 On the penultimate gig of the UK leg of their
tour, Die So Fluid graced the stage of Talking
Heads in Southampton for the first time.
The first
local support band Dreams Divide with their self
proclaimed synthpop/gothic style open to a reasonably
sized audience for this stage of the night and
receive a positive response in return. Smartly
dressed frontman David Crout created an energetic
and friendly atmosphere through his stage presence
and banter with the crowd, backed up by strong
vocals from synth player Gem Davison. Their pendulum-esque
beats and heavy bass lines caught the attention
of the crowd early on causing the mention of their
current free download ‘Leaving’ to
be well received. To end on a high note, DD played
the title track from their album ‘Puppet
Love’ sending an epic vibe through the venue
– arguably their best track of the night.
Continuing with the feel good vibe of the night
in a slightly different style came in the form
of Welsh rock band Killing For Company. They kicked
off the set with ‘Wake Up And Let Go’,
pulling the crowd in closer to the stage with
little room for movement – a sure sign of
a good gig! Their energy was high and consistent
from start to finish, notably from guitarist Andy
Williams who was all over the stage and frequently
interacting with singer Greg James.
 With the crowd’s full attention Greg introduced
catchy track ‘Gone Too Far’ by calling
for a chant in the chorus. With the words only
being the title, the majority of people joined
in and created a powerful sense of intimacy between
the band and audience. KFC announced the merch
they had on sale including their EP ‘The
Lost Art of Deception’ and graciously left
the stage to an abundance of cheers.
The long awaited arrival of Die So Fluid finally
came and Grog was last to enter the stage to her
fellow band mates playing her in. Dressed in her
trademark studded cat suit she got straight into
character, head banging and intensely staring
at audience members with her bold wide eyes. Guitarist
Drew Richards played it cool in a suit and tie
which is a great accomplishment in sweaty gig
environment! The floor was instantly filled for
their first song ‘Vorvolaka’ setting
the scene for the performance. Grog engaged in
crowd and band banter in between songs as she
said she liked to “feed off the vibe”
of audience members.
 They played a range of material dating back to
their 2004 album ‘The Spawn of Dysfunction’
to their most recent release ‘Not Everybody
Gets a Happy Ending’ (2008) and DSF were
even kind enough to give a taster of their forthcoming
new album in the form of ‘Raven’ and
‘Mercury’. The set did not disappoint
with a clear chemistry within the band as well
as Grog’s relaxed approach to chatting with
audience members.
For the pre-assumed encore DSF belted out the
free to download track ‘What a Heart is
for’ leaving the crowd shouting out for
more. With the dedication of the final song to
a loyal fan at the front, Grog and co. called
for lighters (which most people opt for phones
instead) to be held high as ‘Not Everybody
Gets A Happy Ending’ sent shivers down the
collective spine of Talking Heads.
Dreams Divide 3/5
Killing For Company 5/5
Die So Fluid 5/5
Review By Jen Manley
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