D. for an evening of action and dance that highlights the future of the club scene and Leeds’ place at its centre
One of the joys of seeing Adult DVD is embracing the sheer fun of it all. Stripped down and unpretentious they are as every bit as chaotic and in their wheelhouse as bands like Fat Dog and Getdown Services; embracing the dance punk element of it all with gutso and charm. They are at home and alive on the nightclub as much as the gig venue, so Scala feels like the right home for them.
First band on is KiosK who I saw all the way back at East London Block Party and it’s great to see them get a support slot for such a good band as they exist right in their element as a dance-punk outfit. Their energy is relentless – ‘Heaven Sent / Sure Shot’ is a delight – the track rivals the hyper intensity beat of Dame Arena and the call/response of ‘Sure Shot’ is hypnotic, intensifying and draining but in the best way possible. Originally written as one song before split in two – the double blow is intense as they come and the centre-piece of this live set. It confronts loss in a house left behind from it – the creative process that started with the synth line and grew out as a jamming record transformed into a club anthem is impossible not to dance from – growing from the Leeds DIY scene on an evening of curated influences. KiosK are so good they might as well have been Heaven Sent themselves – and it won’t be long before they rise up the ranks.
Group A.D. come highly recommended and they bill themselves as a band that exists for action & dance – which is in fact, what A.D. stands for, and you can’t help but dance to their music when you hear them live. New track ‘Bird of Parallax’ is magnetic and inventive – hypnotic and repetitive as you are swept under their spell from the word go. It feels like the wildest track that the band have put out to date and the eerie vocal sample mixed in with abrasive machine music propels it forward – you feel like you’re getting a shift in position and alternative viewpoint that showcases the strength and depth and range in the electronic club scene – no song stays one way for long as an array of musical styles are presented here – the vocals call “Bird of Parallax” whilst the machines swirl around them – Aiden Razzall in complete control. To hear Group A.D. live is to hear a band in the moment – for the future of the dance scene showing the range of KiosK, Adult DVD and Group A.D. all in one place it takes some beating.
Our headliners come on then, and we’re thrust into a melting pot of a pit that doesn’t take much for it to get rowdy and lively even in a packed out Scala that’s near impossible to move. They’ll be back – and next time at the Ballroom. We’re straight in as the band tell the audience that they like to ‘Do as I Please’ – existing in strange, otherworldly characters that creates a swirling mix of emotions. These are all outrageous, free spirited and free-wheelin’ – but this is where the chaos of Adult DVD thrives – “I get where I wanna go / I get where I wanna go” Harry Hanson yells to the room. And then we’re off – into ‘Coffin Dodger’ that plays up the egos of these characters; a barnstormer – the relentless beat rhythm of a look into the future is impossible not to tear away from. “I just wanna see who puts me in a hole,” Hanson says – not wanting to miss his own party. Then the chorus: “Call me egotistical I want to see my funeral,” and we are OFF – explosive and magnetic in the way that few bands of Adult DVD’s number are capable of matching.
The run-through from ‘Doomsday Prepper’, ‘Dogs in the Sun’ and ‘Cold Caller’ goes down a storm and ‘Cowboy on Aisle Three’ is a delight to dance to, embracing the chaos in the supermarkets and the escape of ordinary life and those who dare to be different. The crowd swirl and crowd-surfers are thrust up in the air – and if that’s not enough, we get ‘Jesus Christ Supercar’ next – Adult DVD maximising their techno propulsions to embrace a wave of dance.
Long before we get to set-closer, the efficiently fun ‘Bill Murray’ – Adult DVD are in complete control of the crowd. It’s impossible not to have fun and dance – and have fun and swirl the crowd do. On an evening of action and dance, they remind you why they are one of the brightest names in the scene at the moment and their star is only set to rise further.
Photocredit @jamie_macmillan_photos